Republic of Colombia
The coalition of moderate Liberals and Conservatives that ended the liberal hegemony and placed Rafael Núñez in power, repealed the Constitution of Rionegro with the Constitution of 1886. From now on, the country was officially called the Republic of Colombia.
The Constituent Assembly consisted of 18 delegates, two from each of the nine states.
Rafael Núñez announced a national Regeneration program and changed the country from a decentralized federal system to a centralized system with a strong central presidency. The presidential period changed from two to six years. The president of the Republic was elected by the Congress. The president of the state was appointed governor who from that moment on was appointed by the president of the Republic. The governor would choose the mayors of his department, except the mayor of Bogotá who was chosen by the president himself. Thus the president in effect had control of the executive at all levels.
The re-election of the president in immediately subsequent periods was authorized.
The chamber, the departmental assemblies and the municipal councils were chosen by popular vote. The Senate was chosen by the departmental assemblies. The suffrage for elections of national scope was limited to literate men over the age of 21. The restriction of knowing how to read and to write did not apply in regional elections.
The position of the vice-president was reinstated, and initially occupied by Eliseo Payán.
The Colombian Constitution of 1886 remained in effect for more than one hundred years, guiding the mandate of twenty-three presidents of the Republic.
Read more about this topic: Constitutional History Of Colombia, The Constitution of 1886
Famous quotes containing the word republic:
“People think they have taken quite an extraordinarily bold step forward when they have rid themselves of belief in hereditary monarchy and swear by the democratic republic. In reality, however, the state is nothing but a machine for the oppression of one class by another, and indeed in the democratic republic no less than in the monarchy.”
—Friedrich Engels (1820–1895)