No One Writes To The Colonel

Due to the civil war, repressive politics and bureaucratic frustrations become the norm in Colombia during the years of La Violencia. The Colombian government does its best to censor newspapers to the point that "clandestine circulation" (16) of the "state of armed resistance in the interior of the country" (16) becomes common, though private, practice. At the tailor shop where Agustín, the colonel's revolutionary son, worked with his friends, hangs a sign that reads, "Talking politics forbidden" (33). Under this cover, Agustín's friends conduct their covert political operations. When the newest mayor of Macondo arrives, José Montiel becomes the Mayor's "confidential informer" (118) in his assigned mission to "liquidate the opposition" (118).

Complicated bureaucracy characterizes the Colombian government following the Thousand Days' War. The colonel waits decades for a pension that will never come. When the colonel goes to see his lawyer about this, the lawyer says his "proof of claim" (26) will be "impossible" (26) to find, as the documents that prove the colonel's service have "passed through thousands of hands […] in thousands of offices, before they reached God knows which department in the War Ministry" (26). Bureaucratic frustrations exist even at the top of the political chain, as when the President of the Republic faces the "judicial structure of the country, built by remote ancestors of Big Mama" (164) and discovers he cannot legally attend Big Mama's funeral. However, the president has more options at his disposal than does the nameless colonel and sets his team of "wise doctors of law, certified alchemists of the statues" (164) to work finding a way for him to attend the funeral. Even still, these antiquated laws make even the pope have to wait for the funeral to take place. 

Colombia's political strife has widespread economic consequences for the country. While some, like Big Mama, the Montiels, and the mayor, capitalize on Colombia's instability, many others face dire economic circumstances."The poor" (118), in the case of Macondo and elsewhere, are repeatedly characterized as "the opposition" (118) and massacred. Though the colonel fought during the Thousand Days' War, he's received no pension for his service. Instead, he's "dying of hunger, completely alone" (60), forced to choose between feeding himself and holding onto the few sentimental valuables he owns. Damaso, an able-bodied if immature young man, resorts to robbery to support himself and his family. Carlos Centeno's mother, who bears "the conscientious serenity of someone accustomed to poverty" (66), packs a single piece of cheese and half a cornmeal pancake for she and her daughter's travels.

On the other end of the economic spectrum, the civil wars have allowed others to prosper. However, as Balthazar says in his drunken elation, the rich "are sick, and they're going to die" (113). After José Montiel dies, his wife remains inactive while José's ill-gotten empire goes to ruin. When Big Mama, an organized crime boss of sorts who runs not only Macondo but influences national politics, passes away, it's unclear what will happen in her absence. Colombia mourns her death in ostentatious, public fashion but also emitsa "thunderous sigh of relief" (169) when her tomb gets sealed. Whether Big Mama's passing could represent the end of an era of corrupt political and social practices conducted by oligarchs and represent "the birth of a new era" (169) remains to be seen.