1. Social Studies Presented to: Diego Villamizar By: Juan Esteban Moreno, Nicolás Guerrero Ayala and Andrés Hernández Bravo Grade:5B Presented in: 01/03/10 Theme: The Governmental System (Constitutional Development) :

2. Main Ideas: Since declaring its independence from Spain in 1810, Colombia has had ten constitutions. These constitutions addressed three important issues: the division of powers, the strength of the chief executive, and the role of the Roman Catholic Church. The issue of a strong central government versus a decentralized federal system was especially important in the nation´s constitutional development. In settling the federal-unitary debate, the 1886 constitution specifies that sovereignty resides in the nation, which provides guarantees of civil liberties. The constitution, by noting that labor is a social obligation protected by the state--guarantees the right to strike, except in the public service. The constitution, as amended, also gives all citizens a legal right to vote if they are at least eighteen years old, have a citizenship card, and are registered to vote. The constitution prohibits members of the armed forces on active duty, members of the National Police, and individuals legally deprived of their political rights from participating in any political activities, including voting. A second constitutional issue has been the strength of the chief executive´s office, specially the

3. presidential use of emergency powers to deal with civil disorders. The 1830 constitution further strengthened executive powers by creating the Public Ministry, which enabled the president to supervise judicial affairs. The federal constitutions of 1853 and 1863, however, limited presidential control by granting many powers to the territorial departments, by allowing offices to be filled by election rather than appointment, and by depriving the president of authority to assume additional emergency powers. The 1886 constitution establishes three branches of government—the executive, the legislature and judiciary--with separation of powers and checks and balances. Nonetheless, policy-making authority rests almost exclusively with the executive branch of government, specifically with a president who is both with chief executive and head of state. The 1886 Constitution restored strong executive powers primarily through the president´s ability to invoke a state of siege under Article 121 and a state of emergency(estatuto de emergencia) under Article 122. A 1961 constitutional amendment also requires that Congress remain in permanent session during a state of siege , although it may not contravene the president´s decrees.The

4. relationship of the Roman Catholic Church to the State was a third of constitutional issue. The 1832 and 1840 constitutions, which guaranteed religious freedom and prohibited religious bodies from owning real state , abolished the church´s privileged status. The 1886 constitution, as amended , guarantees freedom of religion and conscience but affords the Catholic faith preferential treatment. The Preamble to the amendments adopted by a National plebiscite in 1957 also notes the privileged position of the Roman Catholic Church, stating that the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Religion is that of the nation and as such is to be protected and respected by the public powers of the state. The constitution has undergone extensive and frequent amendments, the most significant of which included legislative acts in 1910, 1936,1945,1959, and 1968; a national plebiscite and legislative decrees in 1957; and economic reform in 1979. Amendments adopted in December 1968 reaffirm a president´s ability to declare a state of emergency and allow the executive to intervene selectively in specific areas of the economy to prevent crises or facilitate development plans. A president must obtain the consent of the ninety days. The most

5. important constitutional amendments resulted from the Sitges Agreement and the subsequent San Carlos Agreement, drawn up by Liberal and Conservative leaders together at meetings in 1957. In May 1957, the two rival parties had united in the National Front coalition, which was envisioned as a bipartisan way to end the “violencia” and dictatorial rule. Although the military continued in power for a one-year transition period, the constitutional framework for a new governing system was institutionalized when the Colombian people overwhelmingly ratified the Sitges and San Carlos agreements in a national plebiscite in December 1957. The 1957 amendments essentially changed the nature of the government from a competitive system characterized by intense party loyalties and political violence to a coalition government in which the two mayor parties shared power. By mid-1960s, “la violencia” had been reduced largely to banditry and an incipient guerrilla movement. The old patterns of blind partisanship and interparty hostilities declined markedly and were replaced with dialogue among leaders of the two parties. Under the 1957 amendments, the National Front mandated three principles of

6. government. First, it alternated the presidency between the two parties in regular elections held every four years (alternacion). Second, it provided for parity in elective and appointive positions at all levels of government , including cabinet and Supreme Court positions not falling under the civil service, as well as the election of equal numbers of party members to local, departmental, and national assembles. And third, it required that all legislation be passed by a two-thirds majority in Congress. The 1968 constitutional reforms provided for a carefully measured transition from the National Front to traditional two-party competition. They also provided some measures of recognition for minority parties that previously were prohibited from participing in the government. The 1968 amendments additionally allowed for the “dismantling” of the National Front coalition arrangement by increasing executive powers in economic, social, and development matters. The constitutional changes, particularly the abolition of two-thirds majority requirement in both houses of Congress for the passage of major legislation, also affected the powers of Congress and its relationship with the president. Other congressional changes included

