Delegations

Between May 12th and May 20th, over 150,000 Colombian campesinos (peasant farmers) of African, indigenous, and mestizo descent shut down the Pan-American Highway across southwestern Colombia. This mass mobilization (which was also a general strike, and which was accompanied by demonstrations of solidarity within cities in the region) was organized by the Popular Unity Process of Southwest Colombia, a regional coalition of campesino associations, labor unions, and other progressive groups.

U.S. anti-war activists traveled to Colombia in July on a human rights delegation organized by the Colombia Action Network. The delegation met with trade unions, peasant farmer associations and student organizations. FENSUAGRO (Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria, or the National Federation of Agricultural Farming Unions), Colombia’s national federation of peasants, hosted the U.S. activists. The delegation visited rural regions and documented the living conditions of Colombian peasants.