Victoriano Lorenzo
| Victoriano Lorenzo | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | about 1867-1870 Cocle |
| Died | May 15, 1903 (aged 35–36) Plaza Francia |
| Nationality | Panamanian |
| Occupation | Politician |
Victoriano Lorenzo is considered one of the great heroes of Panamanian history, although his story and motives are sometimes debated by different sectors in his homeland. Born when the isthmus was still a part of Colombia, which was a part of the former Gran Colombia, Lorenzo died during the Thousand Days War shortly after which Panama gained its separation after many different attempts dating back to 1830.
Lorenzo was born sometime around the 1870s to poor campesinos in what is now the province of Cocle. He was considered a Cholo, of predominantly indigenous descent and Hispanic cultural background. He is remembered in rural areas, especially Coclé, as an indigenous chief who continued the cause of land rights and representation; evidence thereof includes that his father, Rosa Lorenzo, had been an indigenous leader and that Victoriano spoke indigenous languages. He also participated in the state political structure as an elected official outside of the provincial capital of Penonome.
After many attempts to address indigenous grievances about land rights, abuses, and economic disadvantages through the judicial and state bureaucracies, he became frustrated and allied his indigenous fighters with the Liberal cause. Lorenzo was quick to take arms at the advent of the Thousand Days War in alliance with the Liberals led in part by Panamanian patriot Belisario Porras. He led troops in a Pacific coast skirmish which killed a conservative mayor and garnered him arms from the Liberals. He commanded his troops into battle in Aguadulce in January 1902, in which over 750 troops were killed or wounded on both sides, and his Liberal allies claimed 700 prisoners. Later that year, when hundreds of Liberal troops came from Nicaragua, Lorenzo sent his secretary, Papi Aizpuru, to meet them. Becoming one of the most wanted men by the Colombian central government, General Lorenzo and his wife, Lorenza Ibarra, led his soldiers to a base in the mountains known as La Trinchera, where he turned to guerrilla war to advance his cause, and averted many assassination attempts by Conservatives.
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Wikipedia