The Cooperative
The cacao cooperative was a community initive aimed at processing
locally grown cacao in the community itself, rather than selling it to
middle-men who reap most of the profit. With the murders of the
cooperative leaders, threats from the paramilitaries, loss of the crop
and the flight of most of the town's original residents, the
cooperative is currently standing idle. Community leaders told the
delegation that the governor of Antioquia was openly saying he
wanted to get control of the cooperative in order to sell it to foreign
interests. According to sources in San Jose, the governor only needs
to have the mayor of Apartadó to sign over ownership of the
cooperative to the state. Gloria Cuartas is of course not willing to do
that, but the next mayor who takes office in January may be.
Communidad de Paz
San Jose is one of a number of "Peace Communities," a program
coordinated and promoted by Justicia y Paz, the Inter-religious NGO. During
Holy Week in March members of the community signed a declaration
proclaiming themselves to be neutral and not allied with either the
guerillas, paramilitaries or military. As part of this declaration each
individual carries a signed card stating that in addition to refusing to
engage in direct combat on any side, they refuse to provide either
information or material assistance to any armed group. Merchants
have also refused to sell to any member of an armed group. In
reprisal residents say paramilitaries at the check point have refused
to allow people to bring food in to the town and evidence of
malnutrition especially among the children is obvious.