Plebiscite in Colombia. Approach to perceptions about Peace in the Department of Tolima

Abstract

The long history of violence and armed conflict in Colombia has led to the social legitimization of the violent solution to social conflicts. This article analyzes some of the speeches that circulated in the campaign for the Plebiscite held in 2016, which sought to endorse the peace agreements between the Government of then Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC - EP. To this end, the content analysis of press releases published in the newspaper El Olfato of the Department of Tolima was carried out. Analysis that bet on the review of the meanings of the peace category and its relationship with justice, fear and polarization. It is concluded that the Plebiscite campaigns put us in front of a much more complex reality in the country: the need to recognize ourselves in the multiple experiences, places lived and in the different ways of elaborating the pains left by a war of more than 50 years. Likewise, while everyday spaces are endowed with a great transformative capacity of conflict, the emotionality that makes them much more complex the deconstruction of dualistic positions of reality. This does not mean ignoring the centrality of emotions, because it has been clear that they play a central role in any political society. Rather, we propose to reflect on them and their impacts on the understanding of violence and war in the country.