(Marcha del silencio) organized by university students in Bogotá. The organizers' original objective was to express their rejection of indiscriminate violence, which had claimed the lives of an average of 11 people per day in 1988. Previous attempts at constitutional reform One of the factors which made constitutional change difficult was that the 1886 Constitution could only be amended by the Congress. Article 218 of the Constitution of 1886, as it stood in 1990, stated that the Constitution could only be amended by a law (legislative act, or Acto Legislativo) passed by Congress: The constitutional reforms which, among other things, set-up the National Front, were approved by a national plebiscite in 1957. However, the text approved by voters in the 1957 plebiscite reiterated that any future constitutional amendments could only be passed by Congress in the manner prescribed by article 218. Article 13 of the Legislative Decree 0247 of 1957 (Decreto Legislativo Numero 0247 de 1957) read: Notwithstanding these legal difficulties, several presidents beginning attempted to reform parts of the constitution, but most saw their efforts rebuffed by the Supreme Court of Justice or political complications. In 1977, under President Alfonso López Michelsen, Congress passed a constitutional amendment convening a constitutional assembly to amend the constitution only as it pertained to departmental/municipal administration and the judiciary (courts, public prosecution, constitutional jurisdiction). On May 5, 1978, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled the project unconstitutional. In its verdict, the court argued that Congress' power to amend the constitution under article 218 was an exclusive power which it could not delegate. In December 1979, Congress approved President Julio César Turbay's constitutional reform initiative. The reform made substantial changes to the administration of justice, public prosecutions and the process of judicial review by the Supreme Court. Following a tortuous court challenge, the Supreme Court rendered a controversial ruling on the constitutional amendments in November 1981, striking down the entire project because of procedural defects in the legislative procedure. In 1986, faced with the urgency of presenting some tangible proof of the "democratic opening" (liberalization) that left-wing movements and guerrillas had been incessantly demanding, the Congress passed a constitutional amendment allowing for the direct election of mayors (hitherto appointed by departmental governors). There was growing clamour to reform the 1886 constitution, accused of 'closing' political institutions, limiting opportunities for the political participation of minorities and not permitting the "democratic opening" which would guarantee the