Resumo

ACUNA RODRIGUEZ, Olga Yanet. Power and memory: Presidential elections in Colombia in 1970. Rev. Esc. Hist. [online]. 2013, vol.12, n.2, pp.00-00. ISSN 1669-9041.

During the electoral process of 1970 in Colombia, power (the conservative party) attacked collective memory, seeking to put a dent in the image of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla and to favor the conservative candidate, Misael PastranaBorrero. Under the banner of the National Front and supported by the mass media and national government, the liberal and conservative elite campaigned against Rojas Pinilla. This campaign oscillated between supporting the benefits of the National Front political agreement, and insisting on the memory of the period of Rojas Pinillas’s government, known as “dictatorship”, especially for its abuse of power by the military forces. The aim of this campaign was to produce a deep effect on the minds of the people, who considered Rojas Pinilla to be a hero. In this way, two antagonistic political movements were born: those who defended the elite and the National Front, supporting the ruling candidate Misael PastranaBorrero, and those who defended the working class sector or National Popular Alliance, led by Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. However, after the elections of the 19th of April, collective memory was built around electoral fraud, which gave victory to PastranaBorrero instead of Rojas Pinilla. For most of the voters, this was clearly another enterprise of government power and an offense to the democratic system. All that remains in people’s memory is that electoral fraud is the only explanation for the victory of PastranaBorrero, given that by midnight of the 19th of April, official voting records showed Rojas Pinilla as the winner.

Palavras-chave : Elections; Electoral fraud; Political power; Collective memory.

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