Colombia needs peace for economic revival

It would be wrong to say that all Colombians have rejected their government’s peace deal with the Marxist guerrillas FARC when the turnout for the referendum was only 37percent. The accord was turned down by a razor-thin margin of 50.2percent to 49.8percent. Had the two-thirds who abstained voted, the result would have been very different. The referendum shows only the half picture. The other half remains hidden from the view. There are many FARC victims who vouch for peace, despite their bitterness towards the guerrillas. A woman, whose husband was kidnapped by the group and later got killed, believes ‘No’ is pain, sadness, loss, war and death. And ‘Yes’ is for hope. Another man, who lost his legs due to FARC’s atrocity decades back, today says, “Everything starts with forgiveness.” Many wounds can’t be healed. But only through reconciliation can any nation pave the path of peace for posterity. Colombia had a golden chance to offer peace to its future generations, but it seemed to have lost it, at least for now.
It took four years for President Juan Manuel Santos to hammer out the deal with FARC. Now that the pact has faced a shock defeat and there’s no ‘Plan B’, the country is reeling from uncertainty. Santos says he will not give in. And FARC chief Rodrigo Londono assures “peace will triumph”. However, they need to relook into the deal and discuss it threadbare. Can the concessions — which the detractors feel are like giving too much leeway to FARC — be reduced? Can the deal be salvaged? Can the opponents be made to convince that amnesty being given to some FARC members doesn’t mean giving them impunity. The leader of the ‘No’ campaign —former president Alvaro Uribe who has called for a national pact — must sit down with Santos and Londono to find a way out which is acceptable to all the sides.
The discord that’s reflected in the referendum is having a cascading effect on Colombia’s economy. The financial markets are feeling the pressure. The peso and government bonds have dived. The passage of the tax reform bill, which is aimed to offset a loss of oil revenue, is also hanging in the balance. The deal’s failure has dealt a massive blow to the country’s credit worthiness. Industrial production and retail sales will plunge. Investors who were planning to pump in money in the insurgency-infested areas pinning hopes on a positive plebiscite will now opt out.
The deal had envisaged to provide land, loans and basic services to the impoverished rural communities. Now, these regions will continue to languish. And
underdevelopment and poverty will keep fuelling the illicit drugs trade. The agrarian reforms that were being floated by the government will also be severely hit and show up in the economic landscape. All this could have been prevented.
Colombia’s strife has killed 260,000 people, left 45,000 missing and displaced 7 million. The conflict needs to be put behind. Following rejection of the deal, there are fears the violence might relapse. FARC says the ceasefire will hold. But won’t it be a wobbly one? Truce is a transient remedy. Bringing FARC into the mainstream is crucial to peace. Without peace, Colombia’s economic revival will remain a far cry.