Behind the Political Agenda. The media analysis of the Law of Victims and Restitution of lands

Abstract

After several failed attempts to implement Agrarian Reform in Colombia and one month after his swearing in ceremony, President Juan Manuel Santos presented Congress the Land Restitution chapter of the Victim´s Law, which seeks to return property of their land to more than four million displaced persons caused by the armed conflict experienced by the country for more than 60 years, which had its origins in the social and land ownership inequality. From the field of political communication, the government is not the only player in the course of the law´s approval, so are the opposition, the victims, and the media. However, the focus of the main Colombian communication outlets seems to emphasize only the historical importance of the law, which is also the focus of the government, and casts aside the criticism of its implementation, the scant participation of the victims in its drafting, and the more than 20 leaders assassinated by illegal agents that oppose restitution.