Colombia is making progress in delivering land to peasant and ethnic communities

By: María Josefina Arce.

The government of President Gustavo Petro is continuing to fulfil its commitment to carrying out the Agrarian Reform, with the aim of ending Colombia's status as the most unequal country in Latin America in terms of land distribution.

This is one of the points contained in the 2016 Peace Agreement between the government of former President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People's Army (FARC-EP).

Under Petro's leadership, significant progress has been made in this area, although the authorities claim not to be satisfied and express their commitment to continuing the work of achieving justice and settling a historic debt.

Recently, in the presence of President Petro, more than 4,500 hectares of land were handed over to peasant communities in Magdalena Medio, a north-western region of the country affected by armed conflict.

According to reports, the land was recovered by the state after being usurped by former paramilitary leaders.

Recovering the land was not easy and required considerable effort and investigation by the authorities because, although the criminals lost ownership more than a decade ago, these lands were still under the control of illegal structures.

Their recovery was not easy and required a great effort and investigation by the authorities, because although the criminals had already lost their ownership more than a decade ago, these lands were still under the control of illegal structures.

This delivery is in addition to the one carried out earlier this month in the department of Cesar, in the northwest of the South American country. One thousand 919 hectares of land were handed over to benefit peasant families.

These actions represent a big step towards the government's goal of delivering 600 thousand hectares of land to Colombian peasants this year to improve their living conditions.

Another of the government's strategies are the peasant reserve zones. Although they do not imply the delivery of land titles, these areas promote the economy in rural territories, food production and consolidate sustainable and resilient agrarian systems.

The government of President Gusta Petro is not stopping in its goal of guaranteeing the rights of ethnic and peasant communities in order to put an end to decades of injustice and continue building peace among all.