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Colombia - Political Flags - Part I

Last modified: 2008-09-27 by dov gutterman
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Editorial Remark: It must be noted that all the opinions are of the authors and not of FOTW. Our site is non-political and concentrates only on vexillological issues.


See also:


Peace Flags

AUC


image by Eugene Ipavec, 11 April 2006

I came across this image during a ceremony of the Peace Process between the Colombian Government and the AUC (biggest union of paramilitary groups in Colombia).
The image is a green ribbon in the middle (meaning peace) on a white background. This image was seen during a demobilization of AUC troops, especifically in one of the ceremonies of the many subfactions that are part of the ACBCB - Autodefensas Campesinas - Bloque Central Bolívar.
Source: <www.terra.com.co>
E.R., 11 April 2006

ELN


image by Eugene Ipavec, 14 September 2007

There are current coversations between the Colombian government and the ELN guerrilla in order to try to get to a negotiation point that will lead to a peace deal. During these talks, the Eln has been granted a safe house (authorized by the Government) to hear different opinions from different sectors and have a more constructive dialogue towards the negotiations. This place is called Casa de Paz (Peace House).
During these talks I have seen a flag displayed.
Source: Casa de Paz official website.
E.R., 14 September 2007


Traditional Political Parties - The Liberal Party and The Conservative Party

Both were founded in 1848, the Partido Liberal Colombiano - Liberal Party's traditional color is red, and the Partido Conservador Colombiano - Conservative Party's traditional color is blue. They've shared power for most of the XIX and XX centuries, a famous joke says that the true meaning of the Colombian flag is: Yellow for our riches, blue and red for those that distribute them among themselves. The "L" and "C" were adopted as "official logos" and featured in the flags.
Jaime Vengoechea, 10 Febuary 2003

Partido Liberal Colombiano


image by Eugene Ipavec, 7 September 2006


image by Eugene Ipavec, 7 September 2006

The official website of the PLC (Partido Liberal Colombiano, Colombian Liberal Party) is <www.partidoliberal.org.co>.
The explanation of the symbols (taken form the official website): "The red color, as interpretation of love, fraternity and tolerance, is the standard of the Colombian Liberal Party and it will go together with the current symbol and also with the International Socialist, to which is affiliated".
E.R., 30 May 2005

The Liberal party of Colombia seems to use a plain red flag, which appears in their site header. Though partially furled, it does not seem to contain a white capital "L".
No mention is made of a party flag on its "Symbols" page. The "L" is only listed as the party logo.
Eugene Ipavec, 7 September 2006

Partido Conservador Colombiano


image by Eugene Ipavec, 7 September 2006

The official website of the Partido Conservador Colombiano (Colombian Conservative Party) is <www.partidoconservador.com>.
E.R., 30 May 2005

The Conservative party of Colombia has no clear photo or description of their flag on their website, but a statute in the party constituon mentions it:
"ARTÍCULO 5.- El color del Partido Conservador es el azul. El emblema, símbolos, himno y bandera adoptados como distintivos del Partido están debidamente registrados en el Consejo Nacional Electoral".
There is also a tiny photo of it flying in front of the party HQ at <partidoconservador.org>. The shade of blue seems to be the same as that of the national flag right next to it.
Eugene Ipavec, 7 September 2006


AICO (Autoridades Indígenas de Colombia - Colombian Idigenous Authorities)


logo
image from official website

The Movimiento AICO (Autoridades Indígenas de Colombia), or Colombian Idigenous Authorities. With the establishment of the CRIC, the Guambiano or Misak tribe got some representation and a movement to stand up for their rights. However in 1980 the Guambiano people left the CRIC because they thought the CRIC was merely a buisness-related organization, and too far from the native community it said it represented. That is when the AISO (Autoridades Indígenas del Suroccidente de Colombia), or South West Colombian Indigenous Authorities is established. Then in 1987, togehter with the Cabildo Indígena Pasto, Cabildo Indígena Camsá and Confederación Indígena Tairona they established the Movimiento AICO for the "political, economic and social ecological reconstruction and recovering of the proper cultural values of the native peoples. It has has nationwide representation at Department and City levels, at different governmental branches.
Source: official website.
E.R., 12 November 2007


