Has the takeover of land to cultivate global commodities, such as African Palm, intensified the expropriation?
There can be no doubt that the intensification of African Palm cultivation in the Pacific coast region has been a major force behind the expropriation of black peasants. Large conglomerates, consisting of national and transnational capital, operate throughout the region. And Colombia’s President, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, has declared on many occasions that the cultivation of African palm is a major economic export strategy for Colombia’s future. The reasons behind this are interesting. While the cultivation of African palm in Colombia goes back to the 1930s, there has been a significant increase in the area under cultivation since the 1990s. In fact, Colombia is today the fourth largest palm oil producer in the world, after Malaysia, Indonesia and Nigeria. Rather than for soap and animal foodstuff, however, palm oil is today used in the production of biofuels, specifically biodiesel. This is an emerging industry of potentially huge economic impact. It seems clear that Colombia’s President h
