Laureano Eleuterio Gómez Castro (20 February 1889 – 13 July 1965) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the
18th President of Colombia
The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...
from 1950 to 1953. In November 1951 poor health led him to cede presidential power to
Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez. On 13 June 1953, when he tried to resume his presidency, he was overthrown in a military coup led by
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian National Army of Colombia, army general, civil engineer and politician who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia in a military dictatorship f ...
.
During the three decades prior to being elected president, Gómez was a radical leader of the Conservative Party and is widely considered to be one of the most brilliant and potent orators of the
Congress of Colombia
The Congress of the Republic of Colombia () is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature.
The Congress of Colombia consists of the 108-seat Senate, and the 188-seat Chamber of Representatives, Members of both houses are e ...
. However, he remains a controversial figure because of his sympathy for authoritarian regimes and the dictatorial nature of his government.
Early life and political career
Gómez was born in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
on 20 February 1889. He studied
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
at the
National University of Colombia
The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, ...
, graduating in 1909. He was the founder and editor of the periodical ''
La Unidad'' from 1909 to 1916. He was first elected to parliament in 1911 and served until 1918. He was reelected in 1921 and served in various cabinet roles throughout the next twenty years. Gómez was widely viewed as a brilliant parliamentarian and political tactician. In 1932, Gómez gained control of the Conservative party in Colombia, a role which he relished. Under his leadership, the party became highly disciplined and provided strong opposition to the ruling
Liberal Government. However, he got into trouble because of his sympathy for the
dictatorship
A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...
and
totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...
Axis powers. He was also an admirer of
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
and openly supported him. He also opposed universal suffrage on the grounds of it being "contradictory with the hierarchical nature of the society".
''El Siglo''
On 1 February 1936 Gómez founded ''
El Siglo'' with Jose de la Vega, an old school friend, fellow Conservative, and senator. ''El Siglo'' was an intensely partisan newspaper, dedicated to promoting conservatism and Catholicism. The editors indicated that stemming the tide of secularization in Colombia was one of their primary objectives.
During the Liberal Republic, ''El Siglo'' became a significant platform for criticizing the Liberal Party. Gómez elevated any Liberal misstep to the level of national scandal. And he vehemently attacked Liberal policies; every new policy announcement, no matter how moderate, was met with a chorus of denunciation and declared to be the beginning of the path that would lead to Colombia's ruin. One political scientist described his opposition campaign as "so wildly vitriolic that at times it seemed to border on insanity."
In response to these incessant and sometimes brutal attacks, Liberals nicknamed Gómez "El Monstruo" ("The Monster").
The building housing the offices of ''El Siglo'' was destroyed during the ''
Bogotazo'' in the aftermath of the assassination of
Jorge Eliecer Gaitán in 1948. While other structures associated with Gómez, such as his house, a restaurant he built, and the
Palacio de San Carlos, were burnt to the ground, ''El Siglos building was first set on fire, and then dynamited. In September 1953, while in exile in Spain, Gómez published letters in ''El Siglo'' denouncing the military regime then in power in Colombia. As this defied censorship policies which outlawed criticism of General
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian National Army of Colombia, army general, civil engineer and politician who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia in a military dictatorship f ...
or the military government, the newspaper was closed and prohibited from publishing.
Election and assumption of the presidency
While the country was amidst the period of unrest called ''
La Violencia'', Gómez gained the presidency in 1950 in an election in which the Liberals refused to participate. He was inaugurated in August 1950; thereafter, he continued the
state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
instituted by his predecessor,
Mariano Ospina Pérez.
Activists and sympathizers of
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
and
Communist Party and the members of
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
minority were persecuted during this time.
Korean War
Following his inauguration Gómez ordered Colombian troops to support the
United Nations Command
United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first attempt at collective security by the U ...
and United States forces in the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. Other Conservative Party leaders opposed Colombian involvement in this war. The party was already experiencing growing factionalism and Gomez's decision to send troops to Korea further galvanized increasing internal opposition to his rule.
Nevertheless, the Colombian Battalion remained in Korea throughout the war.
Attempted constitutional reform
Gómez believed that strong executive power was essential for social order. In his view, governments should be run by highly educated elites who supposedly knew what was best for everyone. Although he was not the only Colombian politician who claimed that majoritarian democracy had destabilizing effects, he was one of the most strident critics of mass politics. Throughout his political career he decried Liberals who, as he saw it, inflamed the political passions of popular classes and thereby subverted the political order. He explicitly demonstrated his disdain for majoritarian democracy in 1942, when he criticized Congress for being too beholden to the popular will and vowed to give up his Senate seat at the end of the year. Over the next several years, he used the pages of ''El Siglo'' to promote the idea of "mixed" democracy, a combination of corporate and popular rule. Three events in the late 1940s strengthened his commitment to blunting majoritarian democracy in Colombia: the mass uprising known as the
Bogotazo following the assassination of
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala (23 January 1903 – 9 April 1948) was a Colombian politician and statesman who was the leader of the Liberal Party. A nationalist, he served as the mayor of Bogotá from 1936–37, the national Education Minister ...
