Gólgotas

Gólgotas, the younger, more radical wing of the Colombian Liberal Party in the first half of the 1850s. The label Gólgotas apparently came from a Conservative editorialist's criticism of José María Samper's positive comparison of socialism with the ideals of the martyr of Golgotha at a meeting of the Republican School. These men supported the separation of church and state, the elimination of clerical privilege, extreme federalism, the reduction of the power of the executive and military, universal manhood suffrage, the expulsion of the Jesuits, the abolition of slavery, absolute freedom of the press and of speech, and laissez-faire economics—principles that they helped incorporate into the Constitution of 1853. The more moderate, Santanderista wing of the Liberal Party, labeled Draconianos, so opposed the 1853 constitution that many assisted José María Melo's 1854 coup. Leading Gólgotas, including Manuel Murillo Toro, Rafael Núñez, Salvador Camacho Roldán, Francisco J. Zaldúa, and Aquileo Parra, dominated the 1863–1885 Liberal era.

See alsoColombia, Political Parties: Liberal Party.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gerardo Molina, Las ideas liberales en Colombia: 1849–1914 (1970).

Helen Delpar, Red Against Blue: The Liberal Party in Colombian Politics, 1863–1899 (1981); Los radicales del siglo XIX: Escritos políticos (1984).

Additional Bibliography

Colmenares, Germán. Partidos políticos y clases sociales. Santafé de Bogotá: Universidad del Valle: Banco de la República: Colciencias: TM Editores, 1997.

Llano Isaza, Rodrigo. Los draconianos: Origen popular del liberalismo colombiano. Bogotá: Planeta, 2005.

                                          David Sowell