For the U.S., Colombian politics may not be the most crucial electoral issue. Still, it may have a vital role in determining who the next President is, and Colombia's unstable peace deal could be at stake.
The 2016 peace deal, one that ended a 52-year military war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), is at the core of that conflict. In the rural communities whereby peace was expected to bring progress, violence towards social leaders has escalated.
While Colombia contends with growing strikes, worsening security added by the pandemic of the coronavirus, several local politicians express a keen curiosity in the outcome of the U.S. election - which could be crucial in the struggle for their country's future.
For U.S. voters, Colombian politics may not have been the most crucial electoral problem, but it may have a vital role in determining who the next President is. Florida, a critical key state that President Donald Trump had won by just 112,911 votes in 2016, is the reason why. About 250,000 registered Colombian-American voters in the region, and Trump is vying for support from Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
Peace deal under threat
In Colombia, an unstable peace hangs in the balance as Biden and Trump's bump heads over a quarter of a million Floridian support.
Since assuming office in August 2018, Colombia's Duque administration has been trying to abolish the peace agreement. In assigning properties to smallholders in rural areas, the President has dragged his feet underneath the agrarian reforms laid down by the peace agreement. His efforts to amend some legislation, such as those shielding former guerrillas from extradition or needing to pay restitution to victims, have been accused of once again forcing some FARC participants into violence.
While he claims it is essential to amend the agreement to make things fair for the victims of the FARC, he has endured significant criticism about his management of the process. He has struggled to deal with a deteriorating security situation and growing concern about violations of human rights.
Fears over long-term effects
Philip S. Goldberg, the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, also appealed to Colombian government officials to stay out of the election. Goldberg, who has been appointed by Trump in August 2019, stated on Monday, "For many years, successful relations between the U.S. and Colombia have been based on bipartisan support."
"I urge all Colombian politicians to avoid getting involved in the U.S. elections," he added.
Given the ongoing threats on the peace deal, the severity of the circumstance is highlighted by growing violence. As per the Institute of Development and Peace Studies, 971 community leaders were murdered in the four years since the deal was made. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not address the murders during a trip to Bogota on September 19, amid increasing critiques of human rights degradation. Instead, he praised Duque's approach in countering drug trafficking and improving U.S. private sector investment in rural Colombia.
Gabriel Silva Lujan, previous Colombian Ambassador to Washington and Minister of Defense under Uribe, fears that if Biden wins, Colombia's governing party's decision to kiss up to the Republicans could become "immensely costly" for Colombia.
