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Colombia since the end of World War II has been racked by "La Violencia" (The Violence). It has been a prolonged era of civil conflict which began as struhhle between Colombia's two main political parties--the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. The conflict begn in 1948 with the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. Large scale riots broke out in the capital, Bogota, and lesser disturbances in other cities. The resulting partisan conflict caused the deats of 0.2-0.3 million Colombians over the following decade. Elements of the Liberal Party and the Communist Party organized "self-defense" militia groups. Elements in the Conservative party did the same. Hit squads targeted leaders and their supporters. Conservative groups in particular targetted labor leaders. The different militias fought with the Colombian army and with each other with civilians often caught in between. General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla became president and declared an amnesty (1953). Many of the guerillas and militias accepted the amnnesty. Some did not and the viloence continued at a lower level. Rojas fell from power (1958). Civilian rule was finally restored (1958). Moderate Conservatives and Liberals, with the support of part of the military supported a bipartisan coalition--the National Front. The compromise reached was a system of where presidents alternated and the two parties sharied cabinet posts and important public offices.
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