Belisario Porras biography

Belisario Porras Barahona (November 28, 1856 – August 28, 1942) was born in Las Tablas, Republic of New Granada, and now Panama. Politician, military and writer, considered one of the most influential politicians of the first half of the twentieth century in Panama. He was president of Panama on three occasions. His first term was between 1912 and 1916, after the US intervention in Panama, which was linked to the interests of the country in the interoceanic canal. He returned to the presidency in 1918 and two years later he was elected president of the country, supported by his elite. In the course of his government, which was marked by the actions of the US government, he worried about improving the country’s infrastructure and economy.

Son of Demetrio Porras Cavero, lawyer and Juana Gumersinda Barahona, attended the first years of training at his native Las Tablas, later moved to Bogotá, where he carried out his secondary studies at the Colegio de San Bartolomé. In the 1870s, he entered the National University of Bogotá, where he studied law, later completed his doctorate in law and political science, graduating in 1881. Porras continued his training abroad thanks to a scholarship granted by the State, he studied at the University of Leuven in Belgium.

Career

After finishing his studies he returned to the country, and began to work as a journalist, for the same period he began to actively participate in the politics of the country, militating in the Liberal Party, a party that at that time had great influence in the country, which was ruled between conservatives and liberals, always in conflict.

His political thinking was influenced by Buenaventura Correoso, a recognized Panamanian military, and educator who ruled the Department of Panama when Porras was small. Towards the end of the 1890s the Thousand Days War broke out, confrontation initiated by the liberals against the conservative regime, during the development of this civil war the liberals were dominated by the force of the conservatives, without any chance of victory. The liberal side negotiated the end of the war through a series of treaties.

During the Porras confrontation, he actively participated in the battles, leading the entrance to the Isthmus of Panama, supported by the governments of Ecuador and Nicaragua, led by Eloy Alfaro and José Santos Zelaya; together they created a battalion of volunteers that invaded Panama, after facing the resistance he managed to take the department and proclaimed himself Chief Civil and Military of the Department of Panama, then appointed Emiliano J. Herrera Chief of Military Operations. However, in July 1900 the liberals of Panama were defeated in the confrontation known as Battle of the Calidonia Bridge (July 24, 1900).

Due to the triumph of the conservative Porras, he was forced into exile in El Salvador. Later, he took refuge in Nicaragua. While residing abroad he worked as a professor of Law and Geography, at the same time he collaborated in several publications in which his political militancy was reflected. During his stay, he also associated with the liberal parties of El Salvador and Nicaragua. In the course of these years, the Department of Panama separated from the Republic of Colombia, an event that marked the history of Colombia. The separation was due to various reasons, among these, the interests of the US government in Panama influenced, specifically in the construction of the interoceanic canal; Porras did not agree with the separation, he saw it as one of the most serious offenses to the sovereignty of the State, he also disagreed with the signing of the Hay-Buneau Varilla treaties, through which certain privileges were given to the United States government in the country.

By 1904 he returned to Panama where he began his political career being elected councilor. However, his career was hampered when his nationality was withdrawn due to his views on the separation of the isthmus. In 1907, he recovered his rights and was appointed delegate of Panama to the International Court of The Hague. In the following years, his career was consolidated, becoming one of the most prominent liberal politicians in the country, a popularity that allowed him to be a candidate for president in the 1910s, being elected as such in 1912.

Porras Mandates (1912 – 1916, 1918 and 1920-1922)

Porras ruled Panama in three periods, during which he tried to consolidate the Republic, which is why he is seen as the father of the Republic in the country. Throughout his government he managed the bases of the Panamanian nation, facing various obstacles linked to the actions of the US government in the country, which intervened and monitored for several years since its economic interests were at stake. During these years he also worried about the economy of the country, boosting trade, carried out various projects focused on improving the infrastructure of the country, also worried about the living conditions of citizens, creating projects that would improve these areas, such as Hospitals and schools. Towards the end of his last term, the military confrontation known as the Coto War (1921) was carried out, a contest in which Panama and Costa Rica met. After a long and outstanding political career, the Panamanian died on August 28, 1942, in Panama.

