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?