The Fifth Congress of the National Liberation Army (ELN) outlined an ideological agenda promoting socialism, the right to rebellion, and positioning the insurgency as a political project defending popular interests. Ironically —given their methods— they called for maintaining ethical conduct and caution to protect the civilian population.
At Venezuela Política, we continue to reveal various aspects of the document “Revolutionary War, Popular Power, and New Nation,” which emerges from the Fifth Congress of the National Liberation Army (ELN). This document exposes the true nature of the communist proposal aiming to establish itself in Latin America at any cost.
The document underscores the necessity of unity and convergence among revolutionaries and social movements to build a national proposal, even through international alliances, while reviving the idea of the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinator (CGSB).
Additionally, the document outlines a clear strategy for the movement’s economy and finances, promoting resource centralization, austerity, and prioritizing revolutionary funding over individual enrichment, as well as establishing principles for defending territory and nature.
Strategic Guidelines of the Fifth ELN Congress
The strategic guidelines from the Fifth Congress of the National Liberation Army (ELN) focus on four fundamental pillars:
- Political unity,
- Ideological legitimacy,
- Economic self-sufficiency, and
- Territory defense.
The organization aims to redefine its role and image, presenting itself as a political-military actor with a broad social base and a strict revolutionary ethic.
The most critical points are:
Unity and Convergence:
The rebuilding of strategic alliances, such as the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinator (CGSB), is prioritized, along with creating a broad front with social movements, leftist sectors, progressives, and even religious groups at both national and international levels. Mutual respect and consensus are presented as non-negotiable principles.
Legitimacy and Public Image:
To position the ELN as a “people in arms” representing popular interests. They assert the importance of consciously working to avoid harm to non-combatants and the middle class, in addition to adopting a policy of acknowledgment of mistakes and asking for forgiveness from victims, differing from submission to the state.
They aim to compensate for the severe damages caused by their actions with a call for forgiveness, which seems more like a hollow gesture than a genuine desire for correction.
Economic Self-Sufficiency:
Transforming the financial mindset among militants towards a centralized, austere, and collective model that eliminates individual enrichment, deemed a “counter-revolutionary crime.”
They propose financing sources such as:
- Imprisonment — more accurately, kidnapping —
- Taxes — in other words, extortion —.
Resource acquisition is subordinated to political criteria, such as protecting communities and nature.
Territory and Drug Trafficking:
The ELN positions itself as a defender of common goods, food sovereignty, and nature’s rights, promoting a popular territorial ordering.
At this point, the document reaffirms the directive to “continue the delineation from drug trafficking” as a central axis of its territorial policy, which may not be mere empty words, as, seven years after the congress, drug trafficking has intensified as a financing method for terrorism.
Revolutionary Unity
The document establishes the central objective of generating processes that promote unity among revolutionaries, social movements, and other sectors to build a national proposal through concrete struggles.
Reactivation of the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinator (CGSB):
Facilitating conditions for restoring and projecting the CGSB with a joint command and ultimately toward a “Unified Revolutionary Direction.” This process must be accompanied by respect for behavioral norms with the masses and ethical standards for unity.
International Reach:
The ELN’s call for unity transcends Colombia’s borders, extending to the continent and the world. They propose programmatic agreements with leftist, democratic, and progressive sectors globally, as well as bridging connections with other revolutionary organizations for cooperation, coordination, and, in certain cases, organic unification.
Ecumenical Dialogue:
Inspired by liberation theology, they aim to advance dialogue with various churches and religious trends to collaborate in building a national project.
Principle of Respect:
Any unity process must start from mutual respect and recognition between parties, developing consensually rather than imposingly.
Ideological Foundations and Legitimacy Search
The document affirms the aim of fostering the need for a new nation and socialism, legitimizing the right to rebellion and the ELN’s political project as a representative of the popular classes.
Repositioning Image:
Positioning the image of the insurgency as a “people in arms” that interprets and accompanies popular sentiment. The goal is for the guerrilla to be seen as a “social and political fighter.” To achieve this, they instruct that great care must be taken not to affect the interests or integrity of the population; to avoid harming the middle class; and to exercise caution in administering justice to non-combatants.
