Colombia's entrenched poverty is closely linked to its long history of
socio-political violence, which has left 200,000 dead and forced more people from their homes than in any country of the world except Sudan. Colombia's conflict has worsened significantly since the 1980s, when
both left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries started to draw
funding from the drugs trade. Both guerrillas and paramilitaries have been accused of civilian
massacres, political intimidation, and other human rights violations. Indigenous people, workers, and farmers have begun to press the country to protect their human rights and promote economic opportunity for all people.
