Introduction

What was the national front?

The National Front was a power-sharing agreement established in Colombia in
1958 between the Liberal and the Conservative Parties, in an effort to end the
period of political violence in Colombia. The agreement involved the rotation of the
presidency between the two parties for a period of 16 years.

Why did the national front started?

the goal of removing General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla from power. Because Pinilla
had taken power in a coup in 1953 and was seeking to perpetuate his rule, so the
Colombians were discontent with that situation
And The desire to end the conflictive period of La Violencia, generated by the
bipartisanship polarization in Colombia.

How did it started?

"On July 24, 1956, the leaders signed the Benidorm Pact on spain, where it was
established that the system of government for the next 16 years would alternate
the presidential power every four years between a representative of the Liberal and
Conservative parties."
On December 1st, in 1957 the expresidents laureano Gómez and Alberto Lleras
convocated a plebiscite where the colombians vote in favor or against the national
front, and it results with a 95.2% of the votes in favor of the pact.
An important fact is that in this plebiscite was the first participation of women in an
electoral process.
The accord starts in 1958 with Alberto lleras and how it was sighted it ends 16
years later in 1974.

Presidents
Alberto Lleras Camargo (1958-1962)
- (Liberal) he was the main promoter of the national front, During his presidency, he
worked to promote economic and social reforms.
Guillermo León Valencia (1962-1966)
-(Conservative). His presidency was marked by the launch of the Alliance for
Progress, a US program aimed at promoting economic development in Latin
America.

Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1966-1970)

- (Liberal) he worked to promote land reform and launched a number of social
programs aimed at reducing poverty.

Misael Pastrana Borrero (1970-1974)

- (Conservative) he oversaw the negotiation of a peace agreement with guerrilla
groups and worked to promote economic growth.

Opposers to the national front

Leftist guerrilla groups: Leftist guerrilla groups such as the (FARC) and the (ELN)
emerged during the National Front era and opposed the political establishment
represented by the National Front.

Alfonso López Michelsen, founded an opposition party, the Liberal Revolutionary

Movement:
(Para la diapositiva) "If the National Front is a hegemony as exclusive as the past
parties were, I have no doubt that with time this new party, a coalition of old
political classes, capitalism, and the Church, will end up being destroyed " wrote
López Michelsen.

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla founded the ANAPO “alianza nacional popular” party in 1961

Independent politicians: they opposed the National Front for its limitations on
democracy and its exclusion of other political parties from power.
Consequences

End to the bipartisan violence

This measure managed to put an end to the violence between the two main
political parties in Colombia, which had reached its highest point during El
Bogotazo.

Economic crisis
Colombia entered an economic crisis, which resulted in the devaluation of the
currency and the country was generating inflation.

lack of political participation

Due to the alternating rule between the Liberal and Conservative parties, other
political parties had no participation, since the same two parties always took turns.
As a result of this, some parties began to adopt revolutionary ideas.

Creation of Guerrillas
Some political movements took a violent turn, such as ANAPO, which ended up
creating the guerrilla group M19, and Frente Unido joining the ELN. Additionally,
guerrilla groups such as FARC and EPL emerged."

Continuation of the national front

The same political forces of the National Front continued to govern the country with
the same political and economic practices

National front for 21 century

Those 16 years of the National Front brought some of the major ills of current
Colombian society.
Various armed organizations emerged in response to the lack of opportunities and
state repression. Among them, (FARC), (ELN) and (M-19)
the emergence of these armed groups generated violence in Colombia since that
was their way of protesting to defend their ideals and also It opened the way to
State Repression where the State responded to the appearance of these with a
policy of repression and persecution that generated a spiral of violence and human
rights violations, something that even in the 21st century left many victims involved.

With these groups created under the framework of the national front, drug
trafficking in Colombia was also given a boost, something that despite the passing
of the years continues to have an impact in the country, this activity has caused
many illegal groups to continue committing crimes since it is the that finances their
processes, it also continues to be a practice with which the country fights legally