in 1948, Congress' failed attempt to impeach Conservative president
Mariano Ospina Pérez in 1949, and Ospina Perez's subsequent suspension of Congress in retaliation. For Gómez, the ''Bogotazo'' was not only a demonstration of the pitfalls of popular rule, but also a sign that Colombia would succumb to communist revolution if nothing was done to stem the tide of increased popular political participation. Thus, by the time he assumed the presidency in 1950, reshaping the Colombian political system through constitutional reform was one of his major goals.
On 28 October 1951 Gómez suffered a massive heart attack that partially paralyzed him for the remainder of his life. Nevertheless, two days later, while still in the hospital, he sent a letter to Congress outlining his plan for reforming the constitution. Although he subsequently had to request a temporary retirement from the presidency, he continued to direct the process of constitutional reform through his proxy,
Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez, who was named acting president on 5 November 1951. In early 1952, Urdaneta convened a National Constitutional Assembly; Liberals boycotted it, as did dissident factions of the Conservative Party, led alternately by Gilberto Alzáte Avedaño and
Mariano Ospina Pérez.
The Assembly worked throughout 1952 and ultimately produced a document with numerous provisions designed to curb popular power, strengthen executive power, and stem the secularization of Colombian political life. Presidential terms increased from four to six years. The length of congressional sessions, on the other hand, decreased. Congress was stripped of its authority to impeach the president or to elect members of the Supreme Court. Members of congress were elected through two different means: either direct popular election, or as representatives of various corporate groups (labor unions, business associations, industrialists, farmers, etc.). Congress was to be split evenly among these two different kinds of senators. The Catholic Church once again enjoyed special state protections: Church sovereignty was guaranteed and Catholic doctrine was to guide public education. Meanwhile, the activities of other religious groups were restricted. Families rather than individuals were seen as society's most important political actor, and were therefore afforded special protection, including the provision that married men be granted two votes in local elections, while single men had only one.
When the Constitutional Assembly finished its work, Gómez praised the document, claiming that enhanced executive power would prevent Moscow from asserting communist rule in Colombia and end what he described as communist-inspired violence in the countryside. He also claimed that corporate rule would eliminate the contentious political climate which he believed was caused by universal suffrage. The new constitution was to take effect in mid-1953. Before that happened, however, Gómez was overthrown in a military coup. His successor,
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian National Army of Colombia, army general, civil engineer and politician who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia in a military dictatorship f ...
, eventually convened a hand-picked assembly, which was to continue the process of constitutional reform begun by Gómez. The assembly never did so, however, and the impetus for such reform withered with Gómez's exile.
Exile
Gómez suffered a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
in 1951. Although fearing for his life, he continued to control the government through a puppet successor,
Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez. With public order collapsing, General
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian National Army of Colombia, army general, civil engineer and politician who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia in a military dictatorship f ...
seized power in 1953 and Gómez fled to Spain. There he continued to lead the Conservatives in exile. He was instrumental in a 1956 agreement, the
Pact of Benidorm, between the two main parties, negotiated with Liberal leader
Alberto Lleras Carmago to counter the military regime.
Return
A year after the collapse of the military regime, Gómez, representing the Conservative Party, and Lleras Carmargo, representing the Liberals, signed the Declaration of Sitges, which defined the next 15 years of Colombian politics. The unique agreement provided for alternation of Conservatives and Liberals in the presidency, an equal sharing of ministerial and other government posts. The declaration and the resulting coalition divided authority between the parties until 1974. This period is known as the
National Front.
Gómez returned to Colombia, where he continued to dominate the Conservative party until his death on 13 July 1965 in Tunja.
Author
Gómez was also a writer and a well known conservative art critic; he was a patron of the arts and did much for artistic culture in Colombia. He had candid disputes with artists he criticized (such as
Eladio Velez) and artists he acclaimed (such as
Santiago Martinez Delgado).
References
External links
Biography of Gomez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Laureano
1889 births
1965 deaths
Politicians from Bogotá
National University of Colombia alumni
Colombian civil engineers
Colombian Conservative Party politicians
Ministers of foreign affairs of Colombia
Presidents of Colombia
Presidents of the Senate of Colombia
Burials at Central Cemetery of Bogotá
Colombian newspaper founders
20th-century Colombian businesspeople
20th-century Roman Catholics
Colombian Roman Catholics
Gómez family
Leaders ousted by a coup
Colombian exiles
Colombian anti-communists
Colombian expatriates in Spain
People of the Korean War