The mainstream press in Colombia and in the U.S. (Caracol, RCN, CNN) responded like a loyal choir with enthusiasm to the death of FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionaria de Colombia) guerrilla leader Mono Jojoy. Mono Jojoy had a been a leading figure in the FARC since 1976, and along with 'Raul Reyes' and 'Tirofijo', is now added to the list of killed/deceased leaders in the past five years.
The newly elected Santos administration in Colombia was quick to claim that this continues to signify the end of the FARC, and shows that the Colombia government strategy of no dialogue and all out war with guerrilla "terrorists" is working. Two points should be made to counter these claims;
1) The killings of key military figures in the FARC do not mean that they're winning. Those military leaders will simply be replaced by next best cadre. The social, political and economic situation in Colombia will continue to supply the FARC with brand new recruits.
2) The Colombian economy is financially dependent on the war against the guerrilla insurgents. It does not benefit the ruling class of Colombia to actually take up a dialogue with the FARC or the ELN (Erjecito Liberacion Nacional) because it benefits from the flow of cash entering from Washington. Additionally, the real crises of Colombia, unemployment, poverty, displacement, deforestation, assassinations of activists, and racism, are all taboo topics, because the ruling class use the FARC as scapegoats and as a diversion from other serious issues concerning working and poor people.
The forces on the left in Colombia continually face state harassment, with anyone to the left of mainstream politics labeled as 'FARC'. However, this hasn't prevented a strong social justice and peace movement from taking form. Senator Gloria Ines Ramirez of the POLO Democratico Alternativo, spoke out against the gun-ho reaction of the Santos administration, and argued for a true road to peace in Colombia by a negotiated dialogue. Nonetheless, much more pressure will need to be put on the ruling establishment to take true peace seriously. This pressure will need to come from state sector worker's who are continuously facing privatization, from displaced indigenous populations, students and poor workers who haven't seen their living standards increased amidst talk of the "new Colombia" of Alvaro Uribe, and from the massive black population who face Jim Crow style racism.
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