Gómez Hurtado, Álvaro (1919–1995)
Gómez Hurtado, Álvaro (1919–1995)
Álvaro Gomez Hurtado, a Colombian attorney, journalist, and politician, was the son of the Conservative leader Laureano Gómez Castro. Born in Bogotá on May 8, 1919, Gómez Hurtado was a political activist from an early age, vigorously championing the Conservative Party and right-wing causes. He collaborated on El Siglo and other Conservative publications and during his father's presidency (1950–1953) led the pro-government bloc in the Colombian Senate. On the overthrow of Laureano Gómez in 1953, Álvaro, like his father, went into exile, but after the restoration of constitutional government in 1958 he played a leading role within the laureanista wing of the Conservative Party. He opposed the 1961 agrarian reform; took a hard line against leftist insurgencies; occupied a number of important positions, including that of ambassador in Washington; and continued writing both in the press and in works analyzing national and international problems. He also became increasingly disillusioned with the traditional parties' preoccupation with factional and bureaucratic advantage. He ran for president, unsuccessfully, in 1974, 1986, and 1990, on the last occasion as candidate of the Movimiento de Salvación Nacional that he launched as an alternative to both traditional parties.
In 1988 Gómez Hurtado was kidnapped and held for six months by M-19 guerrillas, an experience that appears to have influenced the evolution of his ideas. As copresident of the 1991 Constituent Assembly he worked closely with former M-19 members in devising a new constitution notable for its democratic inclusiveness and ambitious social guarantees. While devoting himself to academic life, he continued to denounce his country's ills, with particularly harsh condemnation of the drug-tainted government of Ernesto Samper Pizano (1994–1998). In 1995 Gómez was assassinated, a crime that as of 2007 remained unsolved.
See alsoColombia, Constitutions: Overview; Colombia, Political Parties: Conservative Party; Colombia, Revolutionary Movements: M-19.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cabrera, Gabriel. Álvaro Gómez: Rasgos para un perfil. Bogotá: Somos, 1996.