The Government and the ELN have closed the first point of their peace agenda with the signing of the Social Partnership Model

The peace delegation of the Colombian government and the guerrillas 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 the different sectors of society regarding the political regime, the economic model, environmental policy and education. This declaration represents the first concrete result of the dialogue that President Gustavo Petro has promoted with the insurgency as part of his overall peace policy. In addition, it means the conclusion of the first point of the Mexico Agreement, the navigation chart of the peace process.

The delegations of the Government and the ELN, chaired by Vera Grabe and Pablo Beltrán respectively, attended the presentation of the document. Grabe assured that it is necessary to shape 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 which “seeks ways and offers solutions.” He also added that never before had any government had any negotiations with the ELN to this extent, not only in terms of a bilateral ceasefire, but above all in terms of “the possibility of society’s participation in the construction of peace.”

In turn, Beltrán said that this agreement, summarized in almost 3,000 words, allows the whole of society to have a say in how the country is working and what solutions are necessary to solve its problems. “But they not only say that,” he said, “but they are committed to finding solutions.” In addition, he marked the differences with other peace agreements of the past, saying that his guerrilla agreement with the government not only seeks peace, but also a 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 necessary for society to also participate and commit to them.

Rodrigo Botero, a member of the government delegation, also highlighted the importance of this Saturday’s event: “It is already a consensus for the negotiating table and, therefore, is seeking the greatest possible participation for the necessary changes. “We are carrying out an unprecedented historical process.” A fundamental part of this process is the CNP, which has had 78 meetings across Colombia, attended by more than 8,500 representatives of social organizations from different sectors of society. Likewise, almost 3,200 organizations were integrated throughout the country, meetings were held in 19 prisons in Colombia and meetings with the diaspora in 14 countries in America and Europe.

The signing of the participation model means a new understanding between government delegations and the guerrillas after the crisis caused by parallel dialogues organized by the executive with the Comuneros Sur Front, a breakaway from the ELN. That faction, which operates in the departments of Nariño and Cauca, announced its complete separation from the leadership of the rebellion in early May. A few weeks ago, Pablo Beltrán 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 disunity and created a problem for us.”

The agreement also comes at a critical moment for the government’s peace policy, which is most affected by the public order situation in the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, in the southwest of the country. This same week, Morales’ Cauca municipality was the target of an attack by the so-called Central General Staff (EMC) – a dissident group of the extinct FARC with which the government has contacted in search of a peace agreement -, which attacked the police station and the headquarters of the Agrarian Bank with explosives. Four people died and three others were injured. In addition to Jamundi and Dagua in Valle del Cauca, there have also been harassment in nearby towns such as Suárez, Miranda and Jambaló.

Below is the full document of the agreement announced in Caracas this Saturday.

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