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Colombia resumed its path toward peace with leftist rebels yesterday, bolstered by President Juan Manuel Santos’ victory in elections seen as a referendum on his bid to end the 50-year-old conflict. |
Santos picked up 50.95% in Sunday’s runoff against the more conservative Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, validating his insistence on continued negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the smaller National Liberation Army.
Santos, a centre-right politician who received the backing of some leftist parties, had staked his presidency on a negotiated peace with the Farc.
“One of my government’s goals from now on is to teach a lot more often about peace, about the benefits of peace,” Santos said. “I think if I can explain (details of the potential peace deal) well enough, that anybody who did not vote for me (Sunday) will end up wanting peace, and will say yes to me.”
Santos said voters made it clear that they want him at long last to forge peace.
“What happened was a clear sign, a mandate. ... The mandate we heard yesterday means it is time to put life and soul into the process and get it done,” Santos stressed.
The president’s approach was challenged by Zuluaga, who called for stricter conditions as a prerequisite for any accord with the rebels. Founded in the 1960s, the ELN and the Farc have been perennial protagonists in Latin America’s longest guerrilla war. They boast 2,500 and 8,000 fighters respectively.
The conflict, with its violent cocktail of rebels, paramilitary militia and criminal gangs, has left more than 220,000 people dead and forced 5mn to leave their homes over the past 50 years.
In his victory speech, Santos promised a “fair peace” without “impunity.” But he admitted that “we will have difficult moments to guarantee that it is not only fair but lasting.”