IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 5 ENGLISH | Page 153

The second element of good dialogue is
voluntary participation for the purpose of
reaching an agreement, which refers to the
willingness of two or more interlocutors to
acknowledge that in addition to their own
argument there can and tend to be other,
equally valid arguments. If this is understood, there is not so thing as a last word.
Instead, agreement is built upon rational
consensus.

Commission (who also opposes the process
but accepts the existence of the Commission), responded with some arguments and
critiques, Uribe did not answer whether or
not he accepted being part of this government initiative.
The will to dialogue is obvious at the negotiating table in Havana; for many it’s just a
question of time before they understand that
to exclude the possibility of that conversation is to prolong the arrival of peace and
reconciliation. Similarly, the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba
and the U nited States is great progress,
right off the bat: a crumbling of the narrative of the outside enemy that had been told
by the official Cuban government for decades, when referring to the U.S. government.

This is the most complex element of dialogue, since an ambition for power has
turned many American leaders into faithful
representatives of tyranny and arrogance,
both of which limit their people’s freedoms
through an imposition of orders that usually
violate human dignity.
Where this is a real and genuine will to
listen and understand one’s counterpart,
dialogue becomes an effective way towards
solving problems of any sort. This is how
good disposition towards good dialogue has
allowed Colombia, Cuba and the United
States to make progress towards the solution of decades-old conflicts.

Thus, the expectation is that the noble act of
conversation and discussion regarding economic, political, social or financial matters,
will continue not only at the table, but also
among Cuban opposition groups, just as
two governments’ desire to dialogue came
about. The current moment offers a great
opportunity for a true, democratic alternative to emerge. The articulation of the international community and Cuban society, in
general, can bring profound changes to the
country, particularly in the realm of freedoms.

Regarding the peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC guerillas,
there is merit, and not only in the will of
both sides to make progress through each
and every one of their agenda points. However, the inclusionary invitation proposed to
many sectors by the Santos government,
among them even people who oppose the
process, must be acknowledged. They have
all been invited to form part of an advisory
Peace Process Commission through which
differences brought up at the conversation
in Havana can be examined and discussed.

Getting back to the case of Venezuela, in
mid March, Maduro announced: “I extend a
hand to the United States so we can together make progress in honest dialogue and
find a solution based on international law,
mutual respect, so this grave problem that
has been created can heal.”

Colombia’s ex-president, ´Alvaro Uribe,
who is currently a Senator in Colombia, is
the leader of those who oppose this process,
is one of the few who has not joined the
process. Despite having been invited by the
Colombian Federal Prosecutor, Alejandro
Ordóñez, to be part of the aforementioned

This has been one of the few times that he
has shown the will to converse with Obama
and has sought to improve the critical relationship between the two governments. Yet,
Maduro has to clearly understand that no
amount of proposing or promising will do

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