Download This Paper Open PDF in Browser Add Paper to My Library Share: Permalink Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely Copy URL Buying Off the Revolution: Evidence from the Colombian National Peasant Movement, 1957-1985 Documento CEDE No. 45 102 Pages Posted: 17 Nov 2022 See all articles by María del Pilar López-UribeMaría del Pilar López-UribeUniversidad de los Andes, Colombia - Department of Economics Date Written: November 15, 2022 Abstract This paper shows that franchise extension is not enough for commitment to redistribution and that in the absence of de facto empowerment, the threat of revolution is intact. In particular, the paper studies the relationship between a democratic reform that extends the political rights of a threatening group and redistribution during periods of revolutionary threat. Far from causing an increase in broad redistribution (e.g. social spending), I show that democratic reform -the state organization of a social movement that extends political rights- can be used to identify rebel leaders and provide private goods to them, in return for preventing social unrest and demobilizing their supporters. I study the context of the organization by the state of the most important social movement in Colombian history -the National Peasant Movement (ANUC)- over almost three decades (1957-1985), in which the threat of a Communist Revolution was perennial and throughout which the government gave ANUC direct political participation at the local level in the executive branch and economic support. Using three newly digitized data sets of Colombian municipalities, I find that rather than leading to broad redistribution to the benefit of the peasantry, the reform instead led to an increase in targeted redistribution in terms of public jobs and lands. In particular, by matching the names of the peasant leaders to the beneficiaries of the land reform, evidence suggests that peasant leaders disproportionately benefited from land reform, especially in municipalities where the communist threat was higher. Finally, I find suggestive evidence that buying off the rebel leaders was an effective counter-revolutionary strategy as it led to fewer revolutionary activities after the support of ANUC was terminated (1972-1985). Keywords: Threat of Revolution, Democratic Reform, Redistribution, Social Movements, Political Empowerment, Conflict. JEL Classification: D70, H76, H41, N46 Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation López-Uribe, María del Pilar, Buying Off the Revolution: Evidence from the Colombian National Peasant Movement, 1957-1985 (November 15, 2022). Documento CEDE No. 45, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4278944 María del Pilar López-Uribe (Contact Author) Universidad de los Andes, Colombia - Department of Economics ( email ) Carrera 1a No. 18A-10Santafe de Bogota, AA4976Colombia Download This Paper Open PDF in Browser Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN? Place Job Opening Paper statistics Downloads 0 Abstract Views 3 PlumX Metrics Related eJournals Universidad de los Andes Department of Economics Research Paper Series Follow Universidad de los Andes Department of Economics Research Paper Series Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic FOLLOWERS 8,113 PAPERS 519 This Journal is curated by: Leopoldo Fergusson at Universidad de los Andes, Colombia - Department of Economics Feedback Feedback to SSRN Feedback (required) Email (required) Submit If you need immediate assistance, call 877-SSRNHelp (877 777 6435) in the United States, or +1 212 448 2500 outside of the United States, 8:30AM to 6:00PM U.S. Eastern, Monday - Friday. Submit a Paper Section 508 Text Only Pages SSRN Quick Links SSRN Solutions Research Paper Series Conference Papers Partners in Publishing Jobs & Announcements Newsletter Sign Up SSRN Rankings Top Papers Top Authors Top Organizations About SSRN SSRN Objectives Network Directors Presidential Letter Announcements Contact us FAQs Copyright Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. To learn more, visit Cookie Settings. This page was processed by aws-apollo-5dc in 0.181 seconds