The Minister of Agriculture, Jhenifer Mojica, affirmed that this measure makes it possible to vindicate the struggle of two generations of farmers who have waited more than a century to see this moment.
“It is a triumph for all the peasantry. After a century of struggle, Colombia finally recognizes those leaders who gave their lives seeking what was approved yesterday. In the past, similar projects have foundered ten times. Two generations of farmers have waited for this moment,” said the minister.
The official stressed that both initiatives were part of the campaign promises of the current President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro. After debates in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, both projects were approved.
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“Today the presidential promise to recognize Colombian peasants’ right to their lands, their territories, to recognize their traditional practices and their contribution to the environment is fulfilled… It is a historic moment for the peasantry, which has been the main victim of the armed conflict,” he emphasized.
Yesterday, the plenary session of the House of Representatives approved the bill that recognizes peasants as subjects of rights and special protection. This was the last of the eight debates necessary for this constitutional reform to become a reality.
The draft legislative act modifies Article 64 of the Political Constitution to explicitly recognize that the peasantry is subject to rights and special protection. This afternoon, it will go to a joint conciliation between the Senate and the House.
That same Tuesday, the Senate plenary also approved the draft legislative act that creates the Agrarian and Rural Jurisdiction, which will allow, according to Minister Mojica, “peace to reach the countryside through a judicial system to resolve all differences related to the rights to land, to vacant lots and to goods for public use”.
The agrarian jurisdiction had already been contemplated in the first point of the Peace Agreement signed in November 2016 between the Colombian State and the extinct FARC. According to Minister Mojica, more than six years later, this debt is finally being settled.