To many, the idea that, inherent in numerous works by Botero, is an underlying sense of social awareness or criticism, may come as something of a surprise. In fact, the social engagement of Botero may be observed in his works in a variety of ways, traversing the limits of benign suggestion to overt outrage. In a work such as the 1975 diptych entitled The Palace, the artist deals with the suggestions of political self-importance and corruption. The presidential couple could not be more stylized. The Commander-in-Chief wears fancy military dress, a sash bisects his torso, and a heavy decoration hangs from his neck. His wife (or mistress) wears an expensive fox wrap. The grotesque head and lower body of the hapless animal hang at her waist. The atmosphere is both solemn and ridiculous. The affairs of state are implied by the paper the president carries, and the vanity of the First Lady is underscored by her ostentatious clothing. More recent compositions continue Botero's ironic observations of political life. The 1987 painting The English Ambassador depicts a British emissary to a tropical country.The man swelters in his waistcoat and jacket, bowler hat, and woolen trousers as he poses against a background of lush tropical vegetation. He would be recognizable as an English diplomat even without the tiny British flag he holds in his right hand. Even more revealing is the deadpan humor of the 1989 diptych The President and The First Lady, in which the presidential couple is depicted on horseback as they pose in a forest of banana trees.

Not every image connected with political life is quite so benign as these. Botero grew up during a terrible period in Colombia's history. The 1940s witnessed what was called ''la violencia'', a time when thousands of people of various political factions died in waves of civil chaos and brutality Botero is also painfully aware of more contemporary events in his country's political domain, where government troops battle the forces of drug lords on a virtually daily basis. Many cities and neighborhoods throughout Colombia have become, once again, battle zones.This terrible reality has been reflected in key works throughout Botero's career. Even one of the earliest works of his oeuvre, Woman Crying, a 1949 watercolor showing an anonymous woman doubled over in pain, reminds us of the conflicts and trauma witnessed by the artist. In 1967 Botero painted an elongated, narrow-format canvas depicting the Massacre of the Innocents. Instead of merely recalling the biblical passage related to Christ's earliest youth, the Massacre presents us with a startling allegory of nonsensical murder and violence. An untitled composition from 1978 shows a man on a street of a small Colombian town being savagely beaten by two green-uniformed policemen.The 1988 Guerilla depicts a band of rebels, some lounging in hammocks or on the ground, others keeping watch for approaching enemies.The scene takes place within a forest setting. Its stillness is eerie; we know that violence may erupt at any second, indeed as it can and already has in the troubled society of Colombia.