Elusive Peace: International, National, and Local Dimensions of Conflict in Colombia ed. by Cristina Rojas, Judy Meltzer (review)

I78 The Latin Americanist Fall 2006 plagued the community through the rest of the century, finally resulting in the takeover of neighboring landed estatesin the 1970s. In the early twentieth century, many Mapuche leaders were in favor of the division and privatization of land-grant communities because it was a way to keep the Mapuche separate from Chilean society. Due to the Indigenous Lands Division Law, signed on 4 June 1928,indigenous lands could be further divided at the discretion of the state despite existing land titles that had been previously granted to the original members of the communities. Mallon explains that it was the very process of subdivision that inspired the leaders of the community to respond: “the need to confirm the original boundaries of the land grant as part of the process of subdivision was what inspired the community of Ailio to present a division request in 1930,when what they really sought was the restitution of the lands usurped” (4). The author, who became intimately connected to the members of Nicolas Ailio, presents a partial history because the narrative derives from her own support for the community and its peoples . Mallon explains the takeover of the landed estate, RucalBn, from the perspective of the landowner, of the domestic servants and of the members of Nicolis Ailio, treating each of their recollections as an integral part of the community’s historical experience . “To a certain extent it is natural for each side in this dramatic confrontation to emphasize points that are in agreement with their own perspective and position” (95). Mallon’s account of the Nicolas Ailio community’s struggle to obtain usurped territory offers an interesting study and analysis of the Mapuche people. Through the use of numerous interviews with members and leaders, Mallon has compiled a fascinating and educational oral history of this community’s struggle. Complete with a glossary, maps and detailed endnotes, Courage Tastes of Blood would be an excellent book for students of Latin American history or anyone wanting to learn more about indigenous movements in Latin America. Charlene 7: Overturf Department qf History, Armstrong Atlantic State University Elusive Peace: International, National, and Local Dimensions of Conflict in Colombia. By Cristina Rojas and Judy Meltzer (eds.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, p. 261, $56.00. Cristina Rojas, Judy Meltzer, and nine other scholars exam- Book Reviews 179 ine the contemporary evolution of violence in Colombia at local, national, and international levels. In their concise study, the authors analyze the transformation from a national strategy based on negotiation with leftist groups and drug traffickers (often one in the same) to a policy based on military strength developed during the presidency of dissident Liberal Alvaro Uribe (20022006 ). Rojas, an associateprofessor of international affairsat Carleton College, and Meltzer,an analyst at the Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL), have assembled an interdisciplinary collection of nine essays that attempt to understand the violent conflict and ongoing search for peace in Colombia. Tragically, “peace remains elusive” in Colombia (p. 1). During the last four decades,violence in Colombia has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than three million people (out of a population of 44 million) from their homes. In recent years, only Sudan has experienced a higher number of people displaced from their homes. Over one million Colombians have permanently left the country. As such, the violence in Colombia has generated the largest ongoing conflict in the Western Hemisphere. This conflict, however, is not contained within Colombia’s borders. It has overflowed into neighboring nations. The violence in Colombiabegan with the 9April 1948assassination of Jorge EliCcer Gait& in BogotB. During the 1950s, a leftist rebellion developed that increased the level of violence in Colombia. During the 1980s,the number and diversityof guerrilla movements in Colombia increased, which further exacerbated the conflict. Joining the conflict were drug lords and paramilitary groups. Colombia’s dominance of the cocaine and heroine trade in the Western Hemisphere during the 1980sprovided more funding for all parties involved in the violence and “focused international attention on the conflict” (p. 2). The authors contend that the violence in contemporary Colombia can be divided into two distinct periods. From 1982 to 2002, successive presidential...