Negotiations between the ELN and the government: Danilo Rueda, High Commissioner for Peace, has already arrived in Mexico

At the end of January, the second round of talks between the government of Gustavo Petro and the guerrillas National Liberation Army -ELN- And after more than a month, in this week of March 7, the closure of these conversations that are taking place in Mexican territory will take place. At this fourth meeting, where it is expected that I know the completion of the agenda and the functioning of the table in order to begin discussions on cross-cutting issues.

For the above is that the High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Ruedais in again Mexico and you will meet the group that has high expectations, even if the pace of the discussion has become slower than expected.

It should be remembered that in this second cycle it was planned to specify the following themes: participation of society, democracy for peace and ceasefire and hostilities. For this reason, it is expected that, in the coming days, they will give the guidelines for the participation of civil society and its role in the conversations that so far seem to be on the right track.

However, since the pace is not as fast as expected on withdrawal issues and views on withdrawal appear to be different, it is likely that nothing will be announced on this subject, but if they start to talking about withdrawal measures de-escalation of hostilities that it could begin to be applied temporarily in certain territories as a pilot test, different from the decrees signed with certain outlaw groups and which, according to the control mechanisms, have not been respected. Even over the weekend, a report from the Mediator which mentions that so far this year, there have been 24 acts of violence committed by the four armed groups that had signed the ceasefire.

“It is up to us, as a delegation, to reinterpret the ceasefire and to see it not only as a reduction in armed confrontations, but fundamentally as a reduction in hostilities against the civilian population and in illegal activities which cause damage and violence,” he said. of the second round of talks, Otty Patino the delegate of the national government.

On the other hand, as mentioned by the On the radioin addition to the presence of the high commissioner, the arrival of the vice-president would be expected France Marquez for the formal closure of this second round of negotiations. According to information from the Colombian station, the closure would take place this Friday, March 10, during the Inter-American Conference on Social Security.

As to how this second cycle went, Jose Felix Lafaurie He came out to speak and mentioned the commitment that has been seen from the guerrillas regarding the point of participation, however, for him the priority must now turn to finding a land of agreement to move forward in shape.

“It is not an easy task, because the stakes of participation and transformations of the territory must first be delimited, and this means that the picture must be stripped, in a realistic way, of any claim to a panacea, since the approach to total peace is not a one-day affair, nor does it fall from the sky, nor is it the exclusive responsibility of the state or the ELN, but rather a complex but achievable social construction” , reads the column titled “The reason for peace: the people”.