El Bogotazo (from "Bogotá" and the -azo suffix of violent augmentation) refers to the massive riots that followed the assassination in Bogotá, Colombia of Liberal leader and presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on 9 April 1948 during the government of President Mariano Ospina Pérez. The 10-hour riot left much of downtown Bogotá destroyed. The aftershock of Gaitan's murder continued extending through the countryside and escalated a period of violence which had begun eighteen years before, in 1930, and was triggered by the fall of the conservative party from government and the rise of the liberals. The 1946 presidential elections brought the downfall of the liberals allowing conservative Mariano Ospina Pérez to win the presidency. The struggle for power between both again triggered a period in the history of Colombia known as La Violencia ("The Violence") that lasted until approximately 1958, from which the civil conflict that continues to this day grew. Background During the 1940s the reigning political system in Colombia was called the convivencia, a politics of civility between liberals and conservatives. On April 9, 1948, the 9th Pan-American Conference was being held in Bogotá. The Cold War was in its early stages with communist regimes installed throughout eastern Europe. Washington was eager to set a position against communism through a statement forwarded by General George Marshall, the U.S. Secretary of State and head of the American delegation, which was to be backed by the foreign ministers of the Latin American nations. At the time, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was the leader of the Liberal Party, and the most prominent politician in the country after President Ospina. He also possessed great oratory. His office was in downtown Bogotá, on the corner of Carrera 7 and Calle 14. Gaitán was a candidate in the presidential election, and with massive support among the country's working class, was seen as the candidate most likely to win. Both Conservatives and traditional Liberal elites were very concerned at this prospect. Murder of Gaitán Gaitán, a practicing attorney, arrived home early on the morning of the 9th of April after the successful ending to a case that he had been involved with. He returned to his office around 9:00 a.m., where he worked on political matters until the afternoon. Later that day he was invited to lunch by a political supporter, Plinio Mendoza Neira. Other sympathizers would join them as well including a newspaper editor, a