Idea and Political Action of Antonio Narino in New Granada: Defense of the Popular Sovereignty, Pragmatism and Authoritarianism (1810-1814)

this article analyzed the mutation in the political positions of Antonio Narino in a period of uncertainty and change between 1810 and 1814. From the analysis of La Bagatela, the newspaper founded by Narino in 1811, together with the speeches, proclamations and letters written by him in the exercise of his position as president of the State of Cundinamarca, the two faces of this character were shown, the hero and the traitor, but also those of a nascent public opinion. Thus, Narino's political career is the starting point for understanding the importance of the press and of a primitive public opinion in New Granada in the 19(th) century, with its two faces: that of circulating ideas, forming opinion, reaching an increasingly wide public, but also to promote personal interests, propagate divisions, hatred and authoritarian ideas. It was shown that Antonio Narino, through his writings and his political life, became a critic of the discussions argued by other heroes, who proposed sovereignties that were not viable for the New Granada territory. In addition, it was evidenced that the press became a means of public opinion and the promotion of patriotism in the citizens of New Granada.