Liberal Council
Alejandro Galvis Galvis-- Politician and Journalist
Galvis has served Colombia as president of the House of Representatives, president of
the senate, governor of the Department of Santander in 1931 and 1932 and as
secretary of defense from 1942 to 1943. In 1919 Galvis founded the
newspaper Vanguardia Liberal which is the leading newspaper of the Santander region
of Colombia.
Dario Enchandia-- Party Member and Lawyer
Darío Echandía served as deputy for Tolima, senator for Tolima, president of the
senate, magistrate in the Supreme Court of Justice, and in the ministries of
Government, Education, Justice and Foreign Relations. Darío Echandía was designated
as acting president of Colombia on four different occasions. Notably from 1943 to 1944
due to the temporary absence of Alfonso López Pumarejo, again in 1944 due to a
kidnapping attempt against Pumarejo.
Eduardo Santos--Prominent Liberal Party Leader and Publisher
Eduardo Santos earned a doctorate of law at the National University in 1908. Santos
owned the prominent Bogotá newspaper El Tiempo, and served as the President of
Colombia from August 1938 to August 1942, having been elected without opposition.
Carlos Ileras Restrepo--Liberal Party Leader 1938 he is appointed as Minister of
Finance during the presidency of Eduardo Santos. He is elected as Chairman of the
Liberal Party several times and Senator of the Republic. Restrepo has been an active
member of the party since 1929, he is elected by the liberal party as delegate to the
National Convention of Apulo at age 19. By age 21 he was a member in the national
committee of the Colombian Liberal Party. Lleras is elected to the state senate of
Cundinamarca, and later MP as congressman in the House of Representatives. In
1932, during the so-called “Liberal Republic”, Lleras is appointed General Comptroller of
the country and in 1944 Lleras runs for president of Colombia for the first time, but his
bid is unsuccessful.
Chief de la Roche--State Chief Police Officer
Chief de la Roche served as the state chief police officer from 1948-1949. Soon after
the insurrection of Liberal activists in Colombia, Chief de la Roche faced the daunting
task of appeasing and helping to calm the violent protestors throughout the country. As
police uniforms and weapons quickly began running out, Chief de la Roche made
earnest, yet futile, attempts to contain the civil unrest and prevent it from gaining
momentum.
Captain Juan de Jesus Franco--Captain of Urrao’s Army
Serving as Captain of the army in the city of Urrao, Juan de Jesus Franco made the
decision of courageously taking the side of those protesting and rioting in response to
Jorge Gaitan’s assassination. As a result, Captain Juan de Jesus Franco had been
constantly threatened and suffered attacks from Conservatives both inside the army and
out.
Eduardo Villamil--Liberal Leadership Commander
Eduardo Villamil aided Liberal forces by helping to create Liberal guerilla forces
throughout Antioquia and ensured them that he would prevent the army from opposing
or attacking them by discreetly making pacts with the local army officers.
Arturo Rodriguez--Prominent Liberal Activist
Commonly known as “El Bandolero”, Arturo Rodriguez had been one of the most
successful and highly-respected activists. He is most famously known for having
established one of Antioquia most powerful guerilla camps, Camparusia, in the city of
Dabeiba.
Governor Eduardo Berrio Gonzalez--Governor of Bogota
Governor Eduardo Berrio Gonzalez contributed to the advancement of civilian forces by
acknowledging their fight against Conservative officials and granting them the use of
additional food supplies, weapons, and ammunition.
Chief Eduardo Castro--Chief of Police Forces in Medellin
Chief Eduardo Castro petitioned to the mayor of the city of Medellin for increased
assistance in providing increased vigilance as part of an attempt to quell the continuous
uprising and civil unrest. Consequently, the mayor approved and periodically sent
reinforcements for the police forces in Medellin.
Conservative Council
Leon Maria Lazano “El Condor”
The leader of the paramilitary group the Pajaros. Composed of mostly upper class
partisans it was initially founded as a way to support and protect Conservative
government factions from Liberal reprisals after the murder of Presidential Candidate
Gaitan. The Pajaros quickly came be associated with the terror and extreme violence
that marked El Violencia, murdering and intimidating anyone who opposed the
conservative government. Secretly provided with resources and support by the
Conservative Party, this group centered in the city of Tulua in the Valle the Cauca
wields tremendous influence over Colombian peasants. Loyal to his ideals and
conservative convictions Lazano fights for the Conservatives and considers all Liberals
as potential enemies of the state. However, history has shown the even the strongest of
convictions can be eroded by the power of bribes and money. Even if Lazano remains
firm, will he be able to keep the Pajaros under control? Will this stalwart supporter be a
roadblock to peace?
Manuel Mejia Jaramillo “Mr. Coffee”
As President of the National Federation of Coffee Growers, the visionary cafetero built
an empire and did all he could to ensure that prices would remain favorable. His
influence in the world of coffee was so great (and absolute) that he was nicknamed “Mr.
Coffee”. The Federation was the de facto moderator of economic policy in Colombia
with its own merchant fleet, bank and insurance company. He also was a strong ally to
the Conservative Party (often abiding to presidential wishes) and held the purse strings
to a large patronage network. As a businessman Mr. Coffee has a vested interested in
maintaining both the status quo and the political influence he has amassed. Always the
potential supporter but he can take as easily as he can give.
