Dictatorship and Sports in Colombia

Between 1954 and 1957, Gustavo Rojas Pinilla established the only military dictator- ship to occur in twentieth-century Colombia. Although historians have analyzed the regime from a variety of viewpoints, surprisingly none of them have considered the impact of Rojas’s policy toward sport, a remarkable omission since Latin American dictators who came to power after World War II tended to promote sports as a means to legitimize their rule. After brief reviews of literature concerning twentieth-century dictators and sports, and the fragmented nature of the Co- lombian state in the 1950s, this essay examines Rojas’s career before 1953, and shows how, after achieving power, he used the annual bicycle race known as the Vuelta a Colombia and partici- pation in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games to enhance his regime’s acceptance. By contrast, his attempt to crush opposition during the 1956 bullfighting season exposed smoldering popular discontent to his continued heavy-handed rule and contributed to his ousting on May 10, 1957.