In what will certainly be a consequential decision for Colombia if not its neighbors and the rest of the world, Colombians have rejected a peace accord with the FARC, the rebel group which has been in a state of armed conflict with the government of Colombia for over 50 years, longer than most Colombians have been alive and probably so long that both sides have forgotten what the conflict was about. At The Guardian Isabel Hilton reflects on the reasons for the “No” vote:
Colombia’s long history of violence and its tortured politics offer many possible explanations: Santos is not personally popular and by putting himself and the Farc commander in chief Timochenko front and centre of the agreement, and the lavish signing ceremony organised a week before the referendum, he alienated as many voters as he attracted. “If he had had the grace to step back and let the victims speak,†complained one Colombian commentator before the vote, “it would have been completely different. He would have held the moral high ground and people could have voted for peace without feeling they were being invited to support Santos.â€
Repeated hints from supporters of the president that he and Timochenko were in line for a Nobel peace prize did not help. Why should a guerrilla leader with so much blood on his hands, people complained, be honoured with such a prize?
Read the whole thing. Like Brexit, the changing tide of German politics, and the rise of Donald Trump, the Colombian vote is an illustration of how disconnected the elite are from many of the people they’re trying to rule. I have no idea of how this trend which is so apparent in so many places will play out but it does not have a good feel to it.
At first I thought you were paraphrasing Hillary.
Steve