The conflict between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has raged for the past five decades. It has left more than 200,000 people dead, displaced 7 million more and compelled 350,000 to flee the country. On Nov. 30, lawmakers in the country's Chamber of Representatives approved the peace agreement with the left-wing guerrilla group that replaced the one harpooned by an October plebiscite. The Senate had approved the new deal on Nov. 29.

Although no lower house members voted against the deal, several lawmakers aligned with former President Alvaro Uribe as well as some Conservative Party members, abstained in protest. They felt that the changes in the deal made in response to some of the demands of the plebiscite to expose FARC members to criminal prosecution did not go far enough. Additionally, the revised peace agreement requires the FARC leadership to disclose details about the organization's narcotrafficking activities and of its supply chain, including assets, routes and processes. The FARC had also requested that their cadres and the Colombian military be tried only by foreign judges in war crimes cases to prevent bias. The new deal bars foreigners from serving as judges in these trials.

In spite of this victory, President Juan Manuel Santos' peace deal is not yet assured of success. With the agreement ratified, lawmakers must now pass a law demanded by the FARC leadership that would absolve its cadres for the crime of rebellion. Passage of the measure, which will likely take place next week, would trigger the demobilization process during which FARC members will travel to 27 relocation zones in the countryside.

This will be only the first of many steps in what will certainly be a difficult implementation process dogged by Uribe's staunch opposition. The Santos administration must await a pivotal decision by the Colombian Constitutional Court that would allow congress to quickly approve the more than 30 needed laws to enable the peace deal. If the court assents, the disarmament process could begin by the start of 2017 and last about six months. All weapons will have to be handed to United Nations representatives within 150 days once the amnesty law has been passed.

However, the court could also reject the fast-track proposal on the grounds that the government did not hold a second plebiscite. Santos would then need to make a difficult decision. He could either hold another plebiscite that would give the legislature the power to speed the approval of the enabling laws or submit the laws to the normal legislative process, which could take as long as two years. Such a long approval process would be thorny, because by mid-2017, campaigning will begin for the May 2018 presidential election. Santos would then have to implement as many of the enabling laws as possible before the end of his term or risk giving the new administration the power to slow the peace deal. While Bogota is closer than ever to ending the FARC conflict, the bid for peace could still find trouble.