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Colombia Table of Contents

Colombia

THE NATIONAL FRONT, 1958-74

The National Front agreement to share power between Liberals and Conservatives was a constructive effort to assuage the interparty strife and distrust that had contributed to both the violence and the collapse of the democratic system. Its inauguration marked the beginning of a gradual decline in the level of confrontation. Nevertheless, the necessity of securing bipartisan support for any policy or action produced several difficulties--most notably, stalemate and inaction in the governmental process, voter apathy, and the exacerbation of factionalism within the two parties--that were to plague National Front administrations.

Data as of December 1988