Editing César Gaviria (section)

===Presidency===
In 1990, he was elected President of Colombia, running as a [[Colombian Liberal Party|Liberal Party]] candidate. During his government a new constitution was adopted in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lasillavacia.com/quienesquien/perfilquien/cesar-gaviria-trujillo |title=Perfil César Gaviria Trujillo |language=es |publisher=Quién es Quién |access-date=26 May 2015}}</ref> As president, Gaviria also led the fight against the [[Medellín cartel|Medellín]] and [[Cali cartel|Cali drug cartels]], and various guerrilla factions.

Under his presidency, the prison [[La Catedral]] was built, but to [[Pablo Escobar]]'s specifications.  When Escobar was imprisoned there, he continued to control his drug empire; he also murdered several of his rivals inside the prison. On 20 July 1992, Escobar escaped after learning that he was going to be moved to a different prison. On 2 December 1993, the notorious drug lord was gunned down.  His death was a triumph for the Gaviria administration.

[[File:World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 1992 - Caviria Trujillo & Klaus Schwab.jpg|right|thumb|Gaviria with [[Klaus Schwab]] at the World Economic Forum's 1992 annual meeting]]
Despite stable economic growth and foreign investment, 45 per cent of Colombians lived below the poverty line (particularly in rural areas) and slums were growing around major cities. Created by drug traffickers and supported by the army (President Gaviria said he saw them as a "possible solution"), [[Paramilitarism in Colombia|paramilitary]] groups (''[[Right-wing paramilitarism in Colombia|autodefensas]]'') were often engaged in fighting the country's various guerrilla factions. In cities, these groups carried out social cleaning missions. Tramps, marginalized people, street children and homosexuals were murdered by these groups. Many judges, several senators, priests, and even the head of the national police have been convicted of links with traffickers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1993/01/PROLONGEAU/44929|title=Violences colombiennes dans les rues et dans les têtes|date=January 1993}}</ref>

His government created the "Convivir" in 1994, which was supposed to help the army predict the activities of insurgent groups through a network of informers. However, according to journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina, "the reality has shown that the Convivir have legalized networks of hired killers in the service of drug traffickers and landowners, while having as their main objective the use of the civilian population as a cover for the paramilitary movement."<ref>[https://diplo.org.br/2003-04,a605 Os paramilitares e o terrorismo de Estado colombiano], bibliotecadiplo, 01/04/2003</ref>