As several governments have done for 40 years in Colombia, Gustavo Petro's resorted to a ceasefire on the way to a peace negotiation.
Every ceasefire seeks laudable objectives: de-escalate violence, save lives, create an environment for dialogue.
And every ceasefire has complications.
On the ground it's hard to turn it into reality when there are so many people involved in very diverse and complex areas.
This will not be the exception and even so it is better to bet on hope.
The bilateral ceasefire with five illegal groups that President Gustavo Petro announced a few minutes before the end of 2022 will not be easy, as others have not been.
The biggest complication will be managing the different verification protocols that are agreed with different groups and being able to guarantee that they are complied with.
Some of these groups have political recognition and are going to negotiate with them, others are common criminal groups that are offered refuge from justice.
This mixture is unprecedented and complicates the process.
Violence in Colombia is increasingly fragmented, which multiplies the risks.
Undoubtedly there will be violations of the agreement, there will be mistrust and a threat of rupture.
The most important thing is that the ceasefire is not only between the armed groups in contention and means, above all, a respite for the communities that always bear the brunt of the crossfire.
The most atrocious violence is against the unarmed civilian population that does not have its signature on the agreements.
Nor is it clear whether, beyond the bilateral ceasefire, there will also be a multilateral pact so that illegal groups do not continue killing each other with people in the middle.
If it is bilateral, what will happen between them?
In the first reactions, as has always happened, the country moves between hope and skepticism.
More optimism is heard in the regions where they put the dead, suffer harassment, confinement and all kinds of crimes.
It is that when the conflict is not a subject of political analysis for those of us who write and speak in the distance, but the daily life that breathes in the back of the neck, every voice of possible peace is received with hope.
You have to hold on to something.
It is about protecting one's own life and that of the family.
It's about surviving.
Skepticism, learned through blows and blows, from violated truces and failed processes, is heard from some sectors that fear that a bilateral ceasefire will leave the armed forces with their hands tied to act against crimes.
They fear illegal groups will use the pact to gain strength.
This country does not forget the ghost of the Caguan when the Farc received, in the greatest gesture of generosity from the State, an immense piece of the national territory that they used to take hostages and reorganize the war.
That this time yes, say those who support the Government.
Which will be different now.
That after Havana it is known that there are possibilities of reaching agreements.
That it is about deactivating all violence... Total Peace.
Those of us who always support efforts to find a solution to the war, wherever they come from, prefer to salute this attempt, but it is irrational to think that it will be easy.
Just a few hours after President Petro's announcement of this bilateral ceasefire, the first massacre of the year 2023 was recorded. Four people were murdered on the first day of the year in an area between César and Norte de Santander.
The massacres have not stopped and neither has the murder of social leaders.
Change the year and death there.
So if it's about saving lives, a ceasefire is welcome.
Any attempt to stop the violence must be supported.
However, data and details are lacking to predict whether this will be a successful project or yet another frustration.
Interior Minister Alfonso Prada, government spokesman, said that the Armed Forces maintain their powers throughout the country.
He also said that the ceasefire protocols will be secret and that immediately raises questions.
It is good to know the details of the verification, to know exactly what the illegal groups are committing to, what the members of the public force who effectively cannot renounce their obligation to protect people and fight crime can and cannot do.
What will be the protocols in cases of violation of the agreement?
Will there be some kind of "clearance" in the areas where these groups operate?
If the dialogues advance, what can society offer to those who demobilize and especially to those who live on illegal income with deep pockets?
Are you interested in leaving your business?
As the days go by, unknowns will be answered and others will be born.
No truce has been easy and in history we have seen many.
Some have been about to stop signing agreements, others have broken without achieving the objectives set.
Pursuing peace is a constant in a country that, despite everything and fortunately, is not resigned to living in eternal conflict.
There will always be disagreements about how to find solutions to end the war, but seeking peace is a political and human obligation.
As in every attempt, regardless of who does it, it is better to hope that it will work.
Otherwise, what would be left is to indulge in violence.
We have already done that and the dead have multiplied.
Let's keep rehearsing peace until it works out completely.
Subscribe here
to the EL PAÍS newsletter on Colombia and receive all the latest information on the country.
Sign up for free to continue reading
LOGINSIGN UP
Or subscribe to read without limits