Communism in Colombia
[citation needed] In the early 20th century, Colombia was linked to the international economy through its mass exportation of coffee, minerals, fruits, and even oil.
Further burdening the booming nation was a history of civil wars and political corruption, which pitted the liberal and conservative factions of Colombian governance against one.
Among these figures, was Luis Tejada, a co-editor of left wing newspaper 'El Sol', who published multiple articles praising the importance of Lenin.
[6] After failure in the 1922 elections, backing moderate Socialist candidate Benjamin Herrera, this iteration of the party began to split apart due to a lack of interest in joining international efforts to pursue communist thought.
However, with no true party capable of executing such policies and establishing a political presence in Colombia, the Latin American sector of the Comintern resisted approving the affiliation.
[6] Following the conference, Socialist leader Luis Tejada died, and Silvestre Savitski was expelled from the country by the Colombia government a year later for his efforts in spreading communist doctrine.
Within a year, the Comintern and PSR leaders would be involved in one of the biggest, and deadliest strikes in Colombian history, the Banana Massacre in Santa Marta.
U.S. warships carrying troops were on the way to Colombia to protect U.S. citizens working for the United Fruit Company in Santa Marta and property.
The popular Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán used the term "La Masacre de las Bananeras" to raise opposition among Colombian society against the massacre.
[8] The Comintern was indirectly involved in the planning and execution of the strike in Santa Marta and its failure was openly discussed in the First Conference of Latin American Communist Parties that took place in Buenos Aires the following year.
Maheca reported that over 32,000 workers were armed and prepared to strike against UFCO, yet he blamed indecision from their liberal allies in Bogota for the general failure of the uprising.
[5] The Liberal party - with whom they sought a united front, did not provide solidarity with the strike or with the attempt for revolution, directly weakening the cause of the PSR.
[citation needed] Gaitán was shot and killed about 1:15 p.m. on April 9, 1948, near the corner of Carrera Séptima and Jimenez de Quesada in Central Bogotá during the 9th Pan-American Conference.
The enraged mob killed his assassin Juan Roa Sierra and dragged his body in the streets to the front of the presidential palace,[11] where it was hanged.
[citation needed] The rioters took control of all national radio stations in the city of Bogotá, and announcements were delivered against the Conservative government of Mariano Ospina Pérez.
[citation needed] Following the events of "El Bogotazo", a decade long civil war broke out among the Conservative and Liberal factions of Colombian politics.
The new bipartisan system became known as La Frente Nacional (National Front) and involved alternating political power between the Liberal and Conservative branches of the new party.
[19][18] A squatters' colony of approximately 6,000 landless emerged in parts of Cundinamarca, Tolima, Huila, Caquetá, and Meta departments, areas of rural conflict.
