Of course, it would be fallacious to accuse Bolivar of being authoritarian, just because he had authoritarian sympathizers. All three sources reveal patriotic feelings and attitudes towards their own countries. This bring us to one of our key questions: Had Bolivar already planned to be a perpetual dictator by 1819 and was the Angostura Address paying mere lip service to the principle of alterability in power? No matter what citizen occupies this office, he will be aided by the Constitution, and therein being authorized to do good, he can do no harm, because his ministers will cooperate with him only insofar as he abides by the law. He also publicly proclaimed the emancipation of slaves in Carupano, in 1816. But the key difference is this: the governors of Isfahan are Persians, the viziers of the Great Lord in Turkey are Turks, and the sultans of Tartary are Tartars. Unfortunately, the Bolivar-hero cult rampant in Venezuela and Colombia (and to a lesser extent in. However, it would be a mistake to think that it was only after the independence that he became aware of this. Bolvar had the objective of emerging a plan of governance as he lays out his understanding of the independence movement and his belief on how the future of Latin American nations should be legally structured. His praise for division of powers was also only half-hearted. Congress of Angostura, an 1819-1821 legislative body of Gran Colombia. Bolivar was a great man of action and an important thinker, but he was still flawed in many regards. Central America: Within the U.S. Orbit, Timeline for Central America, 1502-Present, Central American Profiles and Personalities, Forced Disappearance and Impunity in El Jute, Guatemala, Document #9: Introduction to the Shark and the Sardines, Juan Jos Arvalo (1956), Document #10: Acceptance and Nobel Lecture, Rigoberta Mench (1992), Document #11: Special Report No. Paredes Muante, J. Latin America in the World Arena, 1990s Present, Moments and Events in Contemporary US-Latin American Relations, Document #43: Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) statement on Honduras, Document #42 President Obamas speech at the 2009 Summit of the Americas, Document #44: The Path Forward for Honduras, Document #45 Honduras: The Obama Administrations First Latin American Waterloo (2009), Document #47 Hillary Clintons speech on Opportunity in the Americas (2010), Modern Latin America, 8th Edition Companion Website, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. And it is for this very reason that Bolivar believes that federalism works in North America, but it would never work in South America. Some critics have accussed Bolvar of verbosity. His "Angostura Address of 1819" is much more than just a regular speech that any politician would make throughout the course of their career. One of the most significant transformations was his approach to the position of a President for Life. If a people, perverted by their training, succeed in achieving their liberty, they will soon lose it, for it would be of no avail to endeavor to explain to them that happiness consists in the practice of virtue; that the rule of law is more powerful than the rule of tyrants, because, as the laws are more inflexible, every one should submit to their beneficent austerity; that proper morals, and not force, are the bases of law; and that to practice justice is to practice liberty. Said, E. 2006. Although there were many reasons for Bolivars disputes with Francisco de Paula Santander (17921840) and other conspirators in Bogota, it was by far the ambition of becoming President for Life that turned out to be the most crucial amongst his opponents. God save Congress! (Bolivar 1819). It is certainly the case that, during Habsburg times (the dynasty before the arrival of the Bourbons), the Indies were not colonies in the modern sense. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ncr.2003.0004. Levenes thesis proposes that the Indies were actually kingdoms with the same legal standing as kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula; the implication is that Bolivars struggle