Revolutionary Ethics and Coherence:
A new way of doing politics must be established based on truth, ethics, and democracy. There “can be no contradiction between what we say and what we do,” and it is argued that “when the ELN makes an agreement, it will do so because it will fulfill it, and if not, it won’t.”
Policy on Mistakes:
Mandatory policy of acknowledgment, forgiveness, and non-repetition directed at victims and society. However, this act is clearly differentiated from repentance before the government, given their status as rebels.
Ideological and Diplomatic Offensive:
Strengthening the ideological offensive to break the “media blockade” and communicate their ideas. Simultaneously, promoting diplomatic outreach, especially in the Americas, to foster brotherhood, solidarity, and support for the Colombian people’s struggle.
Ideological Action Axes
To materialize these objectives, six priority work axes are defined:
| Axis | Task Description |
|---|---|
| Formation | Continue internal and broad militant training guided by Marxism-Leninism, unifying methods and pedagogies to form a “critical national militant,” emphasizing leadership. |
| Communication | Articulate the organization’s media and enhance mass media to deepen the “battle of ideas,” creating alternative networks, gaining spaces in mainstream media, and exploiting the success of military operations and political struggles. |
| Research | Prioritize research as an essential activity for political action. Establish a “Elenas Research Center” that interacts with other think tanks. |
| Culture and Art | Advance the creation of an artistic and cultural movement at regional and national levels that contributes to developing national identity. |
| Structuring | Complete the construction of an Ideological Department with teams responsible for each axis and links to both urban and rural War Fronts. |
| Youths | “Youth-oriented work” is established as a specific axis of labor. |
Economic and Financial Strategy
The aim is to develop an independent economic base to support the ELN’s plans and the social force of change, based on building popular power.
Change in Financial Mindset:
A radical shift in how finances are conceived is required, moving beyond individualistic and paternalistic views. The guiding principles are:
- Collective responsibility — every militant must be obligated to resource acquisition;
- Collective ownership, as resources obtained belong to the revolution, with personal enrichment deemed a “counter-revolutionary crime.”
Centralization and Solidarity:
Advance toward “full economic centralization” so that War Fronts (FG) with greater capacity can support those with less, under the premise that “those with less knowledge and need must retain more.”
Austerity and Transparency:
The use of resources must be austere, transparent, ordered, and prioritized according to national plans. Moving away from consumerist mentality to a strategy of saving and investment is sought.
Political Primacy:
Two basic criteria are established for setting taxes:
- The political criterion of protecting nature and communities must take precedence over the objective of obtaining finances.
- To follow a national action line, with economic actions directed by central agencies. Explicitly prohibiting harmful actions against neighboring countries.
Social Economy:
It is considered vital to rebuild the social economy for the popular movement to attain autonomy. This involves:
- Motive and support communities in developing peasant economies to guarantee food sovereignty and stop illegal crop production (the same illicit crops they promoted).
- Encourage associative investment with communities.
- Teach people to “struggle with their own efforts” during social mobilizations.
Structure and Centralization:
Centralizing finances is essential. A national finance structure must be built to coordinate taxes and resolve economic disputes among regions.
Financial Acquisition Lines
The document explicitly details the following sources of income:
- Income from acts of deprivation of freedom.
- Income from taxes.
- Income from expropriation.
- Income from contributions and donations.
- Income from profitable self-managed projects.
View on Territory, Habitat, and Nature
Defending and reclaiming the territory and common goods of the nation from the sovereignty and autonomy of the peoples, in harmony with nature.
The defined action lines are:
- Water defense: Fight for water as a common public good and for the right to minimum vital.
- Food sovereignty: Defend and promote peasant and community economies.
- Popular ordering: Build alternative life plans and establish a new national territorial ordering from the grassroots.
- Natural goods: Preserve and defend nature’s goods, making rational and sovereign use of them.
- Rights of nature: Promote political-legal struggles for recognizing nature’s rights.
- Structural reforms: Lead the management of common goods with the horizon of comprehensive agrarian and urban reforms.
- Respect for diversity: Interact, support, and respect various ethnic, cultural, and peasant territorial expressions.
- Regional integration: Generate lines of regional integration against monocultures, mega-mining projects, and dispossession.
- Delineation with drug trafficking: An established programmatic point is to continue distancing from drug trafficking.