WHAT WERE THE LIBERAL GUERRILLAS OF COLOMBIA? - HISTORY - 2025

The Liberal guerrillas in Colombia were armed groups that emerged from conflict between members of the Liberal and Conservative parties in rural regions of the country.

This conflict gave way to a period known as La Violencia. La Violencia occurred between 1946 and 1963, during which time armed peasant groups arose to protect members of the Liberal Party from conservative attacks.

Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, Liberal Leader Whose murder strengthened guerrilla movements in Colombia

The different guerrillas that were formed as a result of these conflicts were focused on carrying out operations in isolated areas to frustrate the attempts of the central government to exercise sovereignty over the territories.

Although the end of La Violencia was formally declared in 1963 by President Rojas Pinilla, the consequences of this period and in particular of the actions of the liberal guerrillas, are still visible today.

The main liberal guerrillas in Colombia have been the FARC founded in 1964, the ELN (National Liberation Army) founded in 1964, the M19 founded in 1970 and the EPL (Popular Liberation Army), founded in 1965.

Beginnings of the Liberal Guerrillas

In its first stage, the liberal guerrillas were small armed groups created with the purpose of balancing the internal rivalries of the ruling classes in various parts of Colombian territory.

These disputes resembled a civil war masked under various pretexts of ideological differences, such as the role of the church in the state and the nature of the national organization.

These groups were the breeding ground for the powerful guerrillas that subsequently formed.

The Bogotazo

One of the events that promoted the formation and strengthening of the liberal guerrillas in Colombia and that occurred in April 1948, was El Bogotazo.

The Bogotazo refers to the strong riots in Bogotá, the Colombian capital, after the assassination of the liberal leader and presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitán.

Tram on fire in front of the National Capitol where the IX Pan-American Conference was taking place in the Elliptical Hall of the Capitol

Gaitán was the liberal candidate most likely to become the president of Colombia and replace Conservative Mariano Ospina.

This fact in the Colombian capital was an engine for the liberal guerrillas in the regions to strengthen themselves against the conservative government. Historical guerrillas such as the ELN and the FARC were some of these.

After the Violence

Colombian press of the time

The armed groups strengthened during the time of La Violencia later became guerrillas with broad power in different rural territories of Colombia.

During the 1960's, the ruling classes had lost military and political power and were going through a strong ideological crisis, which led them to lose central control over the areas of activity of the guerrillas that came to form numerous and influential groups.

The officially constituted guerrillas during this period were large enough to see the seizure of power by means of arms possible, although they never succeeded.

News of the liberal guerrillas

At present, most of the liberal guerrillas have stopped their armed actions and have entered as political groups.

In 2016 the last great guerrilla in Latin America, the Farc, reached a peace agreement that led to its demobilization and at present its members are in a process of disarmament and reintegration to civil life.

With these changes, the last liberal guerrilla in Colombia is the ELN, an armed group that is also in the process of negotiating with the Colombian government.

References

1. Dudley S. (2004). Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Books, Inc, London
2. Hawkins J. Guerrilla Wars-Threat in Latin America. World Affairs. 1963; 126 (3): 169-175
3. Legrand C. Colonization and violence in Colombia: perspectives and debates. Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne des études latino-américaines et caraïbes. 1989; 14 (28): 5-29
4. Sanchez G. Bakewell P. La Violencia in Colombia: New Research, New Questions. The Hispanic American Historical Review. 1985; 65 (4): 789-807
5. Watson C. Political Violence in Colombia: Another Argentina ?. Third World Quarterly. 1990; 12 (3): 25-39.