The POS and the peace process in Colombia: the case of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army in its process of party adaptation

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of the party adaptation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army, FARC-EP, based on Sidney Tarrow's conception of the political opportunity structure —POS—. It aims to answer the question of what were the different factors of the POS present in the Colombian political and social context and how did they influence the FARC-EP to abandon arms and join the Colombian political system as a new political party with a presence in democratic institutions, leaving arms behind and exchanging them for words. Methodologically, a documentary analysis is carried out from the theoretical perspective of the concept of Tarrow's political opportunity structure, collecting the main influencing factors in the concept of the EOP. It concludes that the FARC-EP knew how to take advantage of the different opportunities open in the EOP through increased pressure on different sectors to achieve the desired changes and thus culminate in the approval of the Havana Peace Agreements and their adaptation to a political party.

It is concluded that the FARC-EP knew how to take advantage of the different opportunities opened in the EOP through an increase in pressure on different sectors to achieve the desired changes and thus culminate with the approval of the Havana Peace Agreements and their adaptation to a political party.