Kim Jong-Un biography

Kim Jong-un (January 8, 1983) military and North Korean General Secretary. He was born in Pyongyang, North Korea. He currently holds the position of President of the Labor Party of Korea and supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), better known as North Korea. Little information is known about the early life of Kim Jong-Un. Therefore, the information that known about his life comes from deserters and people who were close to him. The same fate befell his brother Kim Jong-Chul who moved to Switzerland around the same period.

However, there has been some consensus around the information about his early life. Her parents are Kim Jong-il and Ko Young-Hee, this dancer who played an important role behind the scenes of the regime was the true love of Kim Jong-il. Jong-Un studied in Switzerland from high school to University. In his adolescence, he felt great admiration for Michael Jordan and the films of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan and James Bond. He was a fan of the German band Modern Talking.

This man began to be popular when he was appointed as his father’s successor, really this position was for his half brother Kim Jong-Nam, but lost the opportunity after being discovered trying to enter the country with a false passport. The first time the population heard a polemic about Kim Jong-Un was when the BBC claimed that he had appeared on the ballot for the elections to the Supreme People’s Assembly on March 8, 2009, although this was never really proven since successive reports indicated that he did not appear as a legislator in that assembly.

Later he was promoted to an intermediate level in the Central Military Committee of the PTC; an organ of ideological instruction of the Party of his army. Since 2009 he began his preparation for the succession of his father as head of the Korean Labor Party and, therefore, as head of the de facto state. His father asked the staff of the North Korean Embassies to swear allegiance to his son. Now, although his father was suffering from an illness that many associated with cancer, the death of his father was unexpected, so Kim Jong-un quickly had to take control of an international scenario for which, many claim, he was not prepared.

Since he took office, he has managed to build a military empire. He has become the leader of nuclear power with the constant threat that implies. Currently, North Korea has developed electronic warfare units that are among the most powerful in the world. He has managed to be a leader with his military forces, he is also considered a great military strategist, lover of poetry, and also an admirable economic analyst. Due to the characteristics of the North Korean Regime, the face of the current Supreme Leader was seen for the first time in 2011.

He appeared with his father when he was a member of the Guidance and Guidance Department, a key body within the Workers’ Party of Korea. When he came to power he drew attention for being the last bulwark of Stalinism. There is a song that is a kind of national anthem where the figure of Kim Jong-Un is exalted, it is a song similar to the one composed by his father and grandfather. At the end of 2009, Kim visited China secretly with the intention of talking with the Chinese leaders. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs then strongly denied that such a visit took place.

Kim Jong-Un gave a speech at the Great Plaza of Pyongyang. On March 29, 2013, he declared the “State of war” to South Korea, increasing the chances of nuclear war due to the B-2 Spirit bombers of the United States that flew over the Korean peninsula during the crisis. The following year he was re-elected by the Supreme People’s Assembly to be again President of the National Defense Commission of North Korea.

Kim Jong-Un defended the struggle of organizations against bureaucracy and abuse of authority. During his tenure, he has been concerned to develop multifaceted economic relations with other countries. He has not hesitated to express himself in the face of the reunification of Korea, saying that if the peaceful way cannot be a tool for reunification, then confrontation and war would be the last option. Given this opinion has not given expected have made several statements against him, especially the United States.

Through these units have tried to attack the South Korean financial system and have also shown their dissatisfaction with the socialist regime through resources such as film, Sony film studios in the United States premiered a humorous film that openly mocked Kim Jong-Un. Given this, North Korea has launched a new warning against the United States ahead of the meeting coming up that Kim and Trump will celebrate next month.

Fidel Castro Biography

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, better known as Fidel Castro, was born in Birán, Cuba, on August 13, 1926, and died on November 25, 2016, in Havana, Cuba. He was a revolutionary, political and military Cuban, who ruled Cuba from 1959 to 2008.

