Anarchism in Colombia was a political movement that emerged from the disparate social movements of the 19th-century, becoming an organized force in the 1910s and 1920s. After a period of recession, the movement re-emerged in the late 20th century, with the rise ofcounter-cultural,left-wing andindigenous resistance movements.
Throughout the 19th century,utopian socialism emerged in Colombia as part of theartisans' movement againstfree trade.[1] Anarchism didn't surface as an organized movement until 1910, when Colombian students, artists and workers began to take up the ideas themselves.
The first public expression of anarchism was made during the Barranquilla strike of 1910, in which militant anarchist workers participated. The first workers' organizations in Colombia were formed byanarcho-syndicalists in the early 1910s: including the formation of theUnión Obrera in 1913. Anarcho-syndicalists subsequently organized a number of actions, such as a workers' demonstration on May 15, 1916 and theCartagena port workers' strike of 1920.[2] By 1918, a broad workers' movement has developed throughout Colombia, particularly inBarranquilla, Cartagena andSanta Marta, with a strike being organized by banana workers of theUnited Fruit Company for the first time. This was followed in 1919 with a strike by the railway workers ofGirardot, as well as a workers' strike in the capital ofBogotá. In 1924 and 1927, strikes were organized by workers of theTropical Oil Company inBarrancabermeja, but this ultimately resulted in 1,200 workers being fired and the government declaring war against the strike's organizers. By 1925, Colombian anarcho-syndicalists began to publish periodicals, such asVoz Popular,Organización andVia Libre. However, after the Banana Massacre of 1928, any anarchist activities or apolitical unionist struggles in Colombia largely ceased, due in part to the state's repression and the rise ofBolshevism.[3]
Anarchist ideas saw a resurgence with theNadaist movement of the early 1960s. As acounter-cultural movement which drew from the philosophies ofexistentialism andnihilism, it came as a reaction to theLa Violencia, a civil war between Colombianliberals andconservatives, as well as themilitary dictatorship ofGustavo Rojas Pinilla.
In the 21st century, Colombian anarchists maintainsocial centers, a presence in theColombian punk scene, some social programs, and the occasional organized protest and resistance actions.[4]
