Balancing Peace and Justice: Interview with President Juan Manuel Santos
10.May.2021 9:00 AM . 15 min read
President Juan Manuel Santos served as President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. For his work negotiating a peace agreement with The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), he was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. Prior to his presidency, Santos served as Colombia’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance and Public Credit, and Minister of National Defense. Before his political career, Santos was a journalist with El Tiempo and was a Nieman Fellow. He also served previously as the Head of the Colombian Delegation to the International Coffee Organization.
This article was originally published in Spanish by Nueva Sociedad.
Since April 28, Colombia has seen a massive wave of mobilizations, much like what happened in 2019, spurred by similar underlying discontents. This new cycle of protests comes amid the third wave of the pandemic, a fragile peace process, and the country’s worst social indicators in history. Covid-19 has hit Colombia particularly hard: among Latin American countries, Colombia now has the third highest number of deaths and infections. In addition, the poverty rate reached 42 percent, a level not seen since for more than a decade. Today, 15 percent of Colombians live in extreme poverty, not managing to eat three meals a day.
Photo: MinDefensa
After four days of protests across Colombia against President Iván Duque and the governmentâs proposed legislation to overhaul the countryâs taxation system, on Sunday afternoon,
President Duque ordered Congress to remove the Reforma Tributaria to draft a new proposal based on political “consensus.” At the beginning of the first full working day of a week that enters mandatory quarantine as of 8 pm Thursday,
Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla handed in his resignation. President Duque accepted the end of Carrasquilla’s tenure as a senior member of his cabinet.
In nine years since the last tax reform was passed by Congress – during the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos – the country has faced profound changes and challenges, from expanding demographics, growing social inequality, the influx of 1,8 million Venezuelan migrants, a peace accord with the largest guerrilla FARC and post-conflict financing, as well as rise in new
April 23, 2021
President Ivan Duque‘s inaugural call to end division has been heard by Colombia’s voters, who reject his government with arguably historic unity, according to a poll.
Duque’s tragicomic misrule has brought together the country. Young and old, left and right, and rich and poor all seem to disapprove of “the worst president ever” without exception.
No more left-right divisions: we are Colombia. No more false divisions between neoliberals and socialists: we are Colombia. No more divisions between isms: we are Colombia.
President Ivan Duque
Within two and a half years, Duque has lost the majority support in every age group, social class and political side, according to pollster Invamer.