INTERVIEW
11
E2C : Can you explain why the referendum resulted in the rejection of the peace agreement ?
CRP : I identify four reasons . First , the peace agreement is a very complex and controversial document of more than 300 pages . Almost nobody took the time to read what it actually said . The government made an effort to translate the information in more pedagogical versions , but it wasn ’ t enough . Second , the peace agreement was made public only one month before the referendum . It was a very short amount of time to fully understand the agreement . Third , Colombia is a polarized country . Therefore , people were all the time exposed to very different and even contradictory messages from the media and political leaders . Fourth , there was a huge campaign against the peace agreement which was led by the former president Alvaro Uribe . He is still very popular and whatever idea he promotes , has an important impact in Colombia .
His campaign , however , used unverified information to spread messages of fear . He and his group promoted misunderstood ideas about the content of the peace agreement .
E2C : So would you say that the short period of time to acquire knowledge , the high importance of the decision and the lack of clarity regarding the potential consequences made it possible to highjack the campaign ?
CRP : Absolutely , it is very similar to the campaign and process that took place in Great Britain . An opposition leader who just invents things , but nobody had time to go to prove these so-called facts . Uribe said that this peace agreement would promote impunity to the members of the FARC and as the agreement allows members of the FARC to form a political party , they would be our political leaders in the future turning the current democratic system in Colombia into a communist regime .
Do you support the final agreement to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace ?
No 50.2 %
voter turnout 38 %
Yes 49.8 %
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Exchange to change January 2017