ALAS (Team Colombia - Equipo Colombia)


logo
image from Medellin Mayor election card

The Movimiento ALAS-Equipo Colombia (lit. WINGS - Team Colombia) is a center-right Party which is a merger between two already existing political parties: ALAS and Equipo Colombia. ALAS (lit. WINGS) stands for Alternativa Liberal de Avanzada Social (Advanced Social Liberal Alternative) and Equipo Colombia (Team Colombia). ALAS emerged in the late 1990's as an internal group within the Liberal Party, with representation in Congress only for the Department of Cesar. However in 2005 ALAS broke away from the Liberal Party and started to join forces with the Equipo Colombia Movement oficially on December 14, 2005. Equipo Colombia on the other hand, was a political movement established back in 1992 in the Department of Antioquia under the name Equipo Unionista, most of them coming from the Conservative Party. The  Movimiento ALAS-Equipo Colombia has local and national representation at various levels.
Sources: Spanish wikipedia, official website, Medellin Mayor election card.


Black Flags Libertarian Coordination (CLBN - Coordinadora Libertaria Banderas Negras)


flag
image by Dov Gutterman, 7 September 2007


logo
image contributed by Jaumé Ollé

CLBN - Coordinadora Libertaria Banderas Negras (Black Flags Libertarian Coordination), is an anarchist movement established in 2001.
E.R., 2 September 2007


Bolivarian Movement for the New Colombia (Movimiento Bolivariano para la Nueva Colombia)


image by Guillermo Aveledo, 30 November 2000


image by Guillermo Aveledo and Eugene Ipavec, 8 June 2006

Here's the flag of the Movimiento Bolivariano para la Nueva Colombia (Bolivarian Movement for the New Colombia), what has been instituted as the political wing of the Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP), and founded early this year.
The flag is a typical Colombian tricolori, with a portrait of Simon Bolivar (in black and white and certain shades of grey) centered on it. The portrait used is a reproduction of the famous (and supposedly more accurate) portrait of Bolivar engraved by French artist Francois Desire Roulin (1796-1874) at Bogota dated February 15th, 1828.
Oddly enough, it seems an unbecomig choice for a revolutionary party/army: by 1828 Bolivar was serving as dictator of Colombia (then the Great Colombia; the union of Nueva Granada, Quito and Venezuela), allied with conservative and clerical groups who were interested in the union of the republics and, willing to support Bolivar, played for the predominance of Bogota in such an union. The rest is history. Perhaps this paradox is explained by the fact that, in the actual portrait, Bolivar faces rightwards, and not leftwards, as is used by the FARC-EP.
Guillermo Aveledo, 30 November 2000

The flag size should be the same as the Colombian one and the face of Simón Bolívar should be on yellow background instead of white, and looking towards the right, and not look towards the left.
It is based upon a Photo taken on August 29, 2000, during the launching of the illegal movement by the Farc at <www.sedoparking.com>.
The event is the official launching of the Bolivarian Movement for the New Colombia (Movimiento Bolivariano para la Nueva Colombia) during the failed Peace Process between the Colombian Government and this guerrilla group, during the period of 1998-2002. This act was carried out in the twon of San Vicente del Caguán, a Municipality of the Department of Caquetá which was part of a Demilitarized Zone that the Government voluntarily gave to this guerrilla in order to provide security and trust to conduct the Peace Process.
E.R., 4 and 8 June 2006


Center Option Party (Partido Opción Centro)


image from Medellin electoral card

The Partido Opción Centro (Center Option) - The Party was established on November 25, 2005, in the city of Bogota, with the participation of delegates from 19 Departments, gathering people who wanted to represent the political option for peace and reconciliation (center) and the green environmental issues as well (a non-existing political option at the time in Colombia). It currently has representation in two Departments and several other cities nationwide.
Sources: Medellin electoral card, official website.
 E.R., 22 November 2007