7. the creation of a special committee to deal with economic and social development plans; the extension of a representative´s term from two to four year; and the adoption of amendments dealing with matters such as the length of sessions, meeting times, and the size of quorums. The1968 reforms also ended, beginning in 1970, the parity requirement for legislative seats at the municipal and departmental levels. Although the Sitges and San Carlos agreements provisions for alternating the presidency and maintaining party parity in Congress ended in 1974 when both parties ran candidates for the presidency, parity in the bureaucracy continued for another four years. Beginning in 1978, presidents could select their cabinets and appoint other officials without consideration for party parity. Liberal president Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala, who took office in 1978, and Conservative president BelisarioBetancurCuartas --elected in 1982--both gave half of their cabinet positions to rival party members. The 1968 amendments led to other important changes in the governmental system, such as widening the scope of governmental authority, particularly in the area of economy. This amendment allows the government to intervene in production,

8. distribution, utilization, and consumption of goods and services in a manner responsive to economic planning for integral development. In 1988 the provisions of the 1886 Constitution, as amended, still governed Colombia. That February, however, President Barco responded to a wave of attacks by drug traffickers and guerrillas by launching an effort to rewrite the Constitution and make it a more effective weapon in the fight against violence. He also wanted to streamline the state to permit authorities to better deal with political and drug-related crimes. The leaders of various political parties and factions signed a political agreement, called the Nariño House Accord, that signaled a consensus on the need to hold a national plebiscite on October9, 1988, on the institutional reforms proposed by Barco. Municipal elections held in March 1988 determined the party composition of a fifty-member panel, called the Institutional Readjustment Commission, whose purpose was to ask voters to approve constitutional changes in the planned October plebiscite. The Nariño House Accord was suspended in April 1988,however, as a result of a decision by the Council of State--the highest court on

9. constitutional and administrative matters--that the holding of a plebiscite would have raised a constitutional problem. Concepts: Constitutions:constitution is a set of rules for government, often codified as a written document. that enumerates the powers and functions of a political entity. Division of Powers: The separation of powers is a model for the governance of states, the state is divided into branches each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility. Chief Executive: chief executive is one of the highest-ranking corporate officers or administrators in change of total management. An individual selected as president of a corporation, company, organization, or agency, reports to the board of directors. Roman Catholic Church: The Roman Catholic church, the largest of the Christian churches, although present in all parts of the world, is identified as Roman because of its historical roots in Rome and because of the importance it attaches to the worldwide ministry of the bishop of Rome, the pope.

10. Central Government: Central government or union government is the government at the level of the nation-state. Usual responsibilities of this level of government are maintaining national security and exercising international diplomacy, including the right to sign binding treaties. Decentralized Federal System: the transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from the federal government to subordinate or quasi-independent government organizations and/or the private sector. Civil Liberties: Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that protect an individual from the state. Civil liberties set limits on government so that its members cannot abuse their power and interfere unduly with the lives of private citizens. Social Obligation: Social obligation is an theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society at large. This obligation can be negative, meaning there is exemption from blame or liability, or it can be positive, meaning there is a responsibility to act beneficently (proactive stance).

11. Public Service: Public services are services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. Even where public services are neither publicly provided nor publicly financed, for social and political reasons they are usually subject to regulation going beyond that applying to most economic sectors. Political Rights: This rights are often included in the foundational questions governments and politics have been designed to deal with. Often the development of these socio-political institutions have formed a dialectical relationship with rights. Political Activities: The Public Service Employment Act provides a new regime for governing the political activities of public servants, recognizing the need to balance the rights of employees to engage in political activities with the principle of an impartial public service. The Public Service Commission (PSC) oversees the political impartiality of the public service. Civil Disorders: Civil disorder is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people.Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest

12. against, major socio-political problems; the severity of the action coincides with public expression(s) of displeasure. State of Emergency: A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale for suspending civil liberties. State of Siege: A state of siege is a situation in which a government or other authority puts restrictions on the movement of people into or out of a country, town, or building. National Emergency: The National Emergencies were created to stop open-ended states of national emergency and formalize the power of Congress to provide certain checks and balances on the emergency powers of the President. The act sets a limit of two years on states of national emergency. It also imposes certain "procedural formalities" on the President when invoking such powers. Executive Branch (Colombia): The Executive Branch of Government in Colombia is one of the three branches of the government of Colombia

13. under the Constitutional provision of separation of powers. The executive branch is led by the President of Colombia and its collaborating institutions; mainly the Council of Ministers. Executive Powers: The separation of powers system is designed to distribute authority away from the executive branch an attempt to preserve individual liberty in response to tyrannical leadership throughout history. The executive officer is not supposed to make , or interpret them. The role of the executive is to enforce the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judicial system. Religious Freedom: Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion. Religious Bodies: "Religious body" means any congregation, society or body in the Gilbert Islands consisting of or representing not less than 50 persons of the age of 21 years and upwards holding religious tenets in common and which has its own system of discipline and internal

14. government. Civil Service: Civil service has two distinct meanings: A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations. The body of employees in any government agency other than the military National Front: The National Front is a far-right and whites-only British political party whose major political activities were during the 1970s and 1980s.