Fidel Castro was the son of Ángel Castro Argiz and Lina Ruz González, both of Spanish descent, who enrolled him in one of the Birán schools when he was four years old. Although two years later, they would send him to study in Santiago de Cuba due to his excellent grades. In Santiago de Cuba, he would study in different institutions, starting with the Lasallian School of Santiago, going through the Dolores School, of Jesuit direction, and ending at the Colegio de Belén in Havana, where he would finally obtain his bachelor’s degree in 1945. That same year he would enter at the University of Havana, where he would take up to three courses at the same time: Social Sciences, Law and Diplomatic Law. In this institution, he had access to several texts that would redirect his political thinking, and he faced a candidate of the USF, University Student Federation, who received support from the then Cuban president.

In 1947, he was part of the Invasion of Cayo Confites with the aim of overthrowing the dictator of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo. The following year, and thanks to the financial support of Juan Domingo Perón, he traveled to Caracas, Panama, and Bogotá as a delegate of the USF. In this last city, he intended to meet with Jorge Eliécer Gaitán just the day he was murdered. Back in Cuba, Fidel Castro married the philosophy student Mirta Díaz-Balart, with whom Fidel would have his son Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart.

“Condemn me, it does not matter, history will absolve me.” Fidel Castro

In 1952, General Fulgencio Batista gave a coup to the government of President Carlos Prío Socarrás. For his actions, Fidel Castro would denounce him before an Emergency Court, but he would not be heard. For this reason, he decided to gather a group of young revolutionaries and try to take the Moncada barracks disguising themselves as soldiers. But this attempt failed and Fidel was imprisoned and sentenced to 15 years of captivity. In 1955, he was acquitted by the general amnesty of that year, and Castro went into exile in the United States and later in Mexico.

In 1956, he returned with 82 other men under the name of the 26th of July Movement. His idea was to disembark in surprise and take Santiago de Cuba, but this failed because the Batista Civil Guard was alerted. Several of the fighters of the July 26 Movement were killed in Alegría del Pío, but Raul Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos and Juan Almeida survived, who took refuge in the Sierra Maestra. From here they set up a new army and started a war against the government. After several unforeseen victories, a coup occurred on December 30, in which Batista flees the country.

After the coup, the country began to have a transitional government directed by Manuel Urrutia, which was made up of several groups of different types, among which was the 26th of July Movement. On January 8, 1959, Urrutia appointed Fidel Castro as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Country. Then, seeing how difficult it was to coordinate the different ministries that made up Cuba, Urrutia appointed Fidel Castro as prime minister. In this position, he fought against racism on the island, decreed the Agrarian Reform and eradicated the mafia, earning the acceptance of the majority of the population. In the middle of that same year, resigned from his position for the differences he had with Urrutia, before which the people pressured the latter to reincorporate him. Urrutia, on the other hand, resigned. With which came to preside over the country Osvaldo Dorticós, who re-appointed Fidel as prime minister.

After the expropriations made by the Agrarian Reform, the United States, under the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, a sabotage of the Cuban government began, sending planes and decreeing measures of censorship and not trade with the island. Given this, the Cuban government confiscated several refineries and then several US companies.

Later, with the Kennedy government, the tension between the two countries would increase, to the point of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, through which a group of 1,500 soldiers arrived on the island. However, these were stopped and returned to the United States in exchange for food and medicine. In 1962, the Soviet Union positioned several ballistic missiles on the island, which was about to develop a war between the two powers of the moment; but both the United States and the USSR reached an agreement, in which the US government undertook not to invade Cuba. After agreeing on this, the missiles were removed.

“Whoever feels an ideal, does not mind being consumed like an aerolite when it crosses the resistance of the atmosphere.” Fidel Castro

Later, in 1976, Castro would go from being prime minister to being president of Cuba, and he would take the reins of the country, proclaiming himself a socialist, until the 21st century, when his health began to get worse. Already on February 24, 2008, he announced that he would be replaced in power by his brother Raul Castro.

Finally, after having at least 638 assassination attempts by the US government, Castro died on November 25, 2016, for reasons not disclosed in Havana.

