Guillermo León Valencia
(Guillermo León Valencia Muñoz; Popayán, 1909-New York, 1971) Colombian politician who was president of Colombia between 1962 and 1966.He led the Conservative Party and was elected senator in 1933 Together with Lleras Restrepo, he promoted a strike movement that led to the fall of Rojas Pinilla (1957).In 1962 he succeeded Alberto Lleras Camargo in the presidency of the Republic, but his administration was harassed by the Castro guerrilla.In the 1966 elections he was defeated by Lleras Restrepo.Between 1968 and 1969 he was ambassador to Madrid.
Guillermo León Valencia
Son of the Pagan politician and poet Guillermo Valencia Castillo, he started very young in the politics as a councilor and deputy of Cauca, positions that he later held in Bogotá.He reached the seat of senator several times and was ambassador on several occasions, especially in Spain.He obtained an honoris causa doctorate from the University of Cauca in 1956.He was one of the promoters of the great campaign of instigation and movement of public opinion against Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, which would end with his fall in 1957.
After the term of Alberto Lleras Camargo (1958-1962), Guillermo León Valencia was elected President of the Republic for the period 1962-1966, the second for the National Front and first for the Conservative party.Upon reaching the first magistracy, he found a country still very affected by violence.His government was characterized precisely by achieving the almost complete pacification of the country; For this, he took special care in the appointment of bureaucratic positions, which were distributed equally between liberals and conservatives, and unleashed a great offensive against the violent.
Perhaps the main achievement of the Valencia administration was the creation of the Monetary Board; Added to this was the devaluation of the peso and the creation of the sales tax.It also paid attention to public works, services and education, significantly increasing the budget; the general functioning of the nation improved markedly.Its social policies include the creation of sixty thousand new homes and the public financing of part of the medicines.He was succeeded in the presidency by Carlos Lleras Restrepo (1966-1970).
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