The Revolutionary Election of 1836–1837 in New Granada

Abstract The presidential campaign of 1836–37 in New Granada stands out in the history of elections for its remarkable features. The candidates favored by the government, General José María Obando and Vicente Azuero, lost. The losers, including the government, accepted defeat. The new president, José Ignacio de Márquez, completed his term in office and was succeeded by another elected president. This chapter gives a detailed examination of the 1836–37 election, describing the electoral system and the electoral campaign’s protagonists, followed by an analysis of the campaign itself, showing its contested nature and how closely fought it was. A third section will deal with the behavior of both winners and losers, exploring the links between the electoral outcome and the outbreak of the civil war in 1840. The 1836–37 election became a significant precedent for the transfer of power through the ballot box, while setting the country on a particular constitutional path.