This article analyzes how the economic measures implemented by President Laureano Gomez between 1950 and 1951 impinged upon the interests of Colombian businessmen, including the largemanufacturers. The latter group was part of the powerful National Association of Industrialists (ANDI) established in Medellin in 1944. Gomez ' s economic policies were guided by the World Bank' s recommendations. The u.s. government, which tried to liberalize the international economy during the early postwar years, also pressured him.