History, but fundamentally the history of Law, helps us to understand the rationale behind of specific institutions in national and international contexts. In the case of the Colombian Armed Forces, little known by several sectors of Colombia and by its political elites and counter elites, the aforementioned perspective becomes transcendental. Colombia has been a nation of wars, pardons (impunity), constitutions, and of a clear civilist mindset, this last injected through the example of General Francisco de Paula Santander y Omana. The premise that only the Law could set us free became his indelible legacy for colombian democracy. That civilist legacy of the Armed Forces, and their real subordination to civilian authority, their principal contribution for the solution to the current crisis: a transitional situation without a transition, with widespread criminality, and protest demonstrations from different social sectors. The evidence shows that the Armed Forces have been determinant not only for the consolidation of processes for coexistence, but also for the development of the nation.