Colombians reject deal to end Farc rebel war
Surprise referendum result risks prolonging armed conflict and plunging country into uncertainty
Voters in Colombia have moved against ratifying a peace deal between the government and Farc rebel forces, a shock referendum result narrowly rejecting the deal after four years of negotiations.
Polls "predicted yes would win with a comfortable margin of 66 per cent to 43 per cent", says The Guardian. But with counting complete from 98 per cent of polling booths, the No vote is ahead by 50.25 to 40.75 per cent, a difference of around 60,000 votes out of 13 million.
The result is "a surprise outcome that risks prolonging a 52-year-old armed conflict", says the Washington Post. It has also left President Juan Manuel Santos "politically crippled" and plunged the country into a period of uncertainty.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Santos said before the vote that there was "no plan B for ending the war". If he stands by his word, "the bilateral ceasefire will be lifted and the war will resume", says the BBC's Americas editor Leonardo Rocha.
However, Farc leaders believe the deal can be salvaged.
"The love we feel in our hearts is gigantic and with our words and actions [we] will be able to reach peace," they said.
Opposition to the peace accord was led by Alvaro Uribe, an influential former president who said the deal was "too soft on the Farc rebels by allowing them to re-enter society, form a political party and escape traditional jail sentences".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
He and senior officials are now calling for the peace deal to be renegotiated, in defiance of Santos's insistence that a No victory would mean a return to war.
-
Separating the real from the fake: tips for spotting AI slopThe Week Recommends Advanced AI may have made slop videos harder to spot, but experts say it’s still possible to detect them
-
Europe sets 2027 deadline to wean itself from Russian natural gasIN THE SPOTLIGHT As international negotiators attempt to end Russia’s years-long invasion of Ukraine, lawmakers across the EU have reached a milestone agreement to uncouple the continent’s gas consumption from Moscow’s petrochemical infrastructure
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
What is Donald Trump planning in Latin America?Today’s Big Question US ramps up feud with Colombia over drug trade, while deploying military in the Caribbean to attack ships and increase tensions with Venezuela
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users