Fumigación y conflicto

About the authors

Ricardo Vargas

Ricardo Vargas Meza is a Sociologist with a Masters in Social Philosophy from the National University of Colombia. He is an author, among other texts of Fumigation and Conflict: Anti-drugs policies and the delegitimisation of the Colombian state (Tercer Mundo, TNI and Acción Andina, December 1999); Drugs, Armed Conflict and Alternative Development (Acción Andina Colombia, June 2003, Bogotá); Narcotrafficking, war and anti-drug policies (Acción Andina Colombia, Novib - Oxfam The Netherlands, June 2005); Alternative Development in Colombia and Social Participation: Proposals for a change of strategy (DIAL, September 2010, Bogotá).

Vargas writes frequently for various publications and journals, both in Colombia and internationally. He also does international consultancy on issues of development, illegality and security.

Recent publications from Drugs and Democracy

De wankelende ‘Weense consensus’ over drugsbeleid Nederland is met zijn drugsbeleid in de achterhoede terecht gekomen. Zo zijn Uruguay en de Amerikaanse staten Washington en Colorado, met hun besluit de cannabismarkt van teelt tot gebruik te legaliseren, Nederland voorbijgestreefd.	Between Reality and Abstraction At the International Conference on Alternative Development (ICAD), held 15-16 November 2012 in Lima, the Peruvian Government continued to insist on the relevance of “Alternative Development (AD),” with particular emphasis on the so-called San Martín “miracle” or “model.”
The illicit drugs market in the Colombian agrarian context The distribution of land and its unjust use are the major causes of violence in Colombia. For this reason land issues are the starting point of current peace talks between the Santos government and the FARC guerrillas	Bogotá’s medical care centres for drug addicts The opening in September 2012 of the first centre for drug addicts in Bogota is a welcome first step towards more humane and effective drug policies in Colombia’s capital city, but to be effective needs to be integrated into proper overall drugs strategy.