Victims issues a monthly review - February 2017

Abstract

Since the last Gallup survey, Colombia passed the referendum of the revised peace accords in Congress and concentrated over 7,000 FARC guerrillas. “In practical and concrete terms,” the Silla Vacía reports, the conflict has ended.(2) However, according to Gallup’s most recent survey, 73 percent of respondents feel that conditions in Colombia are worsening, 15 percent more than in December, including in specific areas like the economy, unemployment, drug trafficking, international relations, and the environment. Moreover, President Santos’ approval ratings dropped from 35 percent to 24 percent. The approval ratings of many Colombian institutions key to implementing peace accords also dropped, including Congress (79 percent unfavorability, up from 73 percent) and the judicial branch (82 percent unfavorability, up from 78 percent in October 2016). The FARC’s approval ratings increased by two points, to 19 percent, a historic high in the survey.(3) Moreover, seven of ten respondents don’t believe that the accord will lead to better income distribution, end ideologically-driven violence, disclose truth, or repair victims.