The objective of this article is to understand the territorial transformations in eastern Caldas (Colombia) due to the effects of social conflict. Through a process-based methodology, the aim was to understand the hidden principles of the interpreted realities, by integrating description, explanation and interpretation. It was found that the armed conflict affected neighborly and solidarity relations and, because thousands of peasants abandoned their lands, the productive spaces was desolated. In conclusion, social conflict is an inherent element of any social relationship but is essential to imprint movement on society; nevertheless, the selected way to resolve a conflict, leads each society on the path of democracy or engages it in a spiral of fratricidal violence.