Roberto Urdaneta
Starting his political career at the age of 22 Urdaneta has held various minister positions
under various presidents. Regarded as a fair and competent man his peers, he was the
Minister of Foreign Affairs during the war with Peru and head of the delegation sent
negotiate peace in Rio de Janeiro. He will also go on to hold the positions of Interior
Minister and the Minister of War. Following the resignation of Laureano Gomez, due to
health reasons, Urdaneta was designated by the Liberal boycotted congress as interim
president. He is also related to 3 previous presidents and his ascendancy to the
Precedency was viewed as the continuation of a “family tradition”. Regardless of his
own ambitions and past leadership, Urdaneta is loyal to a fault. As the party becomes
more and more aligned with the extreme right will he be able to question and in times
act against his “superiors” for the good of the nation?
Mariano Ospina Perez
The current conservative president of Colombia. Overwhelmingly popular within the
party he only won the election because of the split in the Liberal camp. Ospina Perez
comes with a laundry list of accomplishments and positions and has the distinction of
being the grandson of the founder of the Conservative Party. As a founding member
manger of the National Federation of Coffee Growers he had a hand in making the
institution into an agent of modernization. When he took office Opsina Perez promised a
new age of national unity and expressed his desire to reduce partisanship and
sectarianism. As president his fist two years did see better relations with the Liberals
and a post-WWII economic boom. He is a man who extolls the “Republican” virtues of
the country’s founders. He led many reforms in education and cleaned up the tax codes.
However, none of this could have prepared him for the violence that would erupt after
the assassination of presidential candidate Gaitan. Following the initial unrest Opsina
Perez began to crack down on civil liberties, the media, and liberals in an attempt to
reestablish order. Can the man equipped to have been great during peace handle the
beginnings a potential civil
war?
Alvaro Gomez Hurtado
As the son of the future president Laureano Gomez, Alvaro followed his father’s
footsteps in journalism and conservative politics. After his father became president
Alvaro stepped up from editor to Director of the family operated newspaper El
Siglo. However more of a journalist than a politician he directly covered high profile
events like WWII and the founding of the United Nations. However, considering his
father’s ever increasingly extremist and fascist ideas will he risk the possibility of
becoming a target of the military or will he support his father in his ambitions?
Belisario Betancur
Another journalist and youthful politician. Betancur was close friends with the Gomez
family and often worked as a journalist of El Siglo alongside Alvaro. He would become
part of the national assembly that would affirm Laureano as the constitutional president
and reject General Pinilla. This years would prove to be formative for a man who will
become a future president of Colombia. His impact on Colombian life in under his
presidency is one of healing the scars left by La Violencia and the armed conflict that
followed. Will history this time produce the man that will start the long process towards
reconciliation in the nation plague by violence or will hopefully not have the need for
such a tranformative figure?
Bishop Miguel Angel Builes
A powerful member of the catholic clergy and a steadfast supporter of the conservative
party. Builes is known for injecting his political views into his sermons. He viewed
himself of a defender of the Church in a time when the liberal party was pushing for
secularization. A constant social critic, Builes would publish hundreds of sermons in his
life talking about subjects ranging from women’s pants to the state’s role in education.
As a religious conservative, he often clashed with the mainstream Conservative Party
establishment on many issues. Yet, he detested Liberals and Communists saying that
their views were incompatible with the teachings of the Catholic Church. He has the
power to influence the minds of many regular Colombians but how appropriate is it for
the Church to get involved and how far is Builes willing to go in the name of
conservatism?
Laureano Gomez
A man with strong convictions and a strong track record of conservatism. He founded
the conservative paper El Siglo and served in various government roles before the
murder of Gaitan. He also held many ideals, having as a younger man served as
ambassador to Nazi Germany and witnessing firsthand Hitler’s rise to power. Most
importantly Gomez was the chairman of the senate under President Lopez, he used his
visibility to launch incendiary speeches against the Liberals in which he made the call to
take “bold action” in order to prevent the progression of Liberalism. He would later go on
to win the presidency by over a million votes and crack down even further on the civil
liberties of Communists and Liberals. He would prove to be too extreme for the rest of
the moderate Conservative who would eventually support and side with General
Pinilla’s coup. Can Gomez maintain the party this time or will he prove once again to be
too radical?
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
A young ambitious colonel who is in charge of the third brigade in Cali. Rojas gain
national fame following the assassination of Gaitan for successfully quelling violence
and maintaining peace in Cali and Valle de Cuaca. He would soon find himself in a
whirlwind of promotions that would lead to him becoming the Chief of Staff of the
Colombian Armed Forces. When Laureano Gomez returns to the presidency it is Rojas
who finds himself in a position to help bring stability back to the nation by removing
Gomez from power. With the backing of many moderates such as Lucio Pabon Nunez,
Rojas was able to lead a bloodless coup and was soon named President of the
Republic without formal elections. His presidency was marked with many positive
reforms aimed at ending the conflict and but would soon come to clash with those who
brought him into power. The amnesty laws passed by Rojas were crucial to
demobilizing many militia groups, however his repression of civil liberties would also
prove pivotal in the radicalization of some of these groups. Will history prove any
different this time around?
Lucio Pabon Nunez
Polyglot, politician, writer, and humanist, Pabon always played a supporting role in
Colombian history. Never the star. He held various positions and during the murder of
Gaitan and opening years of El Vioencia served as the governor of Norte de Santader.
He would then hold various cabinet positions such as Minister of Defense and Minister
of Education but his true claim to fame would be his crucial support of Pinilla’s coup
attempt. Under whom he served as Minister of the Interior and was an influential voice
in the regime, As a moderate, he had many ideological enemies in the Conservative
party and would have the distinction of never serving as president. Pabon could have
been a great leader or literary figure; will he get his second chance?