Civilian Christian Committment with the Community Movement (Movimiento Compromiso Civico Cristiano con la Comunidad)


image contributed by E.R., 16 June 2005

There is a political movement in Colombia called "Movimiento Compromiso Civico Cristiano con la Comunidad" (Civilian Christian Committment with the Community Movement) which is abbreviated as PC4, which stands for Partido C4 (or C4 Party). It currently has one seat in Colombia's Senate. Its official website is <www.pc4.org>.
E.R., 16 June 2005

Speaking of the PC4 party (which according to the new law is not a valid political party anymore because it did not achieve enough votes in the 2006 elections), the image featured on the website is the flag, but actually it should have the same ratio as most standard flags.
E.R., 12 August 2007


Colombian Clandestine Communist Party (Partido Comunista Colombiano Clandestino)


image by Eugene Ipavec, 27 May 2006

There is a flag on plain red background, resembling the same colors as the Partido Comunista Colombiano (Colombian Communist Party). This flag is the flag of the PCCC, which stands for Partido Comunista Colombiano Clandestino (Colombian Clandestine Communist Party), an organization that runs parallel to Movimiento Bolivariano para la Nueva Colombia (Bolivarian Movement for the New Colombia). This PCCC organization is an organization created by the FARC in order to replace the original PCC (Colombian Communist Party) because the Farc believes that the PCC is not radical enough and does not consider armed struggle to reach power. The flag is, as I mentioned before, a plain recangular red flag, with the letters PCCC in black on the flag in diagonal form starting from the bottom left and ending on the top right, on the top right having a yellow hammer and sickle.
Sources: Resistencia - Farc online magazine at <redresistencia.org>. ANNCOL - Farc news website at <www.anncol.org>. Semana magazine edition October 1, 2001, page 52.
E.R., 27 May 2006

Unusual in a communist flag for the emblem to be in the fly.
Eugene Ipavec, 27 May 2006

Variant


image by Eugene Ipavec, 30 May 2006

I found a variant of the flag of the PCCC. This time the letters appear in white, plus the hammer and sickle (also in white). Background is plain red and the design resembles pretty much the flag of the PCC.
Source: <www.anncol.org>.
E.R., 30 May 2006


Colombian Communist Party (PCC - Partido Comunista Colombiano)


image by Eugene Ipavec, 29 July 2007

PCC stands for Partido Comunista Colombiano (Colombian Communist Party). This organization was established in 1930. Its official website is <www.pacocol.org>.
E.R., 23 March 2005 and 25 December 2006

Colombian Communist Party - Maoist (Partido Comunista de Colombia - Maoísta)


image by Eugene Ipavec, 23 December 2005

The Partido Comunista de Colombia - Maoísta (Colombian Communist Party - Maoist) is a split group from the PCC (Colombian Communist Party). The PCC-M was established in 2001. It has an official wensite: <pccm0.tripod.com>. the PCC-M's flag is the same as the PCC's flag regarding ratio of the hammer and sickle.
E.R., 23 March and 23 December 2005

Colombian Communist Party - Marxist Leninist (Partido Comunista de Colombia - Marxista Leninist)


image by Eugene Ipavec, 29 July 2007

The Partido Comunista de Colombia - Marxista Leninista (Colombian Communist Party - Marxist Leninist) was a split group of the Colombian Communist Party, established in 1967. The armed wing of the PCC-ML was the EPL (Ejército Popular de Liberación).
E.R., 23 March 2005


