UITNODIGING behind the mask the behind of recognition of behind Op donderdag 12 april, om 14.00 uur, verdedig ik mijn the mask proefschrift in de Oude Lutherse Kerk, of recognition Singel 411 te Amsterdam defending autonomy and U bent van harte uitgenodigd communal resource management daarbij aanwezig te zijn in indigenous resguardos, Colombia Receptie aansluitend, ter plaatse Vanaf 21.00 uur geef ik een feest in La Folie (Café Kapitein Zeppos), Gebed Zonder End 3 Joris van de Sandt Wijttenbachstraat 56-I Joris J. van de Sandt de van J. Joris 1093 JE Amsterdam Sandt, Joris J. van de Behind The Mask of Recognition defending autonomy and communal resource management in indigenous resguardos, paranimfen: Colombia Tjeerd van de Sandt Harm Fitié isbn 978-90-9021768-0 © Joris J. van de Sandt, 2007 Joris J. van de Sandt behind the mask of recognition defending autonomy and communal resource management in indigenous resguardos, Colombia Joris J. van de Sandt cover, layout, typography Tobias David printed on Biofl y Natural paper Gildeprint Drukkerijen, Enschede The research on which this dissertation is based was conducted with fi nan- cial support from the Incentive Action Legal Research (nwo/saro) and the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (nwo/wotro) Sandt, Joris J. van de Behind The Mask of Recognition defending autonomy and communal resource management in indigenous resguardos, Colombia isbn 978-90-9021768-0 © Joris J. van de Sandt, 2007 behind the mask of recognition defending autonomy and communal resource management in indigenous resguardos, Colombia academisch proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnifi cus Prof. dr. J. W. Zwemmer ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Aula der Universiteit op donderdag 12 april 2007, te 14.00 uur, door Joris Jan van de Sandt, geboren te Geldrop. promotiecommissie promotor: Prof. dr. A. J. Hoekema overige leden: Prof. dr. F. von Benda - Beckmann Prof. dr. A. J. Dietz Prof. dr. J. E. Jackson dr. B. M. Oomen faculteit der rechtsgeleerdheid To the people of Jambaló Contents acknowledgements Map 1. Páez (Nasa) territory in Cauca, Colombia 9 1. Introduction 11 1.1 Indigenous resurgence, politics of recognition, and neoliberal multiculturalism 11 Reawakening of the Indians 11 Indigenous organizations in the 1990s and signs of recognition 13 Activism under neo-liberalism 15 1.2 Indigenous autonomy 17 Normative precepts on self-determination and autonomy 17 Latin American regimes of constitutional autonomy for indigenous peoples 19 Autonomy as a historical process 20 1.3 Indigenous territoriality and communal management of natural resources 23 1.4 Methodology 26 1.5 The structure of the thesis 29 2. Páez territoriality through time and space 35 2.1 The pre-Columbian chiefdom and the Spanish invasion 35 2.2 The rise of new chiefs and the Páez resguardo 37 2.3 The demarcation of Jambaló and colonial legal struggles 40 2.4 Independence and the early indigenous legislation 43 2.5 Civil wars and the rise of the chiefs without chiefdoms 44 2.6 Quinine, resguardos and public lands 46 2.7 Law 89 of 1890 48 2.8 Manuel Quintín Lame and “La Quintinada” 50 2.9 Indigenous Cauca after the Quintinada 54 Map 2.1a indigenous chiefdoms 1540 56 Map 2.1b Nasa (Páez) chiefdoms 1710 56 Map 2.2 The Pitayó chiefdom 1720 57 3. The struggle for the repossession of territory and autonomy in Jambaló 61 3.1 Land reform and the indigenous land struggle 61 3.2 Juan Tama’s title and the recuperation of Zumbico 64 3.3 The awakening of consciousness on the haciendas de terraje 70 3.4 Indigenous resistance and the intervention of incora 73 3.5 The founding of cric and the Acta de Bogotá 75 3.6 The recuperation of the cabildo and disappointing negotiations 79 3.7 Contacts with anuc and the consolidation of cric 84 3.8 First land occupations in the middle section 86 3.9 Repression in Loma Redonda, fi rst successful recuperations 89 3.10 incora’s ecs vs. communitarian economic organization 94 3.11 cric’s internal crisis and the Barondillo meeting 101 3.12 Relations with Guambía and the formulation of the Derecho Mayor 103 3.13 The National Security Statute and the Marcha de Gobernadores 106 3.14 The culmination of the land struggle in Loma Gorda and Alta la Cruz 107 3.15 The visit of President Belisario Betancur and fi nal recognition 110 Map 3 Resguardo of Jambaló, sections 113 4. Communal management of resources in Jambaló 117 4.1 Communal management of resources in the upper section 118 4.1.1 Land tenure history 118 4.1.2 Patchwork landscape of individual family plots 120 4.1.3 Social organization and the vereda 121 4.1.4 Regime of communal land (resource) tenure 123 Usufruct rights to land 124 Limitations and