Talk:La Violencia

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[edit] la violencia

Can you tell me where you get the figure 180,000 for la violencia?

• Azcarate uses the figure 300,000. ^[1]

• Stokes and Livingstone both use the figure of 200,000. ^[2]

[edit] Sources

1. ^ Camilo A. Azcarate, Psychosocial Dynamics of the Armed Conflict in Colombia, Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution, (March 1999)http://www.trinstitute.org/ojpcr/2_1columbia.htm
2. ^ Grace Livingstone, Inside Colombia: Drugs, Democracy, and War 42 (Rutgers University Press 2004)
   *Doug Stokes, America's Other War : Terrorizing Colombia 68 (2005 Zed Books).

signed: Travb 05:09, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

200,000 is one of the standard estimates, but I've also seen 180,000 elsewhere. For example, here's an online source which uses that number:

"On April 9, 1948, Gaitán was assassinated outside his law offices in downtown Bogotá. The assassination marked the start of a decade of bloodshed, called La Violencia (the violence), which took the lives of an estimated 180,000 Colombians before it subsided in 1958. The violence was difficult for participants and subsequent observers to fully comprehend. Although it reflected social and economic tensions, it revolved around the partisan political concerns that had divided the two traditional parties since the 19th century."

http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564636_10/Colombia.html

If that's not enough, I'll look for additional offline sources later. Juancarlos2004 17:08, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

Thank you so much Juancarlos2004, a dictionary is a good source. I never doubted your number, just wanted sources for my law school paper i am writing.Travb 00:11, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Political violence

"Political violence is not new to that South American nation of 38 million people...". They discovered the wet water. Political violence is not new anywhere.--tequendamia 00:55, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

Agreed, the author should have quantified his statment as: Tremdendous political violence is not new to that South American nation of 38 million people

The magnitude of violence in Colombia is shocking.

• What other country's military storms their supreme court and kills half of their supreme court judges as collateral damage? Palace of Justice siege
• What other country massacres an entire political party Patriotic Union Party?
• What other country has killed so many presidental canidates and politicians?

I am familar with American political violence much more than most Americans, and I know that America' violence is nothing compared to Colombia. Colombia is unique even in Latin America for its prolonged violence and the sheer magnitude of the bloodshed. I think the closest country in all of Latin America that comes close to the internal duration and bloodshed is probably US-client state Haiti.

I think that your contention is correct, the author should have quantified his statment more. That said, I think the entire paragraph shows that Colombia is incredibly political violent.Travb 02:34, 17 April 2006 (UTC)