ABSTRACT

The Armero disaster came at a critical time for the Colombian government. Colombia won its independence from Spain in the 1820s. From the very early days of the revolution, however, there was a tradition of violent sectarianism between the followers of Simon Bolivar and one of his generals, Santander. The Conservative hegemony ended in 1930, and the liberals came to power, bringing with them major changes in the life of Colombia. After unsuccessful military attempts to defeat the guerrillas, governments have offered other options to them in an attempt to reach peace. The government signed agreements with several of the key guerilla groups in 1984, but by 1985 they claimed the government continued to assassinate their leaders. Just before the Armero disaster, one of the groups, the M-19, occupied the Supreme Court. Colombia has eight active volcanoes, three of which are snow-covered. This snow cover is a rare condition for tropical volcanoes.