Considerations Regarding Peace Negotiations in Colombia: 1990 - 2014

All instances of violence are to some extent caused by some form of political, cultural, economic or social exclusion. Consequently, demands for inclusivity lie at the heart of most peace negotiations between guerrilla groups and governments. Two cases in point are the peace talks engaged by the M-19 at the end of the 1980s and the ongoing negotiations between the FARC-EP and the government in Havana. How did these two processes address the need for inclusivity, both in the set up and in the content of the peace talks? What additional parallels can one draw between these two negotiation processes? Can lessons learned from the M-19 peace negotiations help to better understand the dynamics of the current peace talks? This report addresses these questions from the perspective of two ex-commanders of the M-19, Otty Patiño and Vera Grabe.

Authors

Otty Patiño Hormaza, Vera Grabe Loewenherz