- The National Front allowed an agreement between the two main political parties in Colombia to mitigate violence and get rid of the government of a military man who came to power through a coup d’état
Colombian President Gustavo Petro suggested emulating the experience of the Colombian National Front in Venezuela to seek a transition in the country. The president said that Venezuelan political factors must seek a solution that guarantees peace and prosperity for the people.
A political solution for Venezuela that brings peace and prosperity to its people depends on Nicolás Maduro. The experience of the Colombian National Front is an experience that, if used temporarily, can help achieve a definitive solution,” Petro wrote on his X account.
Colombia is one of the countries closely studying the situation in Venezuela following the results of the presidential elections of July 28 announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the elections.
The Petro government has called for transparency in the election results, but like Brazil, it has also made suggestions for political agreements focused on a future transition of power.
The National Front was a political pact between the Liberal and Conservative parties that was in force between 1958 and 1974 and that served to oust General Gustavo Rojas from power, who wanted to remain as head of state in perpetuity.
This is a similar idea to that outlined by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who in an interview referred to the Venezuelan elections and He proposed two solutions: the formation of a coalition government that includes members of Chavismo and the opposition or the holding of new elections.
What was the Colombian National Front?
The National Front emerged in 1958 with the intention of mitigating violence in Colombia and removing General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla from power, who came to the Presidency through a coup d’état.
In 1956, the leaders of the Liberal and Conservative parties, Alberto Lleras Camargo and Laureano Gómez, respectively, met in the city of Benidorm (Spain) to seek a joint solution to the political crisis in Colombia.
A year later, these leaders met in the Spanish city of Sitges and signed a pact in which they agreed on a bipartisan coalition government, in which the alternation of powers would be allowed every four years for a period of 12 years, which was later increased to 16.
After the agreement was signed, a plebiscite was called in December 1957, which was approved by an overwhelming majority. Rojas Pinilla subsequently signed his resignation and the following elections were won by the liberal Alberto Lleras Camargo, who obtained about 80% of the votes against the 20% received by his opponent, the conservative dissident of the agreement, Jorge Leyva.
In the following periods, the Presidency was held by Guillermo León Valencia (1962-1966, conservative), Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1966-1970, liberal) and Misael Pastrana Borrero (1970-1974, conservative).
Why was the National Front necessary?
General Rojas Pinilla carried out a coup d’état in 1953 with the support of liberals and the military forces against the conservative government of Laureano Gómez, who won the elections in 1950.
The military man proclaimed himself the representative of a third political way that ensured the search for peace, in the face of the wave of violence that affected the country since the assassination of the liberal leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on April 9, 1948.
The initiative for the National Front arose after Rojas Pinilla attempted to convene a National Constituent Assembly that would allow him to be reelected in the period 1958-1962.
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2024-08-17 06:22:30
