Law of Victims and Land Restitution in Colombia: Public Debates and “Glocal” Agendas

Abstract

Law 1448 of Victims and Land Restitution was ratified in Colombia in June 2011. Intergovernmental organizations, countries and nonstate actors supported the Colombian government in the design and implementation of the initiative. Drawing on a framing analysis, namely Entman and Serra's analysis of international frame projection, this article explores the dynamics of convergence and contestation between international and domestic sectors in relation to the legislation's implications for rural development and peace. The results suggest a need to understand the “glocal” flows of political communication in contexts of governance and to illustrate the contradictions emerging from the humanitarian and developmental agendas of international cooperation.

Development vs peace? The role of media in the Law of Victims and Land Restitution in Colombia

“…Another factor, the lack of cultural congruence in the governmental narrative (Entman, 2004) was reflected in the right-wing party Democratic Centre and the national cattle farmers’ association’s view that the government and ‘false victims’ were using the Law to grab land from ‘owners in good faith’ (those who bought the land without knowing it had been stolen), thus increasing left-wing guerrillas’ territorial control (Montoya Londoño and Vallejo Mejía, 2016; Vallejo Mejía and Montoya Londoño, 2015), while hampering investment. Consequently, the government was more successful in promoting its market-oriented rural development initiative based on alliances between big businesses and restituted victims (Montoya Londoño and Vallejo Mejía, 2016).…”