Victoriano Lorenzo Troya

Victoriano Lorenzo was a Panamanian politician and general who fought for the Liberals during the Thousand Days' War. As an indigenous chief in the Coclé province, he campaigned for the land rights and representation of indigenous people, and after becoming an elected official outside of Penonome he participated in the state political structure. During the Thousand Days' War, a civil war in Colombia between the Liberal Party and the government of Colombia (backed by the Conservative Party), Lorenzo commanded troops of indigenous fighters for the Liberals. After the defeat of the Liberals at the end of the Thousand Days' War, Lorenzo and his followers insisted on continuing to fight, for which Lorenzo was executed on May 15, 1903. Lorenzo's execution precipitated the secession of Panama from Colombia and led to his status as a national hero in Panama.

Life

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 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. at the Plaza Francia, a tall sea wall, on the side facing Amador. Panama separated from Colombia less than seven months later. Lorenzo is buried in the Amador Cemetery.

The Panamanian public was greatly dismayed by Lorenzo's execution. Public disapproval at this execution resulted in this being the last recorded execution in Panama. It was a factor leading the Liberals to accept Panama's separation from Colombia,