Wayuu people's positions regarding the acceptability of political amnesties in Colombia

Abstract

This study mapped the diverse personal positions of the Wayuu indigenous community in Colombia regarding the acceptability of political amnesties in a post-conflict context. The sample was composed of 130 indigenous adults between 18 and 74 years of age residing in the Guajira region, who were shown 12 amnesty-related scenarios. These scenarios were composed according to a three-factor design: (a) the level of detail that the amnesty applicant (former combatant of some illegal armed group in Colombia) was willing to disclose, (b) whether or not the applicant asked for forgiveness, and (c) the severity of the punishment endured by the amnesty applicant (A cluster analysis yielded three qualitatively different positions: never acceptable (18%), almost always acceptable (9%) and depends jointly on the quality of the information and remorse (73%). For the vast majority of Wayuu community members, a political amnesty for a former combatant of a Colombian armed group is not acceptable. For those who have accepted it, amnesty is only possible if the applicant proves that he or she is not causing harm to third parties. And it would also be conditioned to the particular situation of each case. A collective amnesty process has no chance of being considered acceptable.