National holiday: Independence Day, 20 July (1810)
Executive branch: president, presidential designate, cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Representatives (Camara de Representantes)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government—Virgilio BARCO Vargas
(since 7 August 1986; term ends August 1990); Presidential Designate
Victor MOSQUERA Chaux (since 13 October 1986); President-elect Cesar
GAVIRIA Trujillo (since 27 May 1990, takes office 7 August 1990)
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party—Cesar Gaviria
Trujillo, Virgilio Barco Vargas, Alfonso Lopez Michelson, Julio Cesar
Turbay;
Conservative Party—Misael Pastrana Borrero, Alvaro Gomez Hurtado;
Patriotic Union (UP), is a legal political party formed by
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Colombian
Communist Party (PCC), Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa; 19th of April Movement
(M-19), Rodrigo Lloreda
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President—last held 27 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);
results—Cesar Gaviria Trujillo (Liberal) 47%, Alvaro Gomez Hurtado
(Conservative) 24%, Antonio Novarro Wolff (Conservative) 13%, Rodrigo
Lloreda (M-19) 12%;
Senate—last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1994); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(114 total) Liberal 68, Conservative 45, UP 1;
House of Representatives last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1994); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(199 total) Liberal 107, Conservative 82, UP 10