Government Miguel Mndez Abbey

(Piedras, Tolima (Vega de los Padres), Tolima, July 5, 1867-La Union, Cund., May 9,
1947). Lawyer, humanist and politician; He studied at the University of Rosario where he
earned the title of Doctor of Law. Chosen for the 1926-1930 quadrennium. Conservative
lawyer, member of Congress on several occasions and Treasury Minister in the
administration Caro; Minister of Education and Minister of Government, on two occasions;
plenipotentiary minister of Chile and state councilor. During his rule the global crisis of
1929 he appeared the Communist Party in Colombia and presented the banana crisis.

Abbey reformed the prison system, it has signed an agreement with US commercial
aviation, progress was made in the construction of Bocas de Ceniza, to convert
Barranquilla seaport; telephone service increased national and international long
distance. International relations in administration occupied a prominent place; He
arranged the maritime boundary with Nicaragua in the Esguerra-Barcenas Treaty (24
March 1928) through the archipelago of San Andres and Santa Catalina, a Colombian
sovereignty while the Mosquito Coast passed Nicaraguan sovereignty; with the exchange
of ratifications of the treaty Lozano-Solomon (signed on March 24, 1922, ratified on March
19, 1928) were standardized limits with Peru; those of Brazil, with the treaty signed
between Brazilian Foreign Minister Octavio Mangabeira and plenipotentiary minister for
Colombia in Rio de Janeiro, Laureano Garca Ortiz (15 November 1928); He fostered
public works, education and indigenous missions. He faced serious political, economic
threatened to financial paralysis and production and social problems, such as the
Slaughter of the Banana, in December 1928, sad military solution to the labor dispute
between the United Fruit Company and its employees, partly as a result policy of
increasing foreign debt (had to resort to a loan of 10 million pesos for not stopping the
most important public works, and later opened a tender for a new public loan of 60 million,
awarded to an American firm . in 1928 the government signed another loan of 35 million,
to meet various infrastructure projects such as railways, roads and ports). Countering
outbreaks of socialism and agrarian conflicts with repression and fruit of coffee prices
lower. Being president of the nation, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of
Colombia was founded. During the government of Miguel Abadia Mendez public order
was seriously affected, among other things because union activities were persecuted and
repressed. In 1930 he handed power to his political adversary Enrique Olaya Herrera.