Abstract
Colombia gained its independence from Spain in 1819. After different territorial modifications throughout the nineteenth century (including the separation of Ecuador and Venezuela in 1830), the Republic of Colombia was proclaimed in 1886. The Constitution enacted this year, lasted for more than a hundred years since it was only repealed in 1991. That is noteworthy because constitutional instability characterized all other Latin American countries in the same period . Furthermore, it is the Constitution of 1886 that defined Colombia as a unitary state and a presidential system: two characteristics which still define roughly the current political system of Colombia . However, before the Constitution of 1886, Colombia was a highly decentralized federal system. As early as the 1850's, the two major Colombian political parties were created: the Conservative Party (Partido Conservador Colombiano (PCC)) and the Liberal Party (Partido Liberal (PL)). These two parties dominated Colombian politics until the 2000's. Once the Constitution of 1886 was adopted, the Conservative Party stayed in power for forty-five years. However, at the end of the nineteenth century, a war broke out between the Liberals and the Conservatives: the War of a Thousand Days (La Guerra de Los Mil Dias). This war which ended in 1902 killed 100,000 Colombians. This war is very important for understanding Colombian politics, because, as the French political scientist, Olivier Duhamel points out, the first trials that a particular constitution faces influence the whole life of this constitution . During the 1950's another wave of violence known as "La Violencia" hit Colombia because of "the assassination of the popular Liberal leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitan in April 1948" . During "La Violencia", 300,000 Colombians were killed.
