Can Colombia Overcome Fear to Achieve Peace?
The president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, reacted to his defeat in Sunday’s peace deal plebiscite by calling on all sides, and especially former President Álvaro Uribe, to open a dialogue that eventually would lead back to the negotiating table.
Even if this happens, an acceptable version of the peace agreement between the government and the guerrillas — the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC — is uncertain. It will mean redefining the terms of the pact between leaders with opposing views of Colombia’s future.
The vote was not just against 297 pages of hard-to-read small print and a discredited FARC, but also against a president who has seen his popularity plummet, undermined in part by the relentless opposition of Mr.… Seguir leyendo »