Colombian Democracy before the Impact of the Post-conflict and the Peace Agreement: the Role of International Accompaniment

The article shows how the political reality in Colombia in 2021 questioned the strength and consolidation of full democracy in the country, by showing elements of defective democracy, from the theoretical perspective of a hybrid regime. The aim is to analyze the ways in which the Colombian government's unwillingness to guarantee the protection of fundamental rights throughout its territory contributes to the democratic fragility in that country; a dialogue is held between the characteristics of the notions of defective democracy and O'Donnell's full democracy. The analysis is empirically contrasted with interviews with the peasantry and threatened leadership. This reality translates into a lack of will of the State to stop murders in the most disadvantaged regions of the Colombian countryside, constituting a challenge for the government of current President Gustavo Petro. Finally, international accompaniment is proposed as the most effective tool to reduce murders and accompany the new government in the process of restoring human rights and consolidating a full democracy.