apr 9, 1948 - Murder Of Jose Eliecer Gaitan and El Bogotazo

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Jose Eliecer Gaitan Ayala was perhaps one of the most important figures in 20th century Colombian politics. Born into a poor family in Bogota, his vision of an ideal Colombia included more rights being given to the people and less to the oligarchy. He was also a vocal critic of US influence in Colombia, especially the presence of united fruit in the country. He would join the traditional Colombian liberal party as it won its first presidential election in 1930. Gaitan would later leave the liberal party in 1933 to found his own party the unión nacional izquierdista revolucionaria, however after failing in the elections, the party would be dissolved, and Gaitan returned to the liberal party. His political ambitions involved reforming the Colombian government, which he saw as favouring a small elite at the expense of its people. After rejoining the liberal party, Gaitan had multiple roles in power, including as mayor of Bogota, where his reforms faced strong opposition from the higher government, however his skills as an orator and his platform gained him lots more support around the country, becoming the leader of the liberal party and being on track to win the 1950 presidential election before his assassination on the 9th of April 1948. Gaitan was shot three times by a man named Juan Roa Sierra, who was himself chased down and killed by a mob shortly after, to this day, Sierra’s motivation for the murder remains unknown.
Following the murder of Gaitan, a massive riot known as “El Bogotazo” took place. After the rioters had cornered and killed Gaitan’s assassin, their focus turned to institutions perceived to be connected to the conservative party and the Colombian elites, including newspapers, shops, government buildings and churches. Massive parts of the capital were burned to the ground as the riots continued before coming to an end due to military intervention on the 11th. Although the riots were kicked off by Gaitan’s assassination, the simmering conflict between lower and upper class and liberals and conservatives was bound to erupt at one point or another, and the built up frustration of the lower class exploded after the assassination of Gaitan, leading to somewhere between 600 and 3000 killed, and thousands more injured, as well as the destruction of a substantial part of Bogota.

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