The Slow Death of Colombia’s Peace Movement
Editor’s Note: This article is part of our “Democracy Undone” series, about the erosion of liberal democracy around the world.
EL CARMEN DE BOLÍVAR, Colombia—The sun hadn’t yet risen when Yirley Velasco heard her daughter scream. The girl had woken to use the bathroom, but a noise at the entrance to the family’s one-story home pulled her instead to the front door. Wedged underneath it was a white envelope tied with a black ribbon.
The implication of the delivery was clear: such packages typically signify a death in the community in Colombia. Inside the envelope were a recent photograph of Velasco walking along a street in her village and a letter addressed to her. “You seem not to understand that we don’t want you here,” it read. “We are going to kill you.” A couple of weeks later, in July, she moved with her two children, to El Carmen de Bolívar, a short distance away.
Colombia’s 2016 peace deal was a remarkable achievement. For decades the and displaced more than 7 million people ended.
