Ending the Conflict with the FARC: Time for a New Course
By Antonio Navarro Wolff
January 1, 2007
This paper, written by Antonio Navarro Wolff, a leader of the Polo Democrático Independiente party in Colombia, identifies the battle with the FARC as the key element in the Colombian situation and proposes a comprehensive solution to resolve the conflict. Navarro draws on his experience as a senator, Minister of Health, mayor, and leader of the M-19 guerrilla group to argue that neither military pressure nor negotiations alone will succeed given the FARC’s defensive capabilities and enormous ambitions. Instead, he recommends that the government expand its current focus and pursue a more ambitious strategy in the rural sector, including promoting alternative crops, ending fumigation, voluntary relocation, and youth programs.