Recently I posted on the Colombian peace deal between the government and the FARC rebels after about 50 years of violence and conflict….but the big story was that the people of Colombia rejected the deal through their vote.

After the news broke the world started asking………. WTF?

This journal is the best of Neocon PR…..keep that in mind while trying to discern what went wrong with the peace deal.

Surprising everyone, Colombians rejected the FARC peace deal because it ultimately rewarded the rebels for years of violence. So now it’s back to the negotiating table to get it right this time.

By a razor-thin margin of less than half a percentage point, Colombian voters narrowly rejected a proposed peace plan that would have formally ended the longest-running war in the Western Hemisphere.

Almost everyone thought the referendum would pass, that it was a mere formality after years of painstaking negotiations in Cuba, but no.

The UK’s Independent calls the vote “Farcxit.” Indeed, the peso crashed hard against the dollar for the same reason the British pound fell after Brexit—international markets hate uncertainty, especially where war and peace are concerned.

Source: What Just Happened in Colombia? | World Affairs Journal

Back to the negotiating table……but first…..there are always 2 ways of looking at any situation…..

The day of 2 October will probably be remembered as the most unexpected plot-twist of Colombia’s history. In a referendum, Colombians voted to against the peace treaty between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Against all expectations, the NO side won by less than 54,000 votes and obtained a surprising 50.2 per cent majority, rejecting a deal that would have put an end to more than 52 years of internal conflict.

The outcome of the referendum has had three clear consequences. First, the agreements between President Santos and FARC Supreme Commander Rodrigo Londoño, also known as Timochenko, signed in Cartagena on 26 September, are now virtually suspended, and the peace deal is caught in a legal limbo.

Source: Colombia’s two faces — New Internationalist

Colombia needs to be watched….there is more going on than the referendum…..will the ugly face of violence remain?