Is Peace Possible in Colombia?

On Sunday, Colombians were called upon by their government to answer a simple question, “Do you support the final agreement to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace?”  Their answer shocked the world: by a razor-thin margin, Colombia voted down the peace agreement brokered by their government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  

By a difference of less than 54,000 votes out of 13 million cast – a margin of 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent – Colombian voters rejected a peace deal that was the result of four years of intense negotiations.  It was an attempt to end the 52-year war with the FARC that nearly brought the country to its knees – with 220,000 killed and more than five million displaced in a conflict that saw brutal fighting between a left-wing insurgency, right-wing paramilitary groups, an often inconsistent central government and the money, influence, and armor of the United States.