The election of Gustavo Petro as Colombia’s president marked a historic break with two centuries of liberal-conservative dominance and opened a new chapter of hope for social and territorial justice. Petro, a former guerrilla fighter and ex-mayor of Bogotá, came to power as a political response to the 2021 popular uprising. Among hisla promises, agrarian reform stood out as one of the most anticipated.
On July 5, 2023, the government achieved a major victory with the passage of Legislative Act 01/2023, which amended Article 64 of the Constitution. The reform formally recognized campesinos (small farmers) as subjects of rights and entitled them to special protection. It legally bound the state to promote gradual access to land, guarantee food sovereignty, and recognize campesino territories.
“You resisted, despite past governments. Now we want you to resist with this government, alongside it, with a government that supports you,” Petro said at the time, celebrating the constitutional change that recognized campesinos as “subjects of rights.”
Land is central to Colombia’s internal conflict and history of inequality: 81% of productive land is owned by just 1% of landholders. In 2025, the government acknowledged that 8.5 million people, mostly campesinos, had been forcibly displaced from their lands, according to the national registry of conflict victims.
Massacres have also disproportionately affected rural populations. Colombia’s Truth Commission reported more than 4,000 attacks between 1958 and 2019, resulting in over 24,000 deaths. Agrarian reform is seen as a crucial step toward the “total peace” vision outlined by Petro’s administration.
New legal frameworks and territorial tools
Following the constitutional reform, the government introduced new legal instruments to implement agrarian reform, which scholars and social movements describe as unprecedented.
The administration created a new legal category for campesino territories: Agro-food Campesino Territories (Tecam). It also expanded Campesino Reserve Zones (ZRC), a framework that had existed since 1994. While only seven ZRCs had been formalized before Petro’s term, the number doubled to 14 under his administration. Additionally, about 148,000 acres have been returned to victims of forced displacement.
The 2023 constitutional change explicitly recognized campesino ways of living and organizing, including economic, social, cultural, and ecological dimensions.
The 2023 National Development Plan paved the way for Tecam recognition, formalized by Decree 780/2024. Meanwhile, Decree 1147/2024 updated the rules governing ZRCs, requiring sustainable development plans and allowing them to be located in forest reserves under Law 2/1959.
As of July 2025, Colombia officially recognizes 14 ZRCs covering 1.73 million acres, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Seven were approved in 2024 alone, in areas such as Tuluá, Pradera, and Alto Sinú.
Tecam implementation is still in early stages. The National Land Agency (ANT) has received 23 formal requests and launched five administrative processes. However, campesino leaders say actual demand is much higher: Leonor Yonda, vice president of the Coordinador Nacional Agrario (CNA), reports about 120 requests and eight formal submissions to ANT.
ZRCs involve land delimitation and sustainable development plans. Tecams, by contrast, do not change property status but recognize traditional land use and prioritize those areas in agrarian programs. “These territories are about autonomy, agroecology, and resisting extractivism,” said Yonda to BdF, calling Tecams a form of grassroots power.
Another key milestone was the creation of an Agrarian Jurisdiction. A draft law currently under debate would assign legal authority to specialized agrarian judges to resolve land disputes. “We need judges who are trained to handle land conflicts, this has been neglected for decades,” Yonda explained. She acknowledged progress under Petro, but insisted popular pressure is still crucial to implementation.
The administration also supported the National Campesino Convention, held in December 2022 with over 1,000 proposals. It resulted in a permanent mixed commission for agrarian policy.
Though the government has expressed support, campesino groups remain independent. “The movement made it clear that we won’t act as a mobilization arm for the government,” Yonda emphasized.
Rural violence and political resistance remain key barriers
Despite major legal gains, the rural situation remains volatile. Reports from the UN and Human Rights Watch continue to document assassinations, threats, forced displacements, and restrictions on movement, especially in areas like Catatumbo, Cauca, and Magdalena Medio.
Even amid Petro’s “total peace” policy, violence against social leaders, indigenous peoples, campesinos, and former guerrilla fighters remains high.
Since 2016, 270 campesino leaders, 356 Indigenous leaders, and 94 trade unionists have been murdered, according to data compiled by Indepaz. The worst years were under far-right president Iván Duque (2018–2020), with over 250 killings annually. While violence has declined under Petro, it continues in many regions.
“Violence, displacement, and killings are still rampant, as bad as under [former president Álvaro] Uribe,” said Luis Alfredo Burbano of Corporación para la Educación e Investigación Popular (Cedins) and the National Union Institute. “Now the violence comes from armed groups operating with impunity.”
Militarization, allegedly to combat crime, has facilitated paramilitary and extractive operations, according to human rights lawyer Sonia Milena Lopez, from the Congreso de los Pueblos and the Joel Sierra Foundation. “Campesinos are still being forced from their land,” she said.
Agrarian reform also faces political hurdles. Despite initial popular support, the Petro government’s ability to govern has been undermined by opposition from economic elites. “The right uses its power in government to renegotiate everything,” said Burbano, citing agribusiness exporters and private healthcare monopolies as major obstacles.
Budget cuts and legislative blockades have slowed agrarian reform implementation. Land purchases—which must be voluntary and priced at market value, as agreed with the National Federation of Cattle Ranchers (Fedegán)—have been delayed due to fiscal limits, legal disputes, and insecurity.
Popular movements argue this approach legitimizes land theft. “Saying the government will buy land stolen through violence is unacceptable,” said Yonda.
A turning point for rural Colombia?
The creation of ZRCs, Tecams, and the agrarian judiciary marks a turning point in Colombia’s institutional history. But its success depends on the state’s ability to ensure safety, operate in remote areas, and maintain open dialogue with rural communities.
Colombia has about 16 million campesinos, or 30% of its population, according to national statistics agency Dane. In rural areas, 42.5% live in poverty, compared to 28.6% in cities.
For the CNA, poverty is rooted in an export-oriented, extractivist development model. “Agribusiness is our enemy, they oppose everything,” Yonda stated. “That’s why land occupations remain part of our strategy.”
In October, campesino movements plan new mobilizations to demand compliance with existing agreements and continued agrarian reform. “We told the government we’ll keep occupying land. We know who the land thieves are. We’re reclaiming it for food sovereignty and the campesino people,” Yonda concluded.