Colombian Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT - Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajdores de Colombia)


flag
image by Jaumé Ollé


logo

image from wikipediaThere was a Colombian armed guerrilla group: Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajdores de Colombia (PRT), or Colombian Revolutionary Workers Party. The party was founded in 1982, but started its amed struggle in 1984. It emerged out of the 'Majority' faction of the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Tendency, abbreviated as Tendencia ML (ML Tendency). The ML Tendency emerged in late 1974/early 1975, after the 4th plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Colombia (Marxist-Leninist) (PCC(ML)). The founders of Tendencia ML, had been based in the Pedro Vásquez Rendón regional committee of PCC(ML) in the Department of Antioquia. They opposed the directive of the PCC(ML) party leadership that cadres in the urban labour, student and teachers movements had to shift to the countryside to join the Popular Liberation Army. The Tendencia ML criticized PCC(ML) for giving insufficient importance to trade unionism, electoral work and other mass struggles.
Regional committees of Tendencia included: Antioquia: Pedro Vásquez Rendón Western Colombia: Ricardo Torres Bogotá/Cundinamarca: Enver Hoxha Atlantic Coast: Bernardo Ferreira Grandet
Tendencia ML was riven by internal divisions. By the late 1970s, two separate groups had emerged, the 'Majority' and the 'Minority'. The 'Majority' would later form the Workers Revolutionary Party (PRT) whereas the 'Minority' joined forces with the Revolutionary Unification Movement - Marxist-Leninist, merging into it by 1982.
The PRT was a group that had broken away from the Communist Party of Colombia (Marxist-Leninist) in the mid-1970s. It was mainly active in the Departments of Sucre and Bolívar.
When the PRT militias were demobilized in january 25, 1991 it had around 200 fighters. Apart from its armed struggle PRT maintained an open mass front, the trade union organization called Corriente de Integración Sindical.
Sources: wikipedia, <www.mediosparalapaz.org>.
E.R., 3 September 2007


Colombian Workers Party (Moirist) (PTC (Moirista) - Partido del Trabajo de Colombia (Moirista))


logo
image Jaumé Ollé

PTC (Moirista) - Partido del Trabajo de Colombia (Moirista) (Colombian Workers Party (Moirist)) was established in   2001, based on the Organización Comunista de Colombia - Marxista Leninista Maoísta (Colombian Communist Organization - Marxist Leninist Maoist) which in turn was established back in 1990. The establishment of the PTC (Moirista) was due to the abandoning of the Marxism-Leninism doctrine by the Epl.
E.R., 3 September 2007


Democracy Corporation (Corporación Democracia)


logo
image by Eugene Ipavec, 3 November 2007

It is the logo of the Corporación Democracia (Democracy Corporation), an organization that comprises demobilized combatants from the follwoing Auc structures:
- Heroes of Granada Bloc (Bloque Héroes de Granada)
- Bloque Cacique Nutibara (logo)
- Bloque Héroes de Tolová
I have not seen a flag yet, but I do think they have one.
Source: Screenshot from official website.
E.R., 3 November 2007

FUNCAMIPAZ


image by Eugene Ipavec, 3 November 2007

I found recently on the web the flag of a Colombian organization at a rally. This organization is called FUNCAMIPAZ (Fundación 'Caminate por la Paz', or Walker for Peace Foundation). It is made up of former Auc combatants, and it is established in Medellin. It supports sports activities and also farming projects.
Source: Corporación Democracia website.
E.R., 3 November 2007


Guevarist Revolutionary Army (ERG - Ejercito Revolucionario Guevarista)

There's a group called Erg (Ejercito Revolucionario Guevarista, or Guevarist Revolutionary Army), named after Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, alias "El Che". This is a breakaway faction of the Eln.
The remnantas of the group, 45 members total, demobilized on August 14, 2008, on the Municipality of Carmen de Atrato in the Department of Choco. Its area of influence was the Department of Choco, the Southwesternt part of the Department of Antioquia and the Department of Risaralda.  
For more info please see: High Commissioner for Peace, official website, Ministery of Defense web site, General Command of Military Forces web site, El Tiempo and El Mundo.
The flag for this group is supposed to be the same color scheme as the Eln flag with the same proportion as well, only that in the middle it features Erg logo.
E.R., 16 August 2008