The brutal armed confrontation, which lasted more than 50 years, claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a million people, divided families, and millions of Colombians have been forced to leave their homes and places of origin.
The former President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos left his follower not the best legate. To date, peace in the country remains a key issue, given Colombia’s “bloody” past. However, this time the election campaign was filled with an abundance of debates on other “pending” issues that are no less important for Colombians.
During the election campaign all candidates have promised, first, to fight against corruption, despite numerous statements by supporters of different political specters that are, unlikely, able to convince voters who intend to fight seriously against corruption, keeping its promises. After all, as Colombia’s political past clearly demonstrates, a firm stand in rhetoric does not mean a difficult position after the elections.
The next three candidates could not enter the leaders after the first round of voting. One of them was the former Mayor of Medellín and the Governor of the State, Sergio Fajardo, of the Colombian center-left coalition. Well-known professor of the University, Fajardo, was considered as a moderate candidate during the whole debate.
And, finally, another participant in the first round of voting, Humberto de La Calle, who negotiated with the “FARC” from the name of the Government, leading them to a peace agreement, whose ardent defender has remained since then. However, the election campaign did not give him tangible results and the support rating of this 72-year-old politician remained within 5% throughout the debate.
In the last two months, Iván Duque, from the party of the “Democratic Center”, which at that time had the support of 35 to 41% of the citizens, was the main favorite of the polls. His followers continue “to the vanguard” of former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, the main critic of the peace agreement with the “FARC”.
As a result of the second round of voting, held on the 17th of June, despite the brutal debates, the winner was the permanent favorite of the entire electoral campaign: Iván Duque. According to the National Electoral Council of Colombia, after counting 99.8% of the votes Duque scored more than 10.3 million votes (53.97%), and his opponent, Gustavo Petro, received a little more of 8 million votes (41.81%).
The fate of the Peace Agreement, which the authorities of the Republic concluded with the rebels, now depends on the new President of Colombia. Iván Duque from the “Democratic Center” party, stands out in the positions of the ideological front of the extreme right. At the same time, it has the support of Christian parties, religious fanatics to its programmatic points and a series of statements about the “reform” of the peace process actually means its abolition and not its subsequent implementation. To date, the problem is not that the “FARC” will take up arms again. However, the insurgent factions can also develop rapidly, and the commanders of the “FARC” will be “online” again. And then, a big problem for the country may be that Colombia will be condemned to live under the new onslaught of violence. How Duque can “balance” the solution of the conflict of half a century and prevent the repetition of the “bloody” page of the history of Colombia in the coming months. Meanwhile, it must restore the faith of the Colombian people in the observance of the main state postulates: equality, justice and peace.