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4 T erritorial Rule during the National Front and Its Aftermath, 1958–1978 The threat posed by Rojas Pinilla’s populist leanings and his increasingly independent actions proved to be the final outrage that drove Liberal and Conservative leaders to postpone (at least temporarily) the party strife that had caused so much damage to the social and economic fabric of the country in order to work together to oust the dictator. After meeting in Spain on July 26, 1956, Laureano Gómez and Alberto Lleras Camargo announced the Declaration of Benidorm, which affirmed the principle of political cooperation. This agreement was followed in 1957 by the Pact of Sitges, which stated that whatever the results of the next four elections, power would be shared equally between the two parties,with the presidency alternating every four years. In addition, all legislative bodies would be divided equally between Liberals and Conservatives, all congressional legislation would require a two-thirds majority to take effect,a minimum of 10 percent of the national budget would be assigned to education, and women were to enjoy equal political rights. After the forced departure of Rojas Pinilla on May 10, 1957, and a year of rule by an interim military junta, this unique arrangement, known as the Frente Nacional (National Front), took effect when Alberto Lleras Camargo, a Liberal , won the first post–Rojas Pinilla election and assumed the presidency on August 7, 1958. He was succeeded by Conservative Guillermo León Valencia (1962–66); Liberal Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1966–70); Conservative Misael Pastrana Borrero (1970–74); and Liberal Alfonso López Michelsen (1974–78).1 The shared-power agreement included a commitment to implement a social and economic program designed to rehabilitate the Violencia-stricken areas and to speed the pace of overall national development. Reinforcing this determination was President John F. Kennedy’s announcement in 1961 of the Alli- Territorial Rule in Colombia and the Transformation of the Llanos Orientales 80 ance for Progress, a new U.S. Cold War policy designed to undercut the appeal of Fidel Castro’s ongoing Marxist revolution in Cuba. Under the Alliance for Progress, the United States pledged to spend $10 billion in Latin America to foster agrarian reform, fiscal order, and monetary stability, while in return the Latin American governments were to institute programs of social and political reform. The Lleras Camargo administration was the first in Latin America to respond to this incentive when it unveiled a ten-year development plan for 1961–70 that adhered to U.S. requirements.2 Colombia soon became a“showcase ”for the alliance as money poured into the country supplied not only by the United States but also by Europe,Canada,Japan,the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank. According to Robert Davis,“Between 1946 and 1984 Colombia received a total amount in international aid of US$ 6.601 billion. Of this the U.S. provided $988.8 million in loans and $382 million in grants.”3 The availability of these funds became an essential part of National Front programs to develop the Llanos and other national territories. Numerous studies of the Frente Nacional period have concluded that the policies adopted by the five presidents met only mixed success. The most competent chief executives were the three Liberals—Lleras Camargo, Lleras Restrepo , and López Michelsen—while progress under Valencia and Pastrana was less evident. Nevertheless, this period saw a reduction of partisan violence. There was significant growth in Colombia’s economy,a notable improvement in public education, and some gestures toward social reform. On the other hand, as David Bushnell points out, there was little change in structural pattern of inequality, and none of the five administrations was able to suppress a new phenomenon—leftist guerrilla insurgency.4 As this chapter will show, the Llanos Orientales received preferential attention during the National Front. That the region was to be given highest priority was made clear when President Alberto Lleras traveled to Villavicencio on August 14, 1959, just three days after his inauguration. In a speech delivered on August 14 titled“Peace in the Llanos Orientales,” Lleras emphasized that with the exception of the administration of López Pumarejo (1934–38), Colombia had traditionally abandoned the Orinoco frontier. Such neglect, he stated, could not be continued: No longer may the Llanos be regarded as a reserve for future centuries. Experience shows that there is a vast zone of fertile soil and abundant water where Colombians can create in a...

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