1846: Ezequiel Zamora takes up arms in Aragua under the slogan: Land and free men!

Published at: 07/09/2024 08:41 AM

On September 7, 1846, the General of the Sovereign People, Ezequiel Zamora, took up arms against the conservative government in the town of Guambra, in the state of Aragua. Fight that carried as its flag the slogans: Land and free men! , Respect for the Peasant! and Disappearance of the Goths! , in a clear challenge to the ruling classes that monopolize the land.

General Zamora, accompanied by other local leaders, took the lead of this important military movement, under the ideas of liberalism at the time. The call of this fight was to recover the land, at the risk of one's own life, to end the inequalities between the landowners in power and the rest of the people made up of slaves, labourers and peasants.

In this first uprising, Zamora gained great respect and was recognized by the title of General of the Sovereign People, which is why he was considered a great leader during his participation in the Federal War or Long War (1859-1863) as a defender of the idea of the Federation, because his life was characterized by being tinged with the romantic spirit of the liberal characters of his time.

After several battles in which he was victorious, Zamora was defeated and captured on March 26, 1847. He was sentenced to death in Villa de Cura, because the Constitution of 1830 provided for the death penalty, but he escaped from prison and was later pardoned by General Monagas.

During the course of the Federal War, on January 10, 1860, he received a bullet in the head that caused his death. The origin of the bullet is still unknown, some say it came from their own field.

His death changed the positive course that the war was taking for the federalists and resulted in the loss of who is considered one of the most important popular leaders of the 19th century in the country.

Mazo News Team