Peace of the Poor

Abstract

In Colombia, the concept of Peace has been reduced to the absence of guerrilla groups and armed actors, ignoring the fact that social, political, and environmental Peace also exist and are highly relevant to the population's development. This has led to the invisibilization of the causes of crime and poverty, and to sidelining the importance of environmental issues within a proper peace process and on the path toward economic growth. Poor quality education, lack of job opportunities, low wages, corruption, and economic dependence on an extractivist system mean that the country is not fully prepared for the peace it seeks, or at least cannot provide real security to the population, since these conditions generate "poverty traps" arising from the aforementioned poor conditions and the State's limited vision for truly solving the problems that arise. It is therefore important for the State to be present and to invest in these areas in order to achieve the success sought by the peace process — or, at the very least, to avoid encountering new conflicts arising from what was initially meant to be a solution.