The Government and the ELN close the first point of their peace agenda with the signing of a social participation model

The peace delegations of the Government of Colombia and the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) have signed this Saturday in Caracas (Venezuela) a model of civil society participation in the peace process with that group. The document summarizes the demands collected by the National Participation Committee (CNP) among various sectors of society, regarding the political regime, the economic model, environmental policy and education. The announcement represents the first tangible result of the negotiations that President Gustavo Petro has promoted with the insurgency as part of his total peace policy. Furthermore, it means the closing of the first point of the Mexico Agreement, the navigation chart of the peace process.

The delegations of the Government and the ELN, headed by Vera Grabe and Pablo Beltrán, respectively, participated in the presentation of the document. Grabe assured that it is necessary to size and explain to the entire country the recently signed document, whose content is nourished by the demands of thousands of people, organizations and communities. In the words of the chief negotiator, it is a “synthetic” text that reflects the “spirit of peace” and that “looks for ways out and provides solutions.” She also stated that never before had any negotiation with the ELN of any Government gone as far as this one, not only in reference to the bilateral ceasefire, but above all in “the possibility of society participating in the construction of peace.” .

In turn, Beltrán said that this agreement, summarized in about 3,000 words, allows the entire society to say how the country is doing and what solutions are required to solve its problems. “But not only that they say,” he added, “but that they commit to finding solutions.” Furthermore, he marked differences with other peace agreements of the past, stating that his guerrilla agreement with the Government not only seeks pacification, but also the transformation of society. In that sense, he assured that although the ELN is willing to change and the Government is willing to promote changes, it is also necessary for society to participate and commit to them.

The signing of the participation model means a new understanding between the Government delegations and the guerrilla after the crisis caused by the parallel dialogues held by the Executive with the Comuneros Sur front, a split from the ELN. That block, which operates in the departments of Nariño and Cauca, announced its complete break with the leadership of the insurgency at the beginning of May. Weeks before, Pablo Beltrán had criticized President Petro for maintaining this parallel table with the dissident front: “We have said that this front has a disciplinary process and we are solving the problem. We explained this to the Government, but they did not listen. “They have promoted a dismantling and have created a problem for us.”

This is a developing story. There will be more information soon.

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