scope of usufruct rights 125 Box 4.1 Don Rafael Ulcué (Paletón) 128 Acquisition of usufruct rights 128 Inheritance of usufruct rights 130 Box 4.2 Alejandro Cuetia (Solapa) 133 Box 4.3 María Luisa Dagua (La Laguna) 135 4.1.5 Economic administration under new realities: land shortage 135 4.2 Communal management of resources in the middle sectio – the community enterprise of Chimicueto 138 4.2.1 Land tenure history 138 4.2.2 Land use activities and resource management in Chimicueto 142 Subsistence agriculture 142 Commercial agriculture 144 4.2.3 Agriculture on individually partitioned lands (family plots) 147 Box 4.4 Seferino Dizú (Chimicueto) 149 4.2.4 Internal contradictions within the ecs 149 Unequal distribution of land 150 Problems of organization: antagonistic forms of production, unclear criteria (and goals) 152 4.2.5 Competition between cabildo authority and enterprise authority 155 4.3 Communal management of resources in the lower section, with particular reference to Loma Redonda and El Porvenir 157 4.3.1 Land tenure history 157 4.3.2 Restructuration and re-titling of the lower section 161 4.3.3 The cabildo’s farms 163 Functioning and rationale 163 Land use on the cabildo’s farms 164 4.3.4 Title conversion 166 Box 4.5 Sara Mestizo/Paulino Ull, Mariano Martínez/ María Wilma Mestizo, Adelaide Martínez/ Mario Tulio Passú (Loma Redonda-El Porvenir) 169 4.3.5 Extreme minifundia 170 Box 4.6 Apolinar Zapata (La Esperanza) 171 Map 4 Resguardo of Jambaló, detailed 172 Figure 4 Diagram ec 173 5. Nasa (Páez) governance and the indigenous communitarian economy 177 5.1 What economy do we want? - Internal crisis 178 5.2 The inheritance of Father Alvaro Ulcué and the Proyecto Global 180 5.3 First productive projects and the advent of the drug crops 185 Box 5.1 The new constitution and temporary optimism 188 5.4 Participation in the current revenues of the nation and the conquest of the alcaldía 189 Box 5.2 conpes 2773 193 5.5 Consequences of the opium poppy and coca – a new stance on drug crops 193 Box 5.3 Roadblock of the Pan-American highway and Decree 982 of 1999 196 5.6 The socio-economic study and attempt at internal territorial re-ordering 198 5.7 Analysis of past associative projects and administrative reform 203 Box 5.4 Change in indigenous participation in the current revenues of the state 208 5.8 The tul home garden project and visions of an indigenous economy 208 Box 5.5 Worsening political situation and increasing rural violence 214 5.9 Two views on “lo comunitario” (communitarianness) 214 6. Facing up to problems originating from “the world down below” 225 6.1 Direct democracy Indian style: a local referendum against free trade 226 6.2 The Indian summer of 2005: new indigenous land occupations 230 7. Discussion and conclusions 241 7.1 Reprise 241 7.2 Discussion of chapters 242 7.3 Continuity and change in indigenous autonomy regimes and struggles 252 Bibliography 259 Abbreviations 279 Samenvatting 281 Curriculum vitae 293 Acknowledgements The research that forms the basis for this dissertation offi cially began in the summer of 1999, but only really started when I fi rst set foot on Colombian soil, in September 2000. For a long time, Colombia had enjoyed my special inter- est – at least since my fi rst “illegal” border crossings from the Venezuelan side with Padre Feddema in 1993 – probably because of the many contradictory and wild stories that one hears about the country. On my way from Bogotá to Cali and further to Santander de Quilichao, where indigenous (Nasa) senator Jesús Piñacué, who accompanied me on this journey, entrusted me personally to the cabildo (indigenous council) of Jambaló, I gained the fi rst of many indelible impressions and made acquaintance with people who treated me with unprec- edented hospitality. Contrary to the gloomy accounts I had heard about this “deeply troubled country”, it seemed as if everything and everybody was fi lled with color, music and movement. Already after several weeks of living in the mountains of the Cordillera Central and the white, colonial city of Popayán, and after various encounters with people in towns and in the countryside – in particular with the Nasa – I was completely infatuated. Before long, I decided that my research should not only lead to a scientifi c account, but also to a story; this story – it turned out – is at times painful, but also gives good reason for hope. I would like to express my gratitude to everybody who contributed to this work. Most of all, I am indebted to the people and communities of the territory of Jambaló, too numerous to single out by name, for their courtesy and trust- ing me with their experiences, as well as for their humor, approachability and enthusiasm.