Alfonso López Michelsen

Alfonso López Michelsen (30 June 1913 – 11

July 2007) was a Colombian politician and Alfonso López Michelsen
lawyer who served as the 24th President of
Colombia from 1974 to 1978. He was nicknamed
"El Pollo" (The Chicken), a popular Colombian
idiom for people with precocious careers.

Contents
Early years
Political career
Governor of the Department of Cesar
(1967–1968)
Cabinet
Minister of Foreign Affairs
President López in 1977.
Presidency (1974–1978)
Post presidency 24th President of Colombia
In office
Notes
7 August 1974 – 7 August 1978
References
Preceded by Misael Pastrana Borrero
Succeeded by Julio César Turbay Ayala
Early years Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia
In office
López was the son of former two-time president 14 August 1968 – 7 August 1970
of Colombia, Alfonso López Pumarejo and his
President Carlos Lleras Restrepo
first wife María Michelsen Lombana. He was
born and raised in Bogotá. He studied at Preceded by Germán Zea Hernández
the Gimnasio Moderno School and later in other Succeeded by Alfredo Vázquez Carrizosa
cities: Paris, Brussels, London and Santiago de
1st Governor of Cesar
Chile. He graduated with a degree in law from
the Universidad del Rosario. In office
21 December 1967 – 14 August 1968
During his father's presidency, López President Carlos Lleras Restrepo
maintained a low profile in politics and instead
focused on becoming a university professor at Succeeded by Luis Roberto García Díaz-Granados
the Universidad del Rosario.[1] Personal details
Born 30 June 1913
In 1938, López married Cecilia Caballero Blanco
in Bogotá. They moved to the outskirts Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
of Bogotá in a hacienda in the Died 11 July 2007 (aged 94)
then municipality of Engativá, Cundinamarca Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Department (nowadays a Locality of Bogotá).
Resting place Central Cemetery of Bogotá
Settled in this town, López had his first
experience of politics becoming a town Nationality Colombian
councilman. During this time, his fellow Political party Liberal
councilmen included two other politicians who
Spouse(s) Cecilia Caballero Blanco
went on to become key political players in the (m. 1938; his death 2007)
country, Álvaro Gómez Hurtado and future
president Julio César Turbay Ayala. Children Alfonso López Caballero
Political career Juan Manuel López Caballero
Felipe López Caballero
In 1959, a group of his former college students Parents Alfonso López Pumarejo
founded the Liberal Revolutionary María Michelsen Lombana
Movement(MRL) as a reaction against the pact
between the Liberal Party and the Conservative Alma mater Our Lady of the Rosary
Party to create the National Front, in which the University(JD, 1937)
two parties took turns to govern. López Profession Lawyer
Michelsen was then offered the leadership of the
newly created MRL and he accepted, becoming a presidential candidate for the 1962 presidential
elections. López lost the election by a large margin to Conservative candidate Guillermo León
Valencia.

Governor of the Department of Cesar (1967–1968)

In 1966, López was elected as a senator and negotiated the return of the MRL to the Liberal Party
in 1967. This same year López traveled to the city of Valledupar after being appointed by
President Carlos Lleras Restrepo as the first governor of Cesar Department, a newly created
province in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia. López was able to trace his grandmothers'
family ancestors "the Pumarejos," back to this town. During those years, he was also instrumental
in the creation of the Vallenato Legend Festival (nowadays, one of the most important cultural
events in Colombia) along with vallenato composer Rafael Escalona and journalist Consuelo
Araújo. He served as governor of Cesar from December 21, 1967, until August 14, 1968.

Cabinet
Secretary of Government: Luis Roberto García
Secretary of Development: Alvaro Pupo Pupo
Administrative Office Chief: Alvaro Araujo Noguera
Chief of Planning: Jorge Chaild Velez
Chief of Education: Cesar Fernandez Dager
Chief of Agricultural Sector: Hernan Osorio
Chief of Public Works: Emiro Alfonso Zuleta
Chief of Budget and Accountability: Teobaldo Manjarrez
Chief of General Services: Damazo Lora
Chief of Personnel: Jorge Gomez
Chief of Judicial Bureau: Uribe Habid Molina
Administrator of Rents: Diomedes Daza Daza
Private Secretary: Cesar Escobar Ortega
Chief of Public Relations: Rafael Escalona

Minister of Foreign Affairs

A year later, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs until the end of the presidential term of
President Carlos Lleras Restrepo in 1970.

Presidency (1974–1978)
In 1974, López was chosen by the Liberal Party as their candidate for president, after defeating
former president Carlos Lleras Restrepo in the party presidential primaries, with the support of
former candidate (and presidential successor) Julio César Turbay. He won the general election by a
large margin against the Conservative Party candidate Álvaro Gómez Hurtado, and
the ANAPO candidate, María Eugenia Rojas. His 2,929,719 votes were the highest ever for any
president until that time.

His inaugural presidential speech, delivered on August 7, 1974, is mostly remembered for calling
the disputed border area in the Gulf of Venezuela by its native indigenous name, "Gulf of
Coquibacoa" given by the wayuus. In his speech he also promised to reduce the growing gap
between farmer and urban populations and to fight poverty, messages that attracted the support of
many left-wing political movements.

As a president, López declared economic emergency in order to correct the fiscal deficit, which
allowed him to implement a number of regulatory measures to control spending, and to reduce
subsidies and programs like the tax credit certificate (CAT) which reimbursed partial or total taxes
for exporting companies. He also introduced a tax and fiscal reform which increased national
saving, and allowed an increase in public investment and exports. Crop production increased 16%,
and he also created public offices devoted to the improvement of farming. Under his government,
also, power grids were expanded, and infrastructure investment increased. In contrast, inflation
reached under his government its highest historical values, at around 32%.[2]

Early support for his policies soon turned to fierce opposition, as many of his campaign promises,
in particular those to make deals with unions and in the improvement of potable water access, went
unfulfilled, and as subsidies were eliminated and inflation rose. Unions and other leftist activists
had been accumulating frustration and resentment for decades after the killing of Jorge Eliécer
Gaitán, and the subsequent violence, and the hope for a more open society that came with Lopez's
election turned into feelings of betrayal. As a result, and after three years as president the major
Colombian Unions got together and managed to propose and organize a massive, general strike.
The López administration took a hard approach towards the planned strike, calling it subversive
and at some point threatening arrest and forbidding public meetings.[3] This only enraged the
participants, and the major unionists were joined by teachers, students, independent workers,
housewives, guerrilla leaders, and even members of the opposition conservative party. The
organizing committee demanded among other things salary increases, frozen prices for essential
goods and public services fees, re-establishment of the right to meet and strike, and a reduction in
work hours.

The strike, occurring on September 14, 1977, came to be known as the National Civil Strike, and it
attracted such a large number of discontented participants that the organizing committee soon lost
control of it. Major roads were blocked all over Bogota, and in many other cities around the
country, and very soon many small skirmishes between protesters and riot police started occurring
all over. The manifestations and skirmishes soon turned into riots, and protesters started pillaging
big stores and vandalizing factories and cars. By 4 pm the major declared curfew which only made
protesters more enraged. Hundreds of protesters were wounded, and thousands were arrested and
assembled in the city's Soccer stadium and bullfighting arena. Riots and skirmishes continued all
night and well into the next day, which devastated the city. About 20 or 30 people died in the
middle of it.[4][3] As a consequence, unions declared victory and the López Michelsen's government
had to make concessions. However, the riot made his government adopt a harsher, more repressive
stance.

Post presidency

Upon the end of his term in 1978, he again became the leader of Liberal Party. He ran for president
again in 1982, but was defeated by the Conservative Party candidate, Belisario Betancur.
He continued to actively participate in the decision making of the Liberal Party until the early
1990s when he decided to withdraw from political activity. He was a regular columnist for the
Colombian newspaper El Tiempo which drew attention to many critical issues. For this reason he
was called "el hombre que pone a pensar al pais" (Spanish for "The man who made the country
think").[1]

Lopez Michelsen died in Bogotá on July 11, 2007, after suffering a heart attack.[5]

Notes
1. http://www.elespectador.com/elespectador/Secciones/Detalles.aspx?
idNoticia=12208&idSeccion=21
2. "Alfonso López Michelsen". enciclopedia.banrepcultural.org. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
3. "Así fue el paro de 1977, el más grande (y violento) de la historia de Colombia". Pacifista (in
Spanish). Retrieved 2018-06-14.
4. "40 años del Paro Cívico Nacional de 1977" (PDF).
5. "Alfonso López Michelsen 1913-2007", El Tiempo, 14 July 2007

References
(in Spanish) MOIR: the six lies of President Lopez
(in Spanish) "Alfonso López Michelsen 1913-2007", El Tiempo, 14 July 2007