Radical Olympus
Radical Olympus
Radical Olympus was a name applied to leaders of the Radical wing of Colombia's Liberal Party in the late nineteenth century. Among the principal members of the group were three presidents of the period: Manuel Murillo Toro (1864–1866, 1872–1874), Santiago Pérez (1874–1876), and Aquileo Parra (1876–1878). Admirers used the name as a tribute to the integrity and devotion to principle they found characteristic of the gods of Mount Olympus. Critics referred instead to a Radical oligarchy which held the national government in an iron grip. Most members of the Olympus came from eastern Colombia. They were generally identified with the federalist constitution of 1863, a belief in limited government, and anticlericalism, but in reality they held a wide range of positions on these issues. After 1878 the Radicals lost control of the national government but remained active in opposition.
See alsoMurillo Toro, Manuel .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rodríguez Piñeres, Eduardo. El Olimpo Radical: Ensayos conocidos e inéditos sobre su época, 1864–1884 (1950).
Delpar, Helen. Red Against Blue: The Liberal Party in Colombian Politics, 1863–1899 (1981).
Rivadeneira Vargas, Antonio José. Aquileo Parra y la ideología radical. Bogotá, Colombia: Editorial Planeta Colombiana, 2001.
Helen Delpar