Alexander the Great Biography

Alexander III of Macedon, better known worldwide as Alexander the Great, was born in Pela, Greece, around July 20 or 21 of the year 356 b.C., and died on June 10 or 13 in Babylon, 323 b.C. He was king of Macedon and one of the greatest conquerors in the history of the world, extending his territory from Central Europe to East Africa, and from here to Central Asia.

Alexander was the son of the Macedon king Philip II and Olympia, daughter of the king of Epirus Neoptolemus. However, there are versions according to which he was not the son of Philip II but Zeus or Pharaoh Nectanebo I. The latter is more accepted because Alexander was born as a child with the oracle of Amun, the god with whom he was related. It is known that in his childhood he was harshly educated by Leonidas in the matter of sports and by Lysimachus in a matter of letters, who treated him with great kindness, calling him Achilles. In addition, one has the story according to which his father had bought a horse that nobody could tame, Bucephalus. Then Alejandro approached him and discovered that his violent nature was because he feared his shadow. That is why he rode it in the direction of the sun and could tame it. Later he would participate in the Olympic Games, where he would win in the car race.

After being educated by Aristotle, his father appointed him regent in 340 b.C., which should have received the emissaries of Darius from Macedon to pay tribute. Two years later he would lead the cavalry of his nation in the Battle of Chaeronea. Then he was governor of Thrace for the same date. Nevertheless, Philip II would contract marriage shortly after, putting in danger the throne of Alexander. This, in the middle of a party, would discuss both with his father and his new father-in-law, because he had hinted that he was a bastard and that the new union would give a legitimate heir to Macedon. Due to the fury of his father for his behavior, Alexander went into exile in Epirus, the land of his mother. Although over time, Philip II would forgive his son.

“Remember that the destiny of everyone depends on the behavior of each one.” Alexander the Great

In 336 b.C., Pausanias would assassinate Philip II due to an unknown stratagem. Therefore, Alexander became the king of Macedon when he was 20 years old. His father had had to govern a rather small and oppressed state. On the other hand, it was up to Alexander to govern a state with an extensive territory that had control over Greece. Precisely, the Greeks, suspecting the weakness of the young ruler, began to revolt, although they were quickly repressed in Thessaly and Thebes, a polis that was destroyed. Then Alexander went to Athens, where the doors were closed for fear of repeating the destruction that occurred in Thebes. At this, Alexander the Great entered alone with a group of friends, and the Athenians recognized him as the king of all Greece.

After securing supremacy in Greece, he left for Asia Minor to liberate the Greek cities under Persian rule. With 40,000 men, Alexander defeated the opposing army, led by Memnon, and liberated the cities of Ephesus, Pergamum, Miletus, Halicarnassus and many others. Later, he faced the Persian army led by Darius III at the Battle of Isos, where Alexander the Great would win against an army ten times larger than his own. After this defeat, Darius III would retire to the east, while his family was captured by the Macedonians. This was well treated by Alejandro, to the point of offering marriage to Barsine-Estatira, daughter of Darius III. Then Alexander would travel to Egypt, where its habitants would proclaim him Pharaoh and they would unite in their fight against Persia.

After uniting with the Egyptians, Alexander entered Persia without major difficulty on the part of the soldiers of Darius III, occupying Babylon and soon Susa and Persepolis. In Ecbatana, Alexander realized that Darius III had been assassinated by Bessos, that now governed Persia and had fled towards the interior of Asia. Alexander gave a funeral to his old opponent and showed solidarity with his family, so he won the favor of the Persians, who named him king of his region and supported him in his persecution of Bessos.

Finally, after a journey full of fantastic stories and several hardships in Central Asia, Ptolemy, a courtier of Bessos, handed him over to one of Alexander’s generals. Bessos was executed, although the reaction of several Persian princes was to rebel against Alexander. After several battles, Alexander was able to impose his order and unify all the lands he had conquered. By that time, he married the Persian princess Roxana. Then, joining forces and after some difficulties, Alexander also conquered much of the Indian subcontinent.

“For me, I have left the best: Hope.” Alexander the Great

Finally, Alexander the Great would die in June of 323 b.C. in Babylon with only 33 years old. His vast empire, not having a clear successor, was divided between his generals and relatives, commonly called as the Diadochi.