El No Más desde la perspectiva teórica de los movimientos sociales

This article is a case study of the “No Más” movement, a chapter of peace activism in Colombia that took place at the end of the nineties, leading to the closure of political spaces for peace building and democracy. The question of how civil society strengthens democracy has been widely discussed in the literature, with “old,” “new” social movement scholars debating about what identities and structures of power are more central for social change. However, with few exceptions, there has been an implicit assumption about the progressive or democratic character of contentious struggles, especially when actors lack material and cultural resources other than mobilization. The result has been to dismiss or ignore the unpredictable meanings that concrete movements and actions assume. Addressing this limitation, and based on interviews conducted with peace activists and an analysis of movement discourse, I argue that the No Más was an authentic yet atypical social movement and the prelude of a great transformation in the meaning of collective political actions for peace in the country. Triggered by the massive kidnappings by the Army of National Liberation (ELN) guerrilla group during the first half of 1999, and despite its progressive roots in the larger “Citizen Movement for Peace” that was actively demanding a peace negotiation with different guerrilla groups throughout the nineties, the No Más increasingly aligned with the government strategy of militarization that would dominate during the following decades. I emphasize the “politics of culture” deployed by the movement, offering an interpretation of the meaning that its demands of immediate negotiation, cease fire and respect for the civil population acquired in their specific historical context. In the form of persuasion and not coercion, the No Más movement contributed to the loss of legitimacy of peace negotiations as a valid strategy to put an end to the war in Colombia, even as it demanded an end to multiple war atrocities. This change would have lasting effects in terms of the politics of peace building well into the 21st Century.