popularity had been severely affected. This is also the year where a constituent assembly met in Cúcuta to draft a constitution for the new state. Nariño returned to Santafé, now officially called Bogotá, in 1821, defeated politically and in poor health, following the many years of struggles and imprisonment. He was appointed military commander, a nominal charge without effective power. By then, he had lost the popularity he had enjoyed in the city during the Foolish Fatherland times. As he had done before with La Bagatela, he decided to create a newspaper: "Los Toros de Fucha" (The Bulls from Fucha), to publish his opposition against Santander and his government, but unlike Lozano, Santander was far from weak, and Nariño instead of returning to power came to be interrogated by Santader. His enemies did not want him to be in power because of his origin from Cundinamarca. According to his biographers (arguably partisans), to make sure he did not get elected they accused him of malfeasance of public funds, cowardice, and treason, but Nariño managed to defend himself. Tired and ill with tuberculosis, he decided to quit his public roles and move to Villa de Leyva. Nariño died there on December 3, 1823, having become a national hero of Colombia. Legacy While playing a minor role in the independence war against Spain, Nariño was widely acknowledged at his time and afterwards as a precursor of separatist ideas. He is mentioned in the last stanza of the Colombian national anthem. At the foot of his memorial statue in Bogotá he is quoted: "I have loved my country; only History will say what this love has been." The presidential palace of the Republic of Colombia, Casa de Nariño or Palacio de Nariño, was constructed at the site of his birthplace and named in his honor. The department of Nariño was also named in his honor. Nariño's face has appeared in the $10 and $100 Colombian peso banknotes. References El colombiano de todos los tiempos - semana.com Biografía del General Antonio Nariño Defensa ante el senado Bibliography Blossom, Thomas (1967). Nariño: Hero of Colombian Independence. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Crow, John A. (1992) [1946]. The Epic of Latin America (4th ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520078680 1765 births 1823 deaths Politicians from Bogotá Colombian Roman Catholics Colombian governors Colombian journalists Male journalists People of the Colombian War of Independence Prisoners and