Public confidence over ongoing peace talks between Colombia’s government and the country’s largest rebel group FARC has reached an all-time high, according to the latest poll.
The latest Datexco poll on the peace talks that began in 2012 saw a substantial rise in belief that there will finally be peace between the guerrillas and the state after more than 52 years of war and four years of talks.
According to Datexco, there has been an increase from 39% in May to 57% in July in public opinion that believe the FARC and the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos will sign a final peace agreement.
Confidence in peace talks’ successful outcome
The public “have started to believe the FARC,” Datexco chief Cesar Valderrama told newspaper El Tiempo, which commissioned the poll.
“Public opinion is more consistent … they have stopped criticizing the [peace] process and everything that the government’s negotiators are saying,” said Valderrama.
The increased confidence comes just in time as the agreements are close to finishing after which the Colombian public will be asked to ratify the peace deal in a plebiscite.
According to Valderrama, two major factors have influenced these recent changes in public opinion; The announcement of a ceasefire and the FARC’s promise to disarm, and a recent Constitutional Court’s ruling allowing the plebiscite.