La Reforma Agraria y la Sociedad de Agricultores de Colombia (SAC). Posicionamientos y propuestas (1960-1975).

Among the opposition to the law, the Society of Colombian Farmers (Sociedad de Agricultores de Colombia - SAC-) founded in 1871 and is a historic symbol of the land owners in Colombia. What were its reactions? What were its proposals? After reviewing the institutional journal entitled "National Journal of Agriculture", this article will reconstruct SAC's position through 1960-1975, under the hypothesis that it exerted a strong pressure to thwart the governmental initiative stemming from various campaigns to sway public opinion, legal actions and political events, while at the same time showing a publicly supporting and approving stance to the land reform. In the context of the execution of the Alliance for Progress (AFP), Colombia drove for the second time a land reform law aimed to guarantee the right of property to millions of peasants and to transform the structure. Despite the law favouring the colonisation of uncultivated land over expropriation and promoting the involvement of several political, labor union and military classes, the most conservative political and economic groups opposed the initiative with different strategies. Finally, in 1972, Misael Pastrana's administration (1970-1974) signed an agreement with those critical groups, known as the Chicoral Pact. Thereafter, the opportunity to grant land to peasants was again dismissed. Among the opposition to the law, the Society of Colombian Farmers (Sociedad de Agricultores de Colombia - SAC-) founded in 1871 and is a historic symbol of the land owners in Colombia. What were its reactions? What were its proposals? After reviewing the institutional journal entitled "National Journal of Agriculture", this article will reconstruct SAC's position through 1960-1975, under the hypothesis that it exerted a strong pressure to thwart the governmental initiative stemming from various campaigns to sway public opinion, legal actions and political events, while at the same time showing a publicly supporting and approving stance to the land reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]