Customer Reviews

Colombia: Territorial Rule and the Llanos Frontier

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"Colombia: Territorial Rule and the Llanos Frontier" by Jane M. Rausch is a thorough and stimulating study. However, upon completion of this well researched book one will no longer think of the Llanos frontier as the source of brave warriors during the wars of independence or of the many myths of romantic, picturesque, freedom loving cowboys. Instead, one will discover a region where cattle rustlers and outlaws roamed the plains with impunity and terrorized local ranchers. Moreover, this book will reveal many of the political blunders of Colombia's obtuse Conservative Party.

Rausch does an outstanding job of documenting the political careers of four giant Colombian Liberals. Presidents' Enrique Olaya Herrera (1930 - 1934), Alfonso Lopez Pumarejo (1934 - 1938) and Alberto Lleras Camango (1958 - 1962) are examined in great detail. Rausch also does an excellent study of the legendary Colombian populist, Jorge Gaitan who was murdered before he could assume the presidency in 1950. Of great significance, the author demonstrates how progressive Liberal Party initiatives shattered draconian Conservative Party controls and vastly improved the standard of living for ordinary Colombians.

The text also includes population, tax, budget, crop and export data for the Llanos region. However the true value of the important book is that it objectively documents the inflamed political hatreds between the Conservative and Liberal Parties that preceded Colombia's brutal and bloody era appropirately called "La Violencia."

Bert Ruiz