Viva Gaitán!
It was a crime that spawned an industry of conspiracy theories in Colombia and Latin America, some of which stretched credibility, but the legacy of the assassination of radical lawyer and politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was huge. He was the Liberal Party's candidate for a bid for the Presidency of Colombia when he was shot dead on April 9th 1948. It would have been his second attempt, as he lost in 1946 to the conservatives, which resulted in land seizure from peasants and armed resistance.

There had been sporadic violence after the Liberal Party implemented more radical policies in the 1930s. Nevertheless, the scale of the violence mushroomed in 1946 after Mariano Ospina Pérez came to power controversially and set about reversing the liberals' land reform policies. Gaitán's assassination unleashed an orgy of violence, but some argue that even that was not the real start of La Violencia. They point to the violence that erupted after dispossession began in 1946 and others to Liberal Party's policies in the 1930s (see La Violencia, which is to be published by us soon). But who was  Gaitán and why was he assassinated?

The Early Years
Gaitán was just 45 when he was gunned down near his office in downtown Bogotá in the early afternoon of April 9th 1948, but he had already crammed a great deal into a short life. He was born in January 1903 into a poor background. The sacrifice of his parents gave him the opportunity of an education usually denied to those of his class in the prestigious Collegio Simón Araújo, but his origins enraged the offspring of the liberal élite.

Suárez was victimised by  Laureano Gómez Castro, who would later become an important figure in Colombian conservative politics. Gómez highlighted the fact that Suárez' birth was illegitmate and unfairly depicted him his corrupt. Combined with natural opposition from the liberals and these enemies within, Suárez was forced from power in 1921 without completing his term as President. It set an unworthy example, as the legitimately elected Colombian President was removed from power by illegitimate methods regardless of a mandate – one that later plotters learned from.

The Apprenticeship
Meanwhile, Gaitán developed his views during the Liberal Party's lengthy period of opposition and from his experiences. He had no love for privilege of either party. The liberal élite had marked his childhood and his views were never going to entertain priveleged conservatives. Only the extent of his left-leaning remained to be resolved.

Suárez may have been forced from power, but conservative policies still domiated Colombia, which at that time remained a largely agrarian economy. Education had given Gaitán opportunities denied to peasants and it contributed to his views and efforts on their behalf, but that would come later when he had the power to implement policies. Gaitán continued his education including in Italy, qualifying as a lawyer.

He had completed his political tutorials. Now he had to put those skills to good use and the chance to do so came in 1928 with an event that shocked and appalled Colombian society – a politically motivated massacre of striking banana workers at the behest of the United Fruit Company (UFC) at Ciénaga, near Santa Marta.

The government of the USA under then President Calvin Coolidge had threatened to send marines into Colombia if the Colombian government did not protect the interests of the UFC. On December 6th 1928 the Colombian government of President Miguel Abadía Méndez capitulated to this pressure and sent the army in to end the month-long strike and 'restore order.' It opened fire on the strikers, slaughtering many people. Among the dead were strike leaders Bernadino Guerrero and Erasmo Coronel.

This was a pivotal event in Colombia's modern history and also for the 25 year-old Gaitán, who would use his growing skills as a lawyer and radical politician to fight for justice over the massacre. It also marked the beginning of the end of twenty years of Conservative Party rule, although Liberal Party leader Enrique Olaya Herrera gave ministerial positions to conservatives in his administration when he became President in 1930.