Repression of the land invasions would continue under the new government. This indicated that, at least with regard to land redistribution, López Michelsen's approach would be similar to that of Pastrana. To understand this continuity amid other changes, it is necessary to consider again how the state's agrarian policy was conditioned by the ways in which changes in the model of capitalist accumulation defined new priorities for the dominant classes.

The agrarian policy of López Michelsen

Under the pretentious slogan of transforming the country into “the Japan of South America,” López Michelsen's administration worked to consolidate the new export orientation of Colombia's capitalism. Helped by a favorable situation in the international market, the new economic scheme had boosted capitalist accumulation to unprecedented levels. However, the accompanying imbalances and dangers were also clearly visible. The increased exploitation of labor, indispensable to successful international competition, had been fully realized: Between 1970 and 1974, the real wages of industrial workers went down by 25 percent and the wage difference between Colombian and U.S. workers was substantially widened. The resulting trade union agitation had been severely repressed during 1973 and 1974 by Pastrana's government, adding to the brutal blows inflicted upon the students in 1971 and to the policy of continuous and ruthless repression of the peasant movement.

Pastrana's administration had begun amid accusations of electoral fraud by the followers of Rojas Pinilla, and its use of coercion had further eroded its credibility and legitimation.