Colombians vote in election marked by sharp opposites
June 17, 2018
Voting is underway in Colombia in elections pitting a conservative front-runner against a leftist former guerilla. Depending on the outcome, either the country's fragile peace process or its economy could be at risk.
Image: Reuters/N. Doce
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Polling stations opened in Colombia on Sunday for a runoff presidential election involving two candidates with diametrically opposed views on the economy and a landmark peace deal.
The front-runner, the business-friendly Ivan Duque, 41, says he wants to revise the 2016 peace agreement with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC rebels) struck by outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos, saying it is too lenient on the Marxist insurgents. Among other things, he wants tougher penalties for guerrilla leaders found guilty of serious crimes and to remove the former rebels' right to 10 seats in Congress under the deal.
With Petro (l.) and Duque, Colombians are choosing between two extremes
Petro is a former member of the disbanded M-19 guerrilla group.
The elections are the first since the peace deal with FARC, which ended the rebels' involvement in a five-decade conflict in which more than 220,000 people were killed and millions displaced. Santos' efforts to end the war brought him the Nobel Peace Prize, though the award did nothing to improve his record-low popularity ratings.
The two candidates also offer completely opposing views on how to manage the economy in the country of 49 million people.
Duque, who comfortably won the first round last month and has the backing of hard-line former President Alvaro Uribe, has promised to cut business taxes in a bid to buoy up the top export sectors of oil and coal and to help the manufacturing industry.
His leftist opponent, Petro, on the other hand, favors buying land owned by large agro-industrial companies and handing it out to poor farmers in a bid to remedy the country's glaring inequalities. He also wants to move away from reliance on extracting and using fossil fuels toward renewable energies such as wind and solar power.
Critics, who compare his policies with those of former socialist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, say they could undermine the country's economic development.
The latest polls show Duque beating Petro by between six and 15 points. Polls close at 2100 UTC (4 p.m. local time), with results expected within hours.
Colombia, the world's biggest producer of cocaine, is also Latin America's fourth-largest economy.
Colombia's presidential election is an important milestone towards consolidating the peace accord with FARC guerrillas. It was reached after decades of bloody conflict between the state and the FARC guerrilla groups.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Legaria
Difficult path toward peace
The 2016 signing of the peace accord between the Colombian government and FARC rebels was a major, but not final, step towards ending the decades-long conflict. The deal remains a controversial topic in the country and took center stage during the presidential election.
Image: Kaeufer/Moser
Land owners vs. farmers
The conflict's origins date to the 1920s and a struggle over land ownership, which claimed thousands of lives. The 1948 murder of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan (photo), a liberal politician, threw the country into deep crisis. A result was the formation of a number of resistance groups; the Colombian army launched a campaign against "communist farmers."
Image: Public Domain
FARC and ELN
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) were founded in 1964. The former wanted to break up the monopoly of land ownership, whereas the ELN formed out of a radical student movement and ideas of liberation theologians such as Camilo Torres (photo). The Colombian government fought both groups with the support the United States.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Paramilitary groups
The conflict deepened in the 1980s with the introduction of right-wing paramilitary groups in the service of the landowners against FARC. Both sides were closely linked to drug cartels. Four presidential candidates and countless left-wing politicians were murdered by paramilitaries between 1986 and 1990.
Image: Carlos Villalon/Liaison/Getty Images
Ingrid Betancourt kidnapped
In February 2002, the government cut off peace negotiations with FARC after guerrillas hijacked a domestic flight. Days later, the rebels struck again, kidnapping presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Alvaro Uribe went on to win the election that May and escalated military operations against FARC, ruling out further negotiations. He was re-elected in 2007. Betancourt was released in 2008.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Peace talks begin
Juan Manuel Santos was elected president in 2010. Two years later, a law concerning compensation for victims of violence and the return of land came into effect. Peace talks between the government (photo) and FARC officially began that November.
Image: Reuters
Ceasefire
At midnight on August 29, 2016, the permanent ceasefire came into force. "A new chapter in Colombia's history begins on August 29," Santos wrote on Twitter. "We have silenced the weapons. The war with FARC is over!"
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Legaria
Peace deal with FARC
On September 26, 2016, President Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, a.k.a. Timochenko, signed the peace treaty, ending the 52-year-old conflict. The signing took place in Cartagena and was attended by 2,500 people.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Vergara
Setback
Distrust in FARC manifested itself in a pre-referendum campaign against the peace treaty, led by the conservative ex-president Alvaro Uribe. To the surprise of many observers, a thin majority of Colombians voted to reject the deal on October 2, 2016.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/I. Valencia
Peace Prize for Santos
The international community threw its support behind the treaty's supporters. Just five days after it was rejected in a referendum, Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The ceremony took place in Oslo in December 2016.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Schwarz
Parliamentary ratification
Colombia's parliament ratified the peace treaty on November 30, 2016, following a list of changes to the deal's original language.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Legaria
Disarmament
FARC rebels gave up their weapons in three phases. On June 27, 2017, at the end of the UN-controlled disarmament process, Santos wrote: "For me and all Colombians, today is a special day. It's a day when weapons were exchanged for words."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/A. Piñeros
The new FARC
The now disarmed, former rebel group chose to renew itself as a political party and disavow violence during a convention on August 27, 2017. The guerrilla's founder, Rodrigo Londono (photo), was elected the new party's head. He was unable to run for president, however, due to his poor health.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Vergara
FARC at the polls
For the first time since the end of the armed conflict, FARC put up its members as candidates in the parliamentary election, which took place on March 11, 2018. The party received just 50,000 votes, but secured five seats in the senate and lower house of parliament, respectively, as guaranteed by the peace treaty. The conservative party of former President Uribe won the election.
