Farc deal sealed in Cuba but referendum challenge remains
“The day has come; we can finally say that everything is agreed,” Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos celebrated in an emotional tele- vised address on 24 August. After three years and nine months of intense negotiations, stumbling blocks, interruptions, and threats of rupture, peace talks between the Santos administration and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) concluded successfully in Cuba earlier that day. The final peace accord now goes to congress which will call a referendum. Santos said this would be held on 2 October. He insisted that it was up to the public to endorse “this historic accord putting an end to this long conflict”, but with recent opinion surveys suggesting serious fluctua- tions in support for the peace deal this is far from assured [WR-16-31].