La Via Campesina shares this newsletter to inform about the implementation and construction process of peace in Colombia; with special emphasis on Rural Reform and advances in the policy of total peace.
The Havana Agreement created the conditions for alternative and progressive sectors to win majorities in the legislature and the country’s presidency, representing millions of people who voted for a negotiated solution to the war. The new Government’s commitment to peace has been evident in its first two months, in which pending commitments in the Agreement have been promoted and progress has been made in the dialogue processes with the different illegal armed groups.
We welcome with hope the renewed peace dialogues between the Colombian State and the National Liberation Army (ELN) that will resume the agenda of negotiations after the first week of November. The reopening of these dialogues, suspended for more than 4 years, and the willingness of another 22 illegal armed structures to join the new government’s total peace policy, set a promising scenario for closing the chapter of the war in Colombia.
At the close of this newsletter, the Government announced the signing of an agreement with the Colombian Federation of Livestock Farmers (FEDEGÁN) to buy three million hectares of land and distribute them to peasants. This agreement can contribute to the democratization of access to the land, considering that the livestock union owns 39 of the 53 million hectares of land in use in the country. In September, progress was also made in the formalization of 683,000 hectares of land, representing at least half of the total number of formalized properties in the past 4 years of government.
Despite the momentum gained over the last few months in implementing the Agreement, the scourge of violence remains a constant. In 2022 alone, 83 massacres were committed and 137 social leaders have been assassinated; there are already 1,368 leaders assassinated since the signing of the Agreement in November 2016. Even with the advance of violence, social and popular organizations continue to organize themselves in defense of life, land, and territory, promoting humanitarian dialogues with the different actors in the regions of the country to achieve a peaceful solution to the armed conflict.
The political changes of recent months give a new air to the hopes for peace in Colombia, a process that La Via Campesina continues to accompany, weaving bonds of solidarity and hope among the peoples of the world.
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