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Colombia awakens to hopes for peace with the re-election of their president
an article by Maylín Vidal, Prensa Latina
Colombians awoke day today [June 16] with a new hope to gain
peace after the victory in the presidential elections of President Juan
Manuel Santos, who pledged to work the next four years to build a
new country. 
click on photo to enlarge
In the second round of elections, in which Santos won with 50.59
percent of the votes against the Democratic representative Oscar
Iván Zuluaga (45 percent) Center, the voters celebrated the
possibility of continuing the process of peace that would end a war
that has been going on over half a century.
The early ending of the conflict was the main campaign issue of the
president, who received support from leftist groups, trade
unionists, peasants and youth. Although they do not share all of
the proposals of the new government, they bet on peace and
reconciliation .
For more than a year and a half the government been engaged with
the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-
People's Army (FARC-EP) in a dialogue in Cuba and they have
arrived at partial agreements, having signed three of the five points,
considered to be historic advances for the country..
A large majority of Colombians and political analysts believe that
these developments, together with the notice of initiation of
exploratory talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), are
irreversible.
In his first speech after the election, the president said "Unity has
triumphed today as millions of our fellow citizens have supported a
dream we shared by voting for the vision of changing fear to hope.
He made these remarks in his campaign headquarters decorated
with slogans like " Colombia wants peace, if you can."
"This is the end of over 50 years of violence and the beginning of a
new country with more freedom and social justice," he said.
In social networks, Colombians agree that to gain a lasting peace, it
now depends on everyone.
(Click here for a Spanish version of this article)
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?
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