Columns & Blogs

If the results of the plebiscite had been the opposite and the YES had won by a narrow margin, the implementation of the accord would have been politically very difficult in any case because we would have a similar political situation to the one today: a technical tie between the YES and the NO, mixed with a great rate of abstention and a great geographic and social diversity in voting.

The plebiscite breaks the political chess in the country.

There are two political roads towards a revision of the peace accords. One is a new National Front that, like in 1957, is a pact behind closed doors between two factions of the political class (those supporting Santos and those supporting Uribe), this time complimented by an accord with the FARC.

The NO campaign on the peace plebiscite mobilized the homophobic machinery based on lies and the demonization of a historically discriminated community. We were the scapegoat of the peace debate.

The current binary in Colombia presents an opportunity to ask when populations should vote on specific policies.

A day before the plebiscite and knowing that several of us are tired of hearing and reading about peace, I make a last call to those who are thinking about abstaining from voting on the peace accords. 

Today we vote on the peace plebiscite, which is the main decision that we will have as citizens in the coming decades. Thus, we should make an effort to participate. For those of us without a defined vote, I would like to share the analysis that led me to decide YES. 

When he speaks about "recovering the public space," Peñalosa utilizes a war discourse that dehumanizes the most vulnerable in the city and creates a mentality of "us against them."

In addition to the end of a half a century war, the most positive aspect that the process that will likely end this Sunday with the victory of the YES leaves behind is the strengthening of public debate and citizen participation in politics. 

Peace needs our voice and vote. Since today until October 2nd, we should use our words so peace can see the light. 

One of the innovations of the Special Jurisdiction Peace within the Peace Accord is the way in which it combines retributive and restorative justice, which is better, at least in its design, than many other transitional arrangements.