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"Social Cleansing" in Colombia

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"SOCIAL CLEANSING" IN COLOMBIA by Lovisa Stannow B.A., Stockholm University THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department 0f Spanish and Latin American Studies @ ~ovisa Stannow 1996 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY January 1996 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Lovisa Berit Cecilia Stannow Degree: Master of Arts Title: 'Social Cleansing' in Colombia Examining Committee: Chair: Maureen A. Covell, Professor and Acting Chair Spanish and Latin American Studies - Senior Supervisor Ronald Newton, Professor History Conrad Herold, LT Assistant Professor Spanish and Latin American Studies ~ndrrwD. ~earwssistantProfessor Political Science External Examiner Date A~~roved: qG PARTI.AL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thecis, project or extended essay (the title of Iihich is shown belolv) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to mahe partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its olXynbehalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple ccpymg of thls work for schoiarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It IS understood that copying or publication of this work for financial pin shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of ThesisiProjectIExtended Essay ' Social cleansing' in Colombia Author: ' (signahre) (name) ABSTRACT Every year since the late 1970s, hundreds of Colombians have been killed in "social cleansing" operations, a term defined by the United Nations as "the elimination of marginalized and impoverished sectors of the population." Despite elaborate constitutional and judicial protection of human rights in Colombia, few if any of the perpetrators have been brought to justice. This study seeks to explain why "social cleansing" persists in a country widely regarded as an economic success story, and considered to be one of Latin America's most stable democracies. It concludes, first, that "social cleansing" in Colombia is the logical product of a political system which, despite its democratic veneer, is characterized by the considerable autonomy enjoyed by its security forces. Second, it argues that the problem persists because the practice of "social cleansing" is effectively condoned by other key elements of the Colombian state, including the judiciary and the executive. Drawing on work in the field of political economy, this study shows how the economic policies of successive Colombian governments have helped to create the mass of urban poor who are the victims of "social cleansing." It also reveals how certain structural features of the political system, including the power of the security forces and the business sector, have tended to facilitate, perhaps even encourage, this violence. This study also provides detailed accounts of the social and - ideological make-up of both the victims and the perpetrators of "social cleansing." It argues that the victims are targeted not because of their political views or activities, but because they are seen as bearers of unwelcome attributes, such as poverty, criminality and ill-health. It shows that many of the perpetrators of "social cleansing" are state agents, often members of the National Police or of paramilitary groups that operate with official acquiescence. Members of the business sector are also deeply implicated in the violence. Finally, drawing on international human rights literature, this study outlines two principal reasons for the persistence of "social cleansing:" the failure to bring the perpetrators to justice, and the existence of a public discourse that encourages "cleansing" by portraying street people as "disposable." For Geof f "Social Cleansing" in Colonbia Table of Contents LISTOFMAPSAND ILLUSTRATIONS .................. vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND FOREIGN TERMS ..............viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...........................xi 1.1 An Overview of "Social Cleansing" ............. 2 1.2 Literature Review ..................... 8 1.3 The Research Problem ................... 18 2 . THE CONTEXT ........................... 24 2.1 "Democracy" and Military Power .............. 24 2.2 The Pattern of Violence ..................34 2.3 Economic Growth and Inequality .............. 41 3 . THE VICTIMS ........................... 47 3.1 ~erosand Street Children ................. 50 3.2 Garbage Recyclers .....................61 3.3 Transvestites and Prostitutes ...............66 3.4 Young "Delinquents" ....................72 4 . THE PERPETRATORS .........................77 4.1 Semi-Spontaneous "Cleansing" ...............79 4.2TheHiredGuns ...................... 