La Violencia no inició con el asesinato de Gaitán | Blogs El Espectador

The article proposes a fundamental revision of Colombian historiography by arguing that the period known as “La Violencia” began before the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1948. According to data from the National Center for Historical Memory, the rise in targeted killings and violence against civilian property was already evident by 1944, while massacres intensified in 1947. This empirical evidence challenges the historical convention that places the onset of the conflict at the death of the liberal leader, suggesting that mechanisms of victimization were already in place years earlier. The primary root of this violence is identified in the conflict over land tenure, exacerbated by the agrarian counter-reform of 1944. This legislation empowered large landowners, who responded to peasant land invasions seeking justice with brutality, including the use of private militias. Rather than mediating or protecting displaced populations, the state ignored these events, allowing impunity to become an entrenched structural pattern. Thus, political polarization and repression against subaltern sectors emerged as direct consequences of this pre-existing territorial conflict, preceding the national outbreak. This analysis is crucial for the field of open data because it demonstrates how the availability of primary, systematically organized information can correct established narratives. By making accessible non-traditional victimization records, a more accurate understanding of the origins of the armed conflict becomes possible. Transparency in these data not only enriches academic debate but is also vital for designing memory and reconciliation policies grounded in real evidence, ensuring that historical truth is not subordinated to prior political interpretations.

Source: blogs.elespectador.com
Published on 2025-12-30

La Violencia no inició con el asesinato de Gaitán | Blogs El Espectador

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