Colombia

Timeline 1830 Consolidation of current territory s partisan civil wars, coalitions and constitutions 1886 Conservative, centralist constitution is written (remains in force until 1991) La Violencia Military regime of General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Military junta oversees transition from Rojas to the National Front

Timeline The National Front Era Also period of time during which partisan fighting evolves into guerrilla warfare (FARC, ELN, EPL, M-19) Post-Front/Constitutional Democracy and Guerrilla war 1970s/1980s Drugs become a major source of conflict 1991-present 1991 National Constituent Assembly writes new constitution 2003: Electoral Reform Re-election allowed also

Democratic Development Oligarchic Democracy Oligarchic Democracy Clientelism Clientelism Importance of Political Parties Importance of Political Parties Importance of Constitutions Importance of Constitutions

Table 2.1: Basic Chronology and Classification of Colombian Democracy Pseudodemocracy: elections (many indirect) with limited suffrage Nondemocracy: military dictatorship of General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Present Mix of Electoral and Liberal Democracy: open competition for power, with citizen rights often marred by ongoing political violence.

Violence The Violence of consolidation The Violence of consolidation Partisan Violence Partisan Violence Guerrilla Violence Guerrilla Violence Drug Violence Drug Violence

The Violence of consolidation The Violence of consolidation 1821War for independence 1830 Result of Decree by Bolívar in the context of his two year dictatorship Resignation of Bolívar and the dissolution of Greater Colombia (the leaving of Ecuador and Venezuela)/coup in Civil war (War of the Supremes) / coup in Civil war 1858Civil war 1863Civil war 1886 Rebellion led to decree nullifying the 1863 constitution

Figure 2.1: Colombian Murder Rate, [i] [i] [i] figures from Brauer, et al., 2004: figures Forensis 2004: figure, Forsensis 2005:2.

Figure 2.2: Comparative Murder Rates,

Table 8.2: 2006 Presidential Election Results CandidatePartyVotesPercentage Álvaro Uribe VélezPrimero Colombia [i] [i] 7,397, % Carlos Gaviria DíazPDA2,613, % Horacio Serpa UribePL1,404, % Antanas Mockus SivickasASI146, % Enrique Parejo GonzálezMRDN42, % Alvaro Leyva DuranMNR18, % Carlos Arturo Rincon BarretoMCCC15, % [i] [i] Note: “Primero Colombia” (“Colombia First”) was a slogan used on the ballot, rather than a party label in the sense that it was only used for this election by one candidate (not unlike the way Andrés Pastrana used the space for a party label on the 1994 and 1998 presidential ballots).

Violence (Actors) Guerrillas Guerrillas Narcotraffickers Narcotraffickers Paramilitary Groups Paramilitary Groups