Columbia Flashcards
What is special about Colombia’s state and regime
Columbia is democratic regime put a week state
-Long democracy yet unstable and much Civil War
Who said the following quote and how does it relate to colombia??When “ living without a common power to keep them all in all they are in that condition which is cold war, and such a word as is of every man against every man”….. this condition is characterized by “ continual fear and danger of violent death and the life of every man, solitary,poor brutish and short.”
-Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
Levathian
Saying without a state things fall apart,
wrote this during the 30 years war
, life outside the state to be dangerous which is the standard view
Colombia is a successful weak state and not a failed strong state
Few things to remember about Colombian violence
- during the 90s Columbia had worlds highest homicide rate
- political in criminal violence are connected
- kidnapping rates very high-Displaced people, late 90s and early 2000’s displaced internally IDP very high in Columbia
- did experience 150 years of Civil War
What are the four possible ways a state becomes weak?
Geography, war, economic level of development, elite choice
Possible factors of the weak state in Columbia
Describe geography
Geography Columbia
-three major mountain ranges
-all nature centre spread out in the Highlands which makes it difficult to govern and communicate
-valleys between mountain ranges are dryer making it difficult for government have a presence in those areas
- State is in the Highlands and not in the low lands which is opposite of other countries
—Highlands are more temperate and people gravitate there
Possible factors of the weak state in Columbia
Describe War
Centeno-Limited wars make limited states
-civil war weakens the state
Strong military is not outcome of fighting a war but can be a cause of war
Possible factors of the weak state in Columbia
Economic level of Development
Middle income country
Possible factors of the weak state in Columbia
Explain elite choice
/agreement of people to build this institution
- elites choose to build a weak state and not failed to build a strong state
- they wanted a week state so that they could use week or institutions to their advantage and have since the 19 century
- having a week state protects minorities
Why would the elites in Columbia choose to create a week state?
Couple of groups that had coercive force and either have a Levathian (big state) or put funs down and consolidate the coercive force ➡️ need trust
Liberals and conservatives during 19 century Columbia
What were the conflict over standard issues?
- role of religion-liberals wanting to limit Catholic Church
- centralization of power versus decentralization
- Federal versus unitary state
Liberals and conservatives during 19 century Columbia
What were the major differences with other Latin American countries?
- Colombian liberals and conservatives kept coercive power instead of giving it up to the state(Leviathan)
- The elites didn’t want to create a strong military(even conservatives) each group wanted to keep power or coercion to themselves
- Socially conservatives and liberals wouldn’t even married you other, live different places, different schools creating a deeply divided society
Liberals and conservatives during 19 century Columbia
How did both sides keep the Columbian state weak?
Colombian states remained week because both conservatives and liberals could not trust each other enough to put guns down and neither side was strong enough to defeat the other to create a strong state
-The elites want to the week states on either side to take over in rule ➡️ no trust!!!!
What were the two examples given in class of what Colombians did not want?
1- Argentina’s Juan Manuel Rosas
- history of authoritarian rule (Caudillio) and totalitarian rule military rule
- cult of personality
- opposition purged and papers burned publicly
2-Mexico - Porfino Diaz-1876-Coup
-ruled Mexico for 35 years
strict law and order program established through fear
-created “rurales” -Police with quick Swift punishment
Who was Jorge Gaitan??
Populist leader of the Liberal party-wanted to expand beyond oligarch tradition to include middle and working-classes (expand vote)
-assassinated in 1948 by agents of conservative party because universal suffrage with threaten their power
- his assassination led to “Bogotazo” 1948
Which was an outbreak of violence on all sides leaving thousands dead and injured
Time line of “la violencia” -1948-1958
1950:Laureano Gomez takes power (conservative fascist ideology, persecutes Liberal party)
1953:Proposes new constitution that would have created a Franco like authoritarian regime
-liberal and conservative gorilla armies fighting extreme violence on both sides
-General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, With support of both parties, leads coup against Gomez
Was supposed to call for elections, but ruled as a dictator
1954:Government forces massacre university students in Bagota
1955-1957:Liberal gorilla groups ally with communist guerillas from coffee growing regions
-Liberales Comunes emerges and would later become FARC
-Liberales Comunes is repressed by government in the US becomes involved in early counterinsurgency
-1957 liberals and conservatives stage a coup against Rojas Pinilla (Church, business Community, even communist all supported coup)
Replaced his rule with Common front or Nationale Frente (National front)
