at the end of the year. Over the next several years, he used the pages of El Siglo to promote the idea of “mixed” democracy, a combination of corporate and popular rule. Three events in the late 1940s strengthened his commitment to blunting majoritarian democracy in Colombia: the mass uprising known as the Bogotazo following the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1948, Congress’ failed attempt to impeach Conservative president Mariano Ospina Pérez in 1949, and Ospina Perez's subsequent suspension of Congress in retaliation. For Gómez, the Bogotazo was not only a demonstration of the pitfalls of popular rule, but also a sign that Colombia would succumb to communist revolution if nothing was done to stem the tide of increased popular political participation. Thus, by the time he assumed the presidency in 1950, reshaping the Colombian political system through constitutional reform was one of his major goals. On 28 October 1951 Gómez suffered a massive heart attack that partially paralyzed him for the remainder of his life. Nevertheless, two days later, while still in the hospital, he sent a letter to Congress outlining his plan for reforming the constitution. Although he subsequently had to request a temporary retirement from the presidency, he continued to direct the process of constitutional reform through his proxy, Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez, who was named acting president on 5 November 1951. In early 1952, Urdaneta convened a National Constitutional Assembly; Liberals boycotted it, as did dissident factions of the Conservative Party, led alternately by Gilberto Alzáte Avedaño and Mariano Ospina Pérez. The Assembly worked throughout 1952 and ultimately produced a document with numerous provisions designed to curb popular power, strengthen executive power, and stem the secularization of Colombian political life. Presidential terms increased from four to six years. The length of congressional sessions, on the other hand, decreased. Congress was stripped of its authority to impeach the president or to elect members of the Supreme Court. Members of congress were elected through two different means: either direct popular election, or as representatives of various corporate groups (labor unions, business associations, industrialists, farmers, etc.). Congress was to be split evenly among these two different kinds of senators. The Catholic Church once again enjoyed special state protections: Church sovereignty was guaranteed and Catholic doctrine was to guide public education. Meanwhile, the activities of other religious groups were restricted. Families rather than individuals were seen as society's most important