Sunday's elections will be the first at the regional and local level since the signing of the controversial peace deal between the government and the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaFARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a drug cartel based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and
donations. It has lately begun calling itself
Bolivarianand is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
(FARC) in 2016, which ended a bloody 52-year long conflict.
"This is the first local election after the peace agreement, so it's very important for peace-building, especially in the most peripheral territories," said Yann Basset, a political science professor at Rosario University.