In the second round of presidential elections in Colombia was won by the candidate of the right-wing party “democratic center” Иван Дуке. For him, voted more 53 процента избирателей. his rival, former mayor of Bogota, Gustavo Petro, almost scored 42 percentage of votes. Against all voted 4,2 percent. turnout was 53 percent. According to the head of the National Directorate of Civil Status Acts Juan Carlos Galindo, the elections were held without serious incident and became the safest in the history of Colombia, Sergei Nikitin writes in “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”.
Speaking to supporters after the announcement of election results, 41-old Duque confirmed its intention to amend the peace agreement, reached with rebel group “Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia” (FARC). Appreciating the FARC disarmament (which was transformed into a political party, I changed the name, but retained the old acronym) and integration of its members into civilian life, he nevertheless stressed, that group leaders, guilty of crimes, They should be put in jail.
“We appreciate this world, which needs to be amended (in the peace agreement), and these amendments will be, to the real victims were the focus. We guarantee, that the truth will prevail, justice”, - Duque said, essentially, It is a political protégé of former President Alvaro Uribe, who is known for his sharply negative attitude to the FARC, and achieved great difficulty c peace agreement.
remind, what, despite the global public approval, this agreement has not received absolute support among Colombians. After his detention in 2017 Duque was even promised “break an agreement to pieces”. Later, he changed his tone to a more calm and said no longer to abolish, and to amend the peace agreement.
According to the expert Control Risks Group of the British consulting company Sergio Guzman, Duque victory threatens to bury all the achievements of the current president Juan Manuel Santos - starting with the implementation of the provisions of the peace agreement with the FARC and ending his economic initiatives. Such concerns shared in the Santos administration, claiming, now for the peace process in Colombia, the most difficult times are coming. by the way, for his role in the settlement of which lasted more than half a century of conflict between the government of Colombia and the FARC guerrillas Santos himself he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2016 year.
Renowned Spanish lawyer Enrique Santiago, who advised the FARC during the negotiation of a peace agreement, considers, that the exclusion of this group from participation in political life is fraught with the destruction of the peace process. The expert of the British Center for Conflict Analysis CERAC Jorge Restrepo does not exclude, that the former rebels of the FARC again go into the jungle, if they feel, that the authorities threatened them. According to the newspaper Gardian, already about 1,2 тысячи членов FARC снова взялись за оружие, joining the other still warring radical rebel groups, including the National Liberation Army (THE N), that after disarmament FARC remains the largest. Not surprising, Duque that have spoken out against the government to begin peace talks with the ELN.
One of the warlords ELN callsign Uriel complained, that the authorities in favor of a peaceful settlement in name only. After all, everyone thought, that the agreement with the FARC to provide guarantees and legal protection of members of the group will be given. However, in reality this is not observed, and all signs of deterioration around the peace process. And with the new president, it can generally degrade, claims warlord.
curious, that in Colombia the elections were held against a background of unfounded accusations against Russia. In an interview with the newspaper Tiempo, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Frank Mora, Now in charge of Latin America at the International University of Florida (FIU), He stated, that Moscow was trying to interfere in the electoral campaign in Colombia, using social networks to create an environment of insecurity among voters. Mora alleged a few months watching this intervention. According to him, there were no Russian interest in a particular candidate, but supposedly obvious, the Kremlin is primarily aimed at determining policy, capable of creating conflict between Bogotá and Washington, and thus damage the relations with the United States of Colombia. According to Mora, Moscow tried to discredit the traditional media of Colombia, feykovye publishing news in social networks, thereby creating a climate of, in which voters are lost. “It requires no extra costs, It creates chaos, and plays into the hands of Moscow”, - believes Mora.
