Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Following the declaration of Venezuelan independence and the founding of Gran Colombia in 1819, the expectations of land redistribution to peasants were not realized and large tracts of arable land remained in the control of a small oligarchic aristocracy. Ezequiel Zamora was a fearless military leader of rebel armies that sought land redistribution, fueling peasant uprisings during 1846 and acting as commander in the Federal War from 1859 to 1863. The son of a small landowner, Zamora moved to Caracas as a youth to finish his primary education. Inspired by his brother-in-law to study revolutionary movements in Europe and by José Manuel García, a lawyer, he examined principles of equality for transforming Venezuela into a democratic society. In 1846, Zamora ran for electoral office as a candidate for the Liberal Party in the Cantón of Villa de Cura, northwestern Venezuela, but his election was blocked illegally by conservative opponents. In his speeches, Zamora condemned the oligarchs who retained control of most of the arable land after Venezuelan independence from Spain. In the years following the death of the Liberator Simón Bolívar in 1830, General José Antonio Páez closed ranks with large landowners and cattle ranchers seeking to maintain control over farms and natural resources. However, the failure to redistribute land intensified poverty and economic disarray, escalating ... log in or subscribe to read full text