The Colombian Congress has approved a comprehensive reform of the country´s pension system, a key goal of Gustavo Petro’s administration and one of its main campaign promises. The reform, approved without changes in Congress, introduces a new system to address the country's pension challenges. Critics of the current system described it as regressive and unfair, leaving millions of informal workers without a right to receive a pension. The new system aims to integrate the public pension system managed by the state-run pension administrator, Colpensiones, with private funds, eliminating competition and ensuring they complement each other. It requires all citizens to contribute to a public fund with an amount equivalent to the minimum wage salary worth 2.3 months, with additional earnings directed to private funds. This change will release public resources to assist elderly citizens without pensions. The new system will be in force starting July 2025, and aims to reduce inequality and improve pension coverage, though it has sparked debate about its future implementation and sustainability.

Sources: La Silla Vacia, El País, France 24 

Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has been charged with witness tampering and bribery. Judge Sandra Heredia ruled that Uribe will face a criminal trial, rejecting his lawyers' request to annul the case. This decision marks a historic moment as Uribe becomes the first Colombian ex-president to stand trial for criminal charges in over half a century. Prosecutors allege that Uribe offered bribes to witnesses to discredit opposition Senator Iván Cepeda, who had linked him to paramilitary groups. The indictment follows numerous unsuccessful attempts over the years to investigate the former president, which faced substantial resistance from the judiciary. Uribe, who still holds significant political influence in the country, claims that the case is politically motivated and lacks evidence. He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

Sources: El Pais (1), El Pais (2), Aljazeera, El tiempo

The Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) have signed the first item on the Peace Talks agenda after a year and a half of negotiations. The agreement was signed on 25 May in Caracas, Venezuela, and is focused on the definition of the “Participation Model” that will be a crucial part of the peace process. It reflects the demands gathered by the National Participation Committee (CNP), established in June 2023. The CNP facilitated 78 meetings nationwide, involving over 8,500 representatives from 3,200 organizations. Meetings also took place in 19 prisons and with the diaspora in 14 countries across the Americas and Europe. This announcement marks the first tangible outcome of President Gustavo Petro's negotiations with the insurgency, under his “total peace” program. It also signifies the conclusion of the first point of the Mexico Accord, the roadmap for these negotiations. The agreement proposes principles for active, inclusive, deliberative, binding, effective, and autonomous societal participation, particularly from historically excluded groups. 

Sources: Caracol Radio (1), Caracol Radio (2), Infobae, Prensa Latina, El Pais, International IDEA

On 6 February, the Colombian Government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) agreed to extend the bilateral ceasefire that has been in place for six more months. Both parties also announced the establishment of a fund to help finance the peace process, to be supported by multiple donors. Negotiations with the ELN are part of President Petro’s total peace plan, and the agreement comes after recent negotiations in which the ELN had committed to end kidnappings as a means to obtain financing, but had expressed the need to find ways to provide resources to its members.  

Sources: Reuters, Voz de America

President Petro’s strategy of “total peace” (“paz total”), which seeks the disarmament of rebels and other criminal groups, was considered by the Constitutional Court. The legal framework adopted by Congress in 2022 to establish the conditions by which authorities may engage in negotiations with such groups, including through the suspension of arrest warrants, the release of detained persons, and other judicial privileges, had been challenged by opposition politicians.

On 30 November, the Court determined that the aim of the law was not contrary to the constitution, however, it restricted the ability of the Executive Branch to carry out actions that are normally the competence of a judge, such as the suspension of arrest warrants. It reasoned that some of the law’s provisions granted the Executive excessive prerogatives and that the release of convicted persons (in order to be designated as peace envoys) was unconstitutional. It also determined that the conditions for the surrender of non-political criminal groups had to be defined by Congress, and not by the government.

Sources: Infobae, El Pais, El Espectador