The symbolic reconfiguration of the sociopolitical body of a displaced, fragmented, dismembered, dispossessed, and invisible nation is a demanding task that Colombian citizens who have faced the devastation caused by various modalities of violence for several generations have begun to undertake. Taking into consideration only the last sixty years, the traditional parties (Liberal and Conservative), the guerrillas (FARC, ELN), the paramilitary (AUC), some sectors of the State Forces (Army and National Police), and the criminal organizations associated with narcotrafficking and sicariato have engaged in an ongoing power struggle to control territories, appropriate resources, gain national and international political and social status, and intimidate and assassinate the Colombian citizenry populace to make it comply with their respective agendas.

Various extended periods of intense confrontations throughout the national territory account for much of the devastation afflicting Colombia today. In the first half of the twentieth century, two major events, instigated by the political leadership of both parties in their struggle for power, marked the period known as La Violencia (1946–58): the assassination of the charismatic Liberal leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on April 9, 1948, and the sectarian rule of Laureano Gómez (Conservative president 1950–3). During the years of La Violencia, mounting tensions, competition, and divisiveness between the two parties finally erupted, with the Armed Forces and the Catholic Church taking sides in favor of the Conservative Party. Conservatives actively engaged in rural and urban violence against agrarian movements and workers. Bipartisan brutality against individuals or towns identified with a given political affiliation also took place. The terrorized population experienced displacement as well as loss of property, brewing resentment and a thirst for vengeance. The legacy? Likely more than 200,000 lives lost, a devastated countryside, and deep national wounds.

Statistics provided by the Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica (CNMH/National Center for Collective Memory) tell a more recent but equally chilling story regarding the so-called armed conflict.