Colombian Senate Approves Petro's 'Total Peace' Bill

On Monday, the Colombian Senate approved the bill presented by President Gustavo Petro that seeks to lay the foundations for the "Total Peace" policy.

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"The total peace bill has been approved in the Senate without any limitations," said Senator Ivan Cepeda, who was one of the bill's speakers.

This means that the Petro administration will be able to carry out all kinds of political and legal negotiation processes with all the armed groups and criminal structures that operate throughout the country. For this reason, Cepeda considered the approval of the Total Peace as a "fundamental step to put an end to all forms of violence."

Nevertheless, the senators did not approve the "Social Service for Peace", an alternative to compulsory military service. This proposal will be debated again in the Lower House.

The articles that proposed a pardon for young people detained during the 2021 protests were also left out of the approved bill. On Tuesday, however, the government bench will present a new bill that seeks that purpose.

Since his arrival to the Presidency on August 7, Petro has insisted on promoting "total peace", an ambitious bet whereby he seeks to sit down to negotiate with all irregular groups.

Currently, however, the legislation only allows him to resume talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), since the negotiation protocols had already been signed since the time of President Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018).