The image of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla in political propaganda during the military dictatorship, Colombia 1953-1957

• Main Author: Ana Lucía García-Villamarín
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad Católica Luis Amigó 2017-07-01
• Series: Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales
• Subjects: Imagen; Iconografía; Propaganda; Comunicación Política; Dictadura
• Online Access: http://www.funlam.edu.co/revistas/index.php/RCCS/article/view/2023

Objective: to analyze the use given to the image of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla for the regime’s propaganda during the time of his dictatorship: June 13th 1953 to May 10th 1957. Methodology: qualitative from a documentary strategy (archives, press and official publications). Images from Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, that were produced or published in the studied period were selected, same that were then described, analyzed and interpreted. Results: from the beginning of the dictatorship, Gustavo Rojas Pinilla used his image as propaganda for the political régime to create popular consensus through references to peace and progress, which lead to a populist iconography that purposefully used images of Simón Bolívar and Jesus Christ. The strategy was applied by the Office for the State’s Information and Propaganda (Oficina de Información y Propaganda del Estado (ODIPE) in Colombia and, in a way, internationally supported by the Hamilton Wright Organization. Conclusions: even if the publication of his image was done by force, its use as political propaganda in the dictatorship worked out for the moment, as it was designed to impact on several sectors of society who were mostly illiterate. © Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales.