Jorge Eliécer Gaitán for the non-Colombian

Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1936. (Wikipedia)

“The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.” ~ Tennessee Williams

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the assassination of Colombian Labor Party Leader, former Minister of Education and Labor, and former mayor of Bogotá Jorge Eliécer Gaitán.

Colombians will know more about the man than I ever will, but even to a foreigner’s eyes it’s impossible not to notice his presence, whether on graffiti in the street or on the thousand-peso note in your pocket.

Apart from Simón Bolívar, no other politician exerts such a hold on the Colombian imagination and body politic. The Colombian government has even named April 9 as Día Nacional de las Victimas (National Victims’ Day) in his memory.

“He was our Kennedy,” a Colombian friend recently remarked.

That’s a start, but only.

Imagine that he had never been President, but was killed just before, leaving his promises of progress and reform unrealized.

Imagine if Kennedy had a meeting with a young Fidel Castro scheduled for later that day.

Imagine if his assassination had sparked a 10-hour riot that left much of downtown Washington, D.C. destroyed, had spread to cities throughout the country, and in the end left an estimated 3,000 people dead.

Finally, imagine that the U.S. had never recovered from Kennedy’s assassination.

The Bogotazo destroyed hundreds of buildings and public property. (Latin American Studies.org)

Where Gaitán fell, on 7th Avenue in Bogotá. (Delaney Turner)

It’s widely believed that Gaitán would have been elected President had he not been killed.

It’s also widely believed that the riots (known now as “El Bogotazo“) led to La Violencia, a decade of violent political unrest in Colombia whose repercussions continue to this day.

Of course, we will never know what would have happened. And 70 years to the day, the question of “what if” lingers in many Colombians’ minds.

Gaitán’s political legacy, his policies, and even the fate of his house (where he is buried and which is now a museum) are still the subject of intense speculation and debate.

It’s a fascinating story. You can read more about all of this in the latest issue of Directo Bogota, the official publication of the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana. Or watch the video below.