Today the UK officially leaves the EU, three-and-a-half years after the 2016 referendum.
In 2016, a referendum was held in Colombia as well. Like the EU referendum, it was advisory, aroused strong feelings and divided the country. Each side accused the other of disinformation and manipulation of the media. The ballot paper contained a single ‘yes/no’ question:
Do you support the final agreement to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace?
In Colombia, too, the referendum result was unexpected: just over 50% of voters rejected the peace deal. The ‘no’ vote was strongest in Colombia’s cities; in rural areas and small towns, a higher proportion of people voted ‘yes’.
Perhaps in contrast with the UK, the Colombian referendum was preceded by four years of research into the conflict, including many meetings between guerrilla leaders and members of the Colombian government. And, in marked contrast with the UK, the referendum result was not treated as final – the referendum had, after all, been advisory. In response to the rejection, new consultations were held and adjustments made to the treaty, the final version of which was signed in November 2016.
The deal aimed to mark the end of a conflict that, according to our guide on a tour of downtown Medellín, goes back to the country’s birth in 1810, when Spain’s two-party system (liberal and conservative) was transplanted to Colombia. Poverty, inequality and the international business of cocaine have all been major players. In the second half of the 20th century, successive governments, left-wing guerrilla groups, the military, drug traffickers and millions of ordinary Colombians all became embroiled in an escalating struggle akin to a war that put Colombia on the world map like a blot of black ink.
At the heart of the conflict sat a drug war lord whom Colombian tour guides refuse to call by name, referring to him instead as ‘the guy’ or ‘the infamous criminal’. For almost two decades, Pablo Escobar squatted on Colombia with, amongst other things, unimaginable amounts of money, at least 500 mansions dotted across the country, 50 airplanes and a private zoo.
In 2020, Colombians refer to their country as ‘post-conflict’. The war is over; the peace process ongoing. Progressive politicians like mathematician Sergio Fajardo (elected mayor of Medellín in 2003, and governor of Antioquia between 2012 and 2016) have promoted change through urban innovation, local democracy and a strong emphasis on education. Bogotá recently elected its first woman (and openly gay) mayor, a member of the country’s Green party who campaigned on a platform of equality and change.
But Colombia’s new president, Yvan Duque, campaigned against the peace agreement and sits in the ‘iron fist’ tradition of his predecessor and mentor Álvaro Uribe. My Spanish teacher talks about how recent assassinations of social leaders in rural areas have been all but ignored by the current government. She is one of the 1.3 million Venezuelans who have settled in Colombia in recent years. Not that long ago, Colombians fled to Venezuela to escape the violence in their country; these days, more than 4,000 Venezuelan immigrants cross the border into Colombia every day.
Post-conflict, Colombia is a country in flux. It is also full of small acts of kindness. Muchissimas gracias! I keep finding myself saying to Colombians I meet along the way. Con mucho gusto!they reply cheerfully. And I know that they mean it.