An Island in a Sea of Blood: The Ubaté Valley During the Colombian Violencia, 1946–58

Abstract

The article deals with the hacienda and peasant worlds of the Ubaté Valley during the civil war in Colombia (1946 to 1958), a period generally referred to as la Violencia. Unlike other areas of the country, the Ubaté Valley enjoyed an unusual degree of stability during this time. This study examines the circumstances that led to such an atypical outcome. Briefly stated, the study suggests that the local power system worked relatively independently of national structures and even counterbalanced their effects, such that maintaining the peace was “inevitable.” Careful strategies were developed, mainly by local politicians, for this purpose, so as to maintain effective political control over the peasantry.