Governing for the Common Good

GOVERNING

FOR THE COMMON GOOD

TEXT AND PHOTO: FOKUS, COLOMBIAN OFFICE

The hope that many sectors of society have for the new government is proportional to the magnitude of the challenges it faces. FOKUS continues to push for change for social and gender justice now.

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n August 7th, the administration of President Gustavo Petro and Vice President Francia Márquez took office. For the first time in the nation’s history, the formal ceremony in Bolívar Plaza was accompanied by cultural and artistic events that took over the streets in the center of the capital. The citizens of the so-called “first government of the people” heeded the call to what turned into a day of celebration.

This time, it was not an event for the political elite, accessible to the general public only through radio and television. The reinterpretation of the national anthem, the diversity of the artistic events, the centrality of the collective, and the diversity of the country and its margins reflected the ethics, aesthetic, and symbols of what is hoped to be a profound change in governance. This government was elected as part of a historic pact, that is, as a convergence of social and political forces, finally including social sectors that have never before been permitted to hold power. These sectors of society were promised an administration that would govern with the people, for the common good.

But this promise frightens some, because the racism, machismo, and classism embodied in the sectors that have held power for more than 200 years has not disappeared; because armed,

social, and political divisiveness, with roots in a long history of inequality, cannot be resolved in four years; because there is no money, the country is in debt, and the global economy is in crisis; because it is not easy to concentrate on bringing about necessary transformations when the society of the spectacle forces elected officials to first respond to the media bubble; because the logics of power pervert.

How can expectations be grounded, recognizing the risks without renouncing the historic opportunity that was celebrated in the streets? The answer comes from social organizations that have defended life and dignity in more hostile times and which embody Antonio Gramsci’s famous dictum, “with intellectual pessimism and willful optimism.” We have to work and work together.

International civil society offers this administration significant backing, since upholding Petro’s campaign promise will bring us closer to the peace we dream of, the equality we work for, and the social justice that is long overdue. It is support that does not renounce its autonomy, its capacity for criticism or its voice, and which contributes to administration’s process through its independent work, the lessons it has learned over its long history of supporting social organizations in the country, and the reflections it has made, which we offer today.

How can expectations be grounded, recognizing the risks without renouncing the historic opportunity that was celebrated in the streets? CHANGE IMPLIES STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION T1

Anti-racist feminism has taught us that, in order to address the root causes of

social problems, it is necessary to understand their underlying systems of oppression and the ways these overlap. It is difficult to remove these considerations from the context of social movements or academia to consider government policies but doing so will enable social movements to direct middle-term processes with economic, social, and cultural impacts that are truly transformational.

The agendas promoted by women’s and LGBT movements include the comprehensive implementation of the Peace Accord; the social appropriation of truth and justice processes headed by the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Non-Repetition; the recognition, reduction, and redistribution of care work (which has historically fallen primarily on women) through the creation of a National Care System; and the defense of women’s autonomy over their bodies and lives through the adoption of a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy. These are prioritized agendas which, with political will, government commitment, and a truly intersectional perspective, would bring us significantly closer to a more just society, to becoming the world power for life for which social movements in Colombia have been fighting.

In this context, the conversation surrounding the creation of the Ministry of Equality takes on great importance and we join the call for this institution to be collective creation. For women and LGBT individuals, for example, it is important not to be read as being just another subgroup; they have been making very important recommendations to strengthen the fruits and sharpen the teeth of this new government entity.

FOKUS, as an international civil society organization with an office in Colombia, will continue working for a country and a world that are free of violence against women, where autonomy is respected, and that guarantees sexual and reproductive health; for a country where it is possible to enjoy real peace and security. FM