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Colombia Consolidation of Political Divisions
The ideological split dividing the political elite
began in
1810 and became solidified by 1850 after the official
establishment
of the Liberal Party (Partido Liberal--PL) and the
Conservative
Party (Partido Conservador--PC), the two parties that
continued to
dominate Colombian politics in the 1980s. The Liberals
were
anticolonial and wanted to transform New Granada into a
modern
nation. Those joining the PL primarily came from the more
recently
created and ascending classes and included merchants
advocating
free trade, manufacturers and artisans anxious to increase
demand
for their products, some small landowners and
agriculturists
endorsing a liberalization of state monopolies on crops
such as
tobacco, and slaves seeking their freedom. The Liberals
also sought
lessened executive power; separation of church and state;
freedom
of press, education, religion, and business; and
elimination of the
death penalty.
The Conservatives wanted to preserve the Spanish
colonial
legacy of Roman Catholicism and authoritarianism. They
favored
prolonging colonial structures and institutions, upholding
the
alliance between church and state, continuing slavery, and
defending the authoritarian form of government that would
eliminate
what they saw as excesses of freedom. The PC grouped
together slave
owners, the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and large
landholders.
Campesinos were divided between the two parties, their
loyalties
following those of their employers or patrons--often the
PC.
In contrast to the unity demonstrated by the PC, the PL
developed factions from the start. Although they had most
interests
in common, the merchants differed from the artisans and
manufacturers on the question of trade. Merchants favored
free
trade of imports and were called golgotas, whereas
artisans
and manufacturers demanded protectionism to support
domestic
industry and were known as draconianos.
Data as of December 1988
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