Blackwell Reference Online

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Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was a popular politician in Colombia and advocate who appealed to common people, and is best remembered for his tremendous oratory. His death created the deepest crisis in Colombian history. He was born on January 23, 1903 in Bogotá and died in April 9, 1948. After studying political science and law in Bogotá at the National University of Colombia and obtaining his doctoral thesis with the title “The socialist ideas in Colombia,” he completed a doctorate in law at the Sapienza in Rome, where he earned the second doctor title in jurisprudence with the thesis “The positive criteria of the premeditation.” Gaitán was educated as professor of law at the National University of Bogotá and the Free University. He was critical of the control of Colombia by a small oligarchy and the marginalization of peasants and workers and opposed the growing imperial influence of the United States. As a congressman of the Liberal Party he became known for the denunciation of the massacre of banana workers of Magdalena. In 1933 Gaitán was elected leader of the Chamber of Representatives. Frustrated by the failed reforms of the Liberal government of Olaya Hererra, Gaitán and supporters founded the Unión Nacional Izquierdista Revolucionaria (UNIR) as a movement of popular masses and labor unions that differed from the traditional parties. As advisor for unions in their fight for better ... log in or subscribe to read full text