85 4.3 Statecomplicity .....................94 5 . WHYDOES ITCONTINUE? ..................... 101 5.1 Impunity and the Rule of Law .............. 102 5.2 The Discourse of "Disposability" ............ 114 Bibliography ........................... 136 Appendix 1: Interviews Conducted During Field Research ...... 151 Appendix 2: Selected Definitions ................. 154 List of Maps and Illustrations Map 1: Colombia . major centres of "social cleansing" ........ 5 Map 2: Bogota . the 20 boroughs ................... 55 Illustration 1: Map published in El Tiem~o ............ 119 vii List of Abbreviations and Foreign Terms Amor por Medellin Love for Medellin ("Cleansing squad") Asociacion de Recicladores de Bogota Bogota Association of [Garbage] Recyclers Barrio Neighbourhood Bazuco (Inexpensive derivative of crack cocaine) Bloque de Busqueda The Search Unit (Joint elite military-police unit created to fight the Medellin drug cartel) Calle del Cartucho Cartridge Street (Zone in downtown Bogota where street people live and work) Camara de Comercio Chamber of Commerce Centro de Investigacion y Educacion Popular (CINEP) Centre for Investigation and Popular Education (Colombian Jesuit non-governmental organization) Cinco Huecos Five Holes (Zone in downtown Bogota where street people live and work) Los Cobras The Cobras ("Cleansing squad") Comision Andina de Juristas Andean Commission of Jurists (Latin American non-governmental organization) Comision Inter- congregacional de Justicia y Paz Intercongregational Commission for Justice and Peace (Church-based non-governmental organization) Consejeria Presidencial para 10s Derechos Humanos Office of the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, Administrative Security Department (Security body under the direct authority of the executive, not part of the security forces) Defensor del Pueblo People's Defender (Human rights ombudsman) Defensoria del Pueblo Office of the People's Defender Desechable Disposable 1 DIJIN Direccion de Policia Judicial e Investigaciones, Directorate of the Judicial and Investigative Pol ice Escuela Popular de Reciclaje Popular School of Recycling (Part of ENDA, an international non-governmental organization) FENALCO Federacion Nacional de Comerciantes, National Federation of Merchants Fiscalia General de la Nacion Office of the Prosecutor General Fundacion Eudes (Charity-run AIDS-hospice) Fundacion Social (Jesuit non-governmental organization) (Defunct police intelligence branch, now called DIJIN) Gal i (Petty criminal gang member. Indonesian) Gamin Street child Gremi o Business association I GO Inter-governmental organization Junta de Accion Comunal Communal Action Council (Local civic group) Kampung Neighbourhood (Indonesian) Los Magnificos The Magnificent Ones ("Cleansing squad") Mano Negra Black Hand ("Cleansing squad") Muerte a Expendedores de Bazuco Death to Bazuco Dealers ("Cleansing squad") Muerte a Gamines Death to Street Children ("Cleansing squad") Muerte a Homosexuales Peligrosos Death to Dangerous Homosexuals ("Cleansing squad" ) Muerte a Jaladores de Carros Death to Car Thieves ("Cleansing squad") (Marginalized adult street person, often homeless) NGO Non-governmental organization OAS Organization of American States Oficina Permanente de Derechos Humanos Permanent Office for Human Rights (Emergency human rights office, run jointly by the Procuraduria General de la Nacion, Defensoria del Pueblo, Consejer ia Presidencial para 10s Derechos Humanos and the Personerias Distritales) Cooking pot (Illicit "shop" selling bazuco and other drugs) Operacion Estrella Operation Star ("Social cleansing" operation carried out in the Bogota borough of Usme) Pandi 1 la Gang (of petty criminals, often urban) El Paseo The Stroll (Police bringing street people to isolated spots where they torture, rape and/or kill them) Personeria Distrital Office of the Municipal Ombudsman Petrus (Indonesian "social cleansing" campaign carried out between 1983 and 1985) Pi rob0 (Non-transvestite boy prostitute) Poeta ~ero Homeless man beaten to death by Colombian Police in August 1993. Procuraduria General de la Nacion Office of the Attorney General La Ratonera The Rat Nest (Zone in downtown Bogota where street people live and work) (A pesticide, here the name of a "cleansing squadt') UN United Nations La Violencia The Violence (Undeclared civil war in Colombia between the late 1940s and early 1960s) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In writing this thesis I have accumulated substantial debts of gratitude to many people. I am especially indebted to Ronald Newton who first encouraged me to come to the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies at Simon
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