Land redistribution: the state, plantation owners and peasants in the Magdalena banana zone (Colombia) during agrarian reform (1961-1976)

T he history of agrarian reform in the banana plantations of northern Magdalena, one of Colombia's traditional agro-industrial regions, illustrates the scope of an unprecedented rural development policy and the rapid failure of its redistributive component. This article explores, at the local level, the evolution of the strategies that entrepreneurs, officials and peasants employed to promote, weaken or direct agrarian reform towards redistribution or agricultural modernization. Through analysis of institutional archives, official and academic publications and oral history interviews, this research highlights the key role of local actors. It shows how violence has been an important tool for limiting land redistribution and highlights political counterreform and market pressure on reformed farms.