Cours d'économie, a peaceful Colombia

A PEACEFUL COLOMBIA

Léontine Menand –Adrien  Naudan – Elinor  Daumer – Julie Merle

Introduction

Affected for 50 years by an armed conflict, Colombia is beginning to emerge and appears as one of the most promising countries of the South America.

On 26 September 2016 was signed the first ever bilateral and definitive ceasefire between the Colombian authorities and Farc. So the first agreement to stop the war between both sides.

However, the country still faces many problems that it tries to solve over the years. So, today we are going to give our best to make you aware about what is really Colombia?

1. A country subjected to violence doing everything to change it

Colombia still have the image of the country the most violent in the world, due to its high crime rate, the drug traffickers, the prostitution, the poverty and the civil wars from the last century.

This increasing of violence has for first origin, a period of civil war called " la violencia " which occur between 1948 and 1960. Everything started when the leader of the liberal Party Jorge Gaitán was murdered in Bogotá. The death of this very popular man who frightened many of his opponents, provoked riots very violence called "Bogotazo".  

It is during this long period of conflict, that Colombia becomes the major place of the cocaine traffic in the world. The drug trafficking generated a lot of violence between the main drugtraffickers.

The cartel of Medillin of Pablo Escobar who made a real army of sicarios (hired killers), recruited in the poorest areas and train to kill. The second one, was the cartel of Cali.

In 1988, the war began between both main cartels and it ended when Escobar died in 1993. Following the dismantling of theses cartels, other actors took over the traffic in the 1990s and until now a lot of drug is still made in Colombia.

1. 50 years of social conflict

The 2nd of October Colombians have rejected the peace agreement to terminate fifty-two years of conflict with the Revolutionary armed forces with 50.2% against 49.8%.

Some examples of the measures in The agreement:

- The end of the confrontations, with the disarmament of the guerrillas under supervision of a mission of " ONU "

- The exit, without weapons, guerrillas of the zones of concentration where they were

- A moral and material repair of the victims, and a penalty for the persons in charge of serious crimes

- A minimum of five seats in the chamber of deputies and the five seats to the Senate for FARC

- An agrarian reform for the distribution of lands, the access to the credit and the installation of basic services in zones of conflict

- The end of the illicit cultures in the spheres of influence of FARC, in particular coca extract, matched by alternative sources of income for the farmers and of a program of public health, to fight against the drug trafficking. Also, a fringe of the population is also afraid that the pacification of Colombia commits the country on the way of reforms which will allow, finally, the expression of social demands until then suffocated by the armed conflict.

Both parties agreed for stop the fire. The president of FARC said that he would use only the words as the weapon of construction for future. However, the cancellation of this vote throw Colombia in the unknown.

Another guerrilla warfare remains very active, the ELN, the National Liberation Army which has, one time, be almost associated with the negotiations with Farc. But their refusal to release the held people did not allow it. THE ELN decreed a unilateral cease-fire until the referendum of October 2nd.

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