National Front (Colombia) - Development

Development

After Rojas abdication, a military junta assumes power for a period between May 10, 1957 and August 7, 1958. During this period on December 1, 1957 the referendum takes place in which the people of Colombia accepted the National Front. As a second phase of the plan on March 16, 1958, elections took place to elect the senate and lower house, and collegiate bodies for departments and municipalities to share equal power in the bureaucracy. The two prior scheduled elections for the years 1955 and 1957 never happened due to Rojas Pinilla's military mandate. For the National Front, each party was to present lists of nominees to compete among each other in the same party. The National Front established rules to run within parties and preserve in some way the democratic system.

The Conservative party could not reach an agreement on who would be its first candidate to govern and after consulting with the Liberal Party, both sides agreed to start with a Liberal candidate which was quickly fixed by congress in a constitutional amendment and which also extended the National Front from 12 to 16 years. In 1958 elections for the presidency are reestablished and on May 4, as espected Alberto Lleras Camargo is elected the first president of the National Front.

During the government of Lleras Camargo the parity among parties was reaffirmed. Congress decreed Legislative Act 1 on September 15, 1959 which stated "Article 1. During the three constitutional periods between August 7, 1962 and August 7, 1974, the Presidency of Colombia will be held in an alternating manner by citizens members of the two traditional parties; Liberals and Conservatives, so that the elected president for one term is opposite to the predecessor party. To start the alternations the seat of the President of Colombia for the period between August 7, 1962 and August 7, 1974 will be held by a citizen member of the Conservative party."

The National Front gradually pacified the bipartisan violence that endured for more than a century and generated the demobilization of some liberal guerrillas. however, social, economic and political problems continued and new guerrilla movements surged due to the general dissatisfaction and the adoption of new political ideas such as communism. In 1964 the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group was born and was followed by other groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN) on January 7, 1965, the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) on July 1967, the Quintín Lame Movement (MAQL) in 1984 and the 19th of April Movement (M-19).