Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore how Florentino Gonzalez, a Colombian political thinker during the mid-nineteenth century, approached the concepts of liberalism and democracy in his various writings.

Paper long abstract:

Florentino Gonzalez was a leading political thinker in Colombia particularly during the mid-nineteenth century. As a Minister of Finance he liberalised the tobacco trade, setting the bases for the first period of the country's economic growth after independence. He wrote extensively - his treaty of public administration was published in 1841, and as an editor of El Neogranadino he contributed to the public opinion debate. He also translated key authors such as John Stuart Mill. This paper will explore how Gonzalez approached the concepts of democracy and liberalism in his various writings and the extent to which he engaged with the debates of his times around these concepts.