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Good Afternoon! My name is Katy Diaz and in this short video
I will talk about the legal framework for peace and President Santos's running for reelection.
About his legal framework for peace, we must say that this bill seeks the inclusion of
the transitory articles sixty-six and sixty seven, which set the parameters of the statutory
law that, protects the dialogues of the peace process.
The proposal presented by the current President Juan Manuel Santos looks to "expand" his mandate
after two years. This should be done by popular vote to pass a re-election and a constitutional
referendum to approve the amendment of the letter of 1991 (nineteen ninety one) and transform
the presidential term from four to six years. However, both the president and his cabinet
have been overriding the congress of the republic and violating the constitution in order to
The political discourses that the agents and some represents of the armed actors have used
have supported the need of continuing with what has been done so far in Havana so that
the statutory law can be included. This law regulates the dialogues of peace and the proposal
to re-elect or extend the period of Santos's presidency for two years more, so the peace
process can be finished and then leave the presidential term to six years without the
possibility for future presidents of being reelected.
Additionally, there have been important advances in different aspects thanks to the peace talks.
We can see how the negotiation phase "land reform" and the redistribution of land to
peasants and indigenous people have already culminated. It was agreed that the armed forces
had to return the land they had in their possession to their legitimate owners, and that the government
had to advance in the land restitution process so that the victims' rights are favored.
The Government and the FARC already started discussions over the political participation
topic. The government must make sure that the political campaigns of these armed groups
are free of misunderstandings. In principle it is an achievement that representatives
from both the government and the armed groups converge at the negotiating table in order
to decide how they can contribute to a peaceful solution.
Although at first glance one might think that the idea is well-intentioned, anything that
attempts to violate the Constitution can't ever be considered "good". The political constitution
of Colombia sets the correct procedure for a reelection proposal; in its article 374
(three hundred and seventy four) it stipulates that the amendments to the constitution can
only be made by Congress, a constituent assembly and a constitutional referendum.
In conclusion, President Santos may have a good intention seeking a second term, but
the way the government is trying to get this is totally unconstitutional, and the proposal
hadnĀ“t be supported unless it is done the right way. We all want peace and the continuation
of the dialogues, but in a process done in accordance with the constitution.