Every year with the commemorations around the liberal leader, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, they talk about the events, whose distance in time and the multiplicity of versions in this regard, feed myths of what happened that afternoon in April 1948.
Was the tram destroyed? Were there only incidents in Bogota and that is why it is called “El Bogotazo”? Gaitán and Laureano were death enemies? The passage of time has allowed these and other cloaks of doubt to spread, but some bibliographical sources help to fade these cloaks that year after year are repeated like a mantra between locals and strangers.
The assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, 75 years ago, left consequences and wounds that are still evident in the country, in addition to the myths that Javier Hernández Cruz, historian of Señal Memoria, solves below based on the RTVC archives and his Safeguarding and dissemination strategy for the Colombian public radio and television archive.
Was it really just a “Bogotazo”?
Word of mouth, without serious investigations into the facts, has allowed the myth to spread that there was only one incident in the capital of Colombia. Without ignoring that approximately 3,000 people died in Bogotá.
However, the death of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán generated uprisings in other regions of the country, about which little is said. This myth has been fueled by the fact that the most widespread images in these 75 years were taken in Bogotá and mainly in the center of the city.
The truth is that in Valle, Antioquia, Boyacá or Santanderes there were also intense days of popular uprisings that left thousands of victims. Some of these uprisings lasted for weeks, until the conservative government of Mariano Ospina Pérez once again took control of the situation.
The international significance of the events was widely disseminated, not only due to the magnitude of the damage, but also due to the presence of a whole troop of international media who were in Bogotá, covering the incidents of the IX Pan-American Conference, whose sessions were being held carried out in the Congress of the Republic. From this arises the term “Bogotazo”, but it would be more correct to give the name “Colombianazo”.
For the historian Felipe Arias, in his article on the “Soviet” of Barrancabermeja: “In the departmental capitals, intermediate municipalities and towns, the rage of liberals and Gaitanistas was manifested against the seats of power, which they accused of murdering their boss . That mission had the encouragement of the radio, due to the confusing information broadcast in the early hours in the capital, as well as the occupation of the studios by some rebel groups.
Was the tram destroyed on April 9?
In the same way that the popular protests today indicate the viciousness of the demonstrators against mass transportation such as the Transmilenio in Bogotá or the MIO in Cali, the images that emerged from April 9, 1948, show extensive destruction of transportation vehicles. transport.
This medium was inaugurated in 1884. Initially they were driven by mules and in their last years of circulation they were electric, and the last fleet arrived in the city in 1938. The vehicles were given the nickname ‘Lorencitas’, due to their silver roof in honor of the wife of former President Eduardo Santos, Lorencita Villegas, whose hair was platinum blonde.
This was the last domestically assembled body model for the system. It had a capacity of 47 seats, was driven by an electric motor connected to power lines, traveled mainly along the seventh road and had more than 110 fully operational vehicles.
After the destruction, this means of transportation continued to operate in Bogotá until June 30, 1951, when, at the initiative of Mayor Fernando Mazuera, it was replaced by public service buses. By 1948, this transport system was already experiencing its period of decline and its replacement by buses was inevitable.
In conclusion and to resolve the myth, there were damages, 28 trams were burned by the mob of the “nine Aprils”.
Bogota was semi-destroyed on April 9?
It is common to see on the front pages of the country’s main newspapers, in the days after the assassination of the liberal leader, the scandalous eight-column headlines announcing the destruction of Bogotá. Figures on file say 136 buildings were burned down.
However, and without minimizing the consequences of the popular uprising, the death of Gaitán, although it brought devastation to hundreds of properties in the center of Bogotá such as public entities, religious buildings, shops and homes, a large part of the city was not affected. for that destruction.
Now, Bogotá was not the great metropolis of today, but neither was it a small city that was totally affected by the uprising. The damage was limited to the center. Neither the sectors of Chapinero, nor La Cabrera to the north, nor the emerging and populous neighborhoods to the south and west of the city were affected.
Yes, there was an affectation in terms of State entities and infrastructure, which operated in the center, and the truth is that the destruction contributed to the architectural renovation of that sector of the city. It also consolidated its decentralization and the transfer of the wealthiest sectors to the north of Bogotá.
Gaitán and Laureano were death enemies?
The stories that emerged from that time attest to a fight to the death between members of the Conservative and Liberal parties. However, in 1948 this struggle did not transcend fully and physically to the upper echelons of power. There are audios in the Señal Memoria archives, which show the admiration that Gaitán felt for Laureano Gómez, although not for his ideas.
Of course, another was the situation in rural areas and in the other regions of Colombia, where the fields were devastated by a fratricidal struggle for power that left thousands of victims.
In the same way, the murder of Gaitán did later take these violent acts to high places. This is evidenced by the assassination of Vicente Echandía, brother of former President Darío Echandía, or the shooting in the Congress of the Republic in 1949, among many other similar tragic events in the rest of the country.
Did “La Violencia” start on April 9?
The phenomenon of Violence in Colombia has had high points at different times in its history and with different names depending on its time. “La Violencia” is one of those periods that emerged after the death of Gaitán.
Liberalism was subjected to an extermination by sectors affiliated with the Conservative Party, in line with sectors of the military forces such as the police, of conservative affiliation, and some sectors of the army.
However, determining the violent phenomenon in Colombia can be traced back to the time of the bipartisan wars of the 19th century and even to the period of Independence. The violence in the country did not begin on April 9, 1948, but the phenomenon did increase after the death of Gaitán and was academically called “La Violencia”.
Source: RTVC