Colombia's FARC rebels have rebranded as a political party now they need a leader
(MENAFN - The Conversation) Ever ince Colombia igned it fragile, conteted peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia (FARC) in November 2016, the big quetion ha been: What will thi no-longer-armed inurgency do next?
On Aug. 28, the FARC made it official reply. In it firt congre ince diarmament , the Marxit guerrilla group unveiled Colombia' newet political party: the Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común, or Commoner' Alternative Revolutionary Force.
'The new party will be built with many voice and divere idea,' announced Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, the FARC' top commander, via Twitter.
In keeping their well-known acronym but etting aide the violence, the FARC eem to be embracing the opportunitie and obligation of the 2016 accord. Thee enabled former combatant to participate in Colombia' political ytem after diarmament – including, controverially, allocating the group 10 congreional eat for a period of two four-year term.
A the campaign eaon for the 2018 preidential and congreional election heat up , everyone i now wondering whether thi inurgency turned political party can find it place on Colombia' political tage.
New horizon
For five decade, the FARC ued violence to puh it Marxit agenda of land reform and anti-capitalit revolution, foretalling political olution to ocial problem and ilencing the voice of million of Colombian.
In doing o, it alo launched a roiling armed conflict that turned eight million people into victim of homicide, terrorim, grievou injury and diplacement.
The FARC maintain that it reorted to armed truggle becaue the Colombian political elite ran the country like a cate ytem, ignoring the truggle of the rural and peaant clae, which for much of the 20th century accounted for 70 percent of Colombia' population .
The FARC i now hoping to poition itelf a the party for thee marginalized voter. To ucceed, it mut develop new organizational capacitie, including the ability to proce internal dient and debate while maintaining party unity – a tricky feat conidering that everal FARC unit have already reneged on the peace agreement .
It mut alo build a political platform that can reach a wider egment of the Colombian electorate. Today, three-quarter of all Colombian live in citie . Voter in Bogota or Cali do not necearily hare the need of the rural ector that haped the FARC' political agenda.
The FARC' leaderhip i clearly aware that low popularity i a weakne. Recently, FARC leaderhip invited the former occer tar Rene Higuita to run a a FARC congreional candidate, and they have made other clear bid to attract the general population.
There i certainly room for new voice in Colombia' political debate. In the pat, peace and ecurity have topped Colombian' lit of concern . But ince the peace proce, voter have turned their attention to other iue, including corruption and it role in the tate' inability to deliver ervice.
The FARC' rhetoric during it armed truggle often centered on health care, public education and economic development, o it i now cloely aociated with demand for better tate ervice. A uch, the group ha the potential to promote a political agenda of incluion and to advocate for more effective olution to the problem that concern Colombian acro the country.
Room for debate
Sign of change are already afoot. Earlier thi year, when the citizen of Buenaventura took to the treet to protet low wage and lack of baic ervice , newpaper reported dipaionately on the marche, giving voice to protetor' grievance.
In the pat, media commentator were generally quick to dub uch marche a 'FARC-inpired.' Thi effectively delegitimized peaant' complaint of tate neglect .
Thi ubtle hift illutrate the political opening created by the peace proce: The FARC' abence a a violent actor make a proper democracy poible in Colombia.
But the ucce of the new FARC will not depend entirely on it ability to attract public upport. In thi fractured nation, the group mut alo be een a a force for reconciliation.
And, paradoxically enough, thi i made poible by the fact that many powerful, hawkih Colombian politician tried to derail lat year' accord , which allowed the new FARC to poition themelve a agent of peace.
The Colombian etablihment i unintentionally empowering the new FARC in other way, too. For decade armed conflict and fear were ued a a hield to cover up malfeaance by government official and tate intitution. Peace ha made corruption far more viible , and it now it quarely on the FARC' agenda.
The Green Party, Liberal Party and ome conervative partie, too, are tarting to join the anti-corruption cruade .
Show me a leader
There' one major hurdle, however, in the FARC' thu far fortuitou rebirth: it graying hierarchy.
The average age of the FARC' top leaderhip i 65, and Comandante Lodoño Echevarri, who alo goe by Timochenko, ha pent recent month in Havana under the care of Cuban doctor after a heart attack and eizure in July.
Timochenko i a repected rebel leader who uccefully ended the group' war on Colombia' government, omething numerou predeceor had failed to do. Some even anticipated that he would be nominated for a joint Nobel Peace Prize alongide Preident Juan Manuel Santo. He wan't.
Health iue aide, guerrilla commander and party bo are very different job. To build it contituency, the party will need a powerful and charimatic leader who embrace a dicoure of peace and reconciliation, not war and confrontation.
One obviou contender among the many candidate currently receiving peculation i Luciano Marin, alo known a Ivan Márquez, a former politician and FARC member who led the guerrilla group' peace negotiation in Havana.
But there are alo many civilian who came to the FARC from the labor movement, activim and the left-leaning Marcha Patriótica party. Chooing a leader unburdened by the group' militaritic pat would project a new image for the party. A young leader could peak more directly to the youth of Colombia.
Whoever take the helm of the new FARC mut repreent all it member, merging the interet of it newet rank with thoe of it core contituency. It will require diplomacy and tact to form a united front from thee diparate tream – peaant, former combatant, urbanite – and ell the country on a party born of both violence and peace.
Sutaining that political intitution will prove another challenge. In the pat, demobilized armed group like the populit ADM-19 have found that their political movement were initially popular but ultimately hort-lived.
If thi political movement fail, too, it would give fodder to radical ector that till promote armed truggle a a mean to political change.
In an irony familiar to other pot-conflict nation , peace now ret heavily in the hand of thoe who waged war. The FARC' ucce i in Colombia' bet interet, but it' far from guaranteed.
- Democracy
- Armed conflict
- Latin America
- FARC
- Colombia
- Peace and Security
- Colombia peace agreement
- Global perpective
- Colombian peace proce
Source: https://menafn.com/1099601369/Colombias-FARC-rebels-have-rebranded-as-a-political-party-now-they-need-a-leader
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