Repression and dispossession in the implementation of the Eastern Antioquia hydroelectrical complex

Abstract

This article sketches the role of state-sponsored violence in the implementation of the Eastern Antioquia hydroelectrical complex between 1964 and 1998. Through an historical analysis based on literature and media review, this paper argues that the ‘development’ strategy conceived by the Antioquia’s elite to meet the growing demand of energy of the Medellín’s industry was imposed on the local population, leading to systematic land appropriation and to forced displacement. Moreover, the persecution of the pacific local grassroot organizations directly triggered a 30-year-long cycle of violence that destroyed the region’s social fabric, while benefiting the interests of the industrial elite of Antioquia.