The Colombian government through its chief negotiator Humberto de La Calle have made an historic announcement from Havana, Cuba, after it reached a deal with the FARC on land reform Sunday.
According to de La Calle, the deal with FARC will “radically change the reality of rural Colombia.” Among the talking points with FARC was finding a way to change the “traditional” vision of an agrarian reform into one of “real change.” And to bridge the prosperity gap between the urban and the rural.
By focusing on rural development, the FARC and the Colombian Government hope to boost infrastructure and offer farmers access to credit, investment, and commit to providing services such as clean water to the most needy in the countryside. The deal from Havana essentially looks to monitor the correct application of state services in regions where corruption and the misuse of state funds is, and has been, rampant.
Last month, the FARC’s negotiator alias Jesús Santrich released statements to the media saying that the group hoped to see “white smoke” this month on the issue of agrarian reform, one of the most complex sticking points in previous failed peace negotiations and one of the primary factors that led to the eruption of the Colombian civil conflict 50 years ago. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos tweeted Sunday in a message stating: “It’s a fundamental step towards ending half a century of conflict.”
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The Colombian government brought to the negotiating table in Havana a willingness to discuss substantive land legislation for farmers, such as those enacted in the sweeping Victims and Land Restitution Law and which provides a legal framework for Colombia’s millions of internally displaced to reclaim land taken from them, directly or indirectly, as a result of the armed conflict. The joint FARC – Colombian government statement covers agreements on a wide variety of land-related issues: such as nutrition in rural communities, legalizing land titles, putting unproductive land to use for small farmers, as well as social investment in education, housing and health.
One of the corner stones of the Havana charter looks to reaffirm the “dignity of Colombia’s farming families,” – familias campesinas – and admits that the state must commit to having a greater “presence” throughout its territory; and a critical talking point as many on the political left affirm that the FARC’s very real and historic existence is as a rural force, filling the territorial void where the government has been unable (or unwilling) to exert its dominion.
Although obstacles remain in the Havana process, such as the legal status of FARC combatants once they disband and whether former FARC can engage in politics, negotiator Humberto de la Calle effused optimism stating in his text that “to believe in this peace process is to believe in Colombia.”
The FARC and government negotiators are expressing cautious optimism having reached the first and critical agreement in the Agenda, pointing out that the talks have a “good rhythm” and are proceeding at a faster pace than the public may be aware of. Hence, the media commotion with Sunday’s sudden press conference from Havana.
The announcement of having reached the first major accord has been met quickly with support from politicians and the public, adding credibility to the possibility of very “fast track” negotiated end to this conflict. In the words of Simón Gaviria, president of the Liberal Party, “We Colombians are tired of war. We have to keep betting on peace.” And as Humberto de la Calle confirmed Sunday, the mission with FARC is to “find a civilized exit to a conflict which has reached 50 years.”
