WHAT IS COLOMBIA'S CIVIL WAR?: PUTTING THE ISSUE INTO CONTEXT Since 1964, and presumably ending in 2016, the federal government of Colombia has been waging war against its own rebelling, militarized citizens. It has been a very disorganized war in the sense that there have been plethora of rebel factions, drug cartels, human traffickers, and other fugitives, creating a large array of criminal culture in this nation and making it more difficult to contain. The largest and most historically notorious adversary to Colombia's federal government is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The second largest is the Catholic ELN (National Liberation Army). The Marxist FARC rebels are currently portrayed in the media as successful, well-dressed politicians that are smiling and shaking hands with the current president: Juan Manuel Santos. While Colombia has certainly climbed out of the abyss of the war compared to the late 20th century, there is currently bad blood, mistrust, and the cry for justice by Colombian citizens and public figures against rebel opposition and, less commonly, by the rebel groups towards the federal government. Younger generations may not empathize with the former politicians opposing the current peace deal passed on November 24th, 2016 because they did not live through the chaos. At one point, FARC was supplying 80% of the world's cocaine. They have been a legitimate threat to national security since the Cold War, killing approximately 220,000 people across the span of this war. They were known for other felonies such as emerald trafficking, rape, and the murdering of American human rights workers in Venezuela back in the 1980's. Putting the nation in a state of peril and economic paralysis, the notion of peace was introduced in 1998. Through my chronological analysis, it seems that there is slightly less opposition to peace as the decades progress, leading to discussions of a formal deal. COLOMBIA REFERNDUM VS. CONGRESSIONAL DEAL
On October 2nd, 2016, Colombia held a public referndum to decide whether or not to go forward with peace and political co-operation with the FARC. This deal was rejected by an extremely slight margin (50.22% voted "No", 49.78 voted "Yes"). There was said to be a poor voter turnout as well.
On November 24, 2016, President Juan Manuel Santos' administartion and the FARC signed a revised peace deal without allowing any public voters' input. The new deal will be revised by the country's congress of which Santos' governing coalition holds a majority. Therefore, this deal will most likely be ratified and upheld whether the citizens enjoy it or not. |