In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

In the Role of the Vanquished 151 electors in areas where they were in the majority; elsewhere they should try to form mixed slates in agreement with opposition Conservatives.106 On the same date Parra informed Liberal leaders in Panama that should Velez be nominated for the presidency, the Liberal party would support him. Velez would probably not win the election, but the position of the party was bound to improve in any event.107 According to Parra, the decision to endorse Velez was accepted by Liberals everywhere, except in Barranquilla,108 but many were reluctant to support his running-mate Jose Joaquin Ortiz. "The Ortiz candidacy can satisfy no Liberal," Parra admitted on 18 November 1891 in a letter to Fidel Cano, head of the Antioquia directory, "but it ... should not deter us from the object we had in mind in accepting the candidacy of General Velez; and since denying votes to Mr. Ortiz would be equivalent to favoring the Caro candidacy, there should be no vacillation in supporting that of the former. After all, Mr. Ortiz is also affiliated with the opposition ."109 Liberal support for the Velez-Ortiz ticket did not mean, however, that the Liberals had effected an alliance with the opposition Conservatives, or that relations between them were friendly. In the letter to Cano cited above, Parra complained about the coolness of the Velez directory toward the Liberals. "It seems as if these gentlemen [the members of the directory ] harbor the strange pretension-not to give it another name~f appearing forced by the Liberals to accept their support in the election of General Velez. The singular aloofness of these gentlemen has not permitted up to now the understanding that is natural between two parties who are going to struggle against a common adversary tomorrow." And the hope expressed in the circular of 13 October that Liberals would be able to join with Velistas in drawing up mixed slates of candidates in areas where the Liberals lacked a clear majority proved unfounded. No agreement could be reached with the Velistas in Cartagena and Bogota, and in Antioquia Liberals were instructed by the departmental directory to vote for the Velista slate of electors.110 After the balloting took place on 6 December, the Correo Nacional reported that the Nunez-Caro ticket had won a widespread victory, 111 but Liberals charged that they had,been intimidated while attempting to register and to vote.112 There is also evidence that, despite the exhortations of the Liberal Center, party members had abstained in large numbers. In letters to Uribe Uribe and Belisario Zamorano in Cauca, Camacho Roldan reported that the Liberal turnout had been poor in most of the larger towns in the country. Liberals had stayed away from the polls because of fear or because of unwillingness to concede the legitimacy of the regime, and in some areas Liberal committees had even advised abstention. 113 Only in Antioquia and in a few places in Boyaca and Bolivar had the Liberals made a good showing. 152 Red Against Blue On 19 December the Center informed the departmental directors that Liberal electors were to cast their ballots for Velez and Ortiz in the electoral assemblies in February.114 The Velistas merited Liberal support, the circular said, and the party would betray its weakness if the electors were to vote for other candidates. These instructions were made public in a circular to the electors dated 1 January 1892.115 By voting for the opposition candidates, they would be expressing the party's willingness to contribute to the establishment of a legal regime that would guarantee the rights of the citizens and permit political parties to operate freely. Moreover , if Velez were elected president, some reforms might be made, such as repeal of the Law of the Horses and removal of restrictions on the press. When the electoral assemblies met on 2 February, Nunez and Caro received 2,075 and 2,082 votes, respectively, and Velez and Ortiz received 509 and 503, respectively; 347 of Velez's votes came from Antioquia.1l6 Precise figures on the number of Liberal electors chosen in December are not available, but party leaders themselves indicated that it was very small.117 After the conclusion of the presidential contest, the Liberal Center began its preparations for the May 1892 elections for seats in municipal councils, departmental assemblies, and the Chamber of Representatives. All citizens were eligible to vote for municipal councilors and deputies to the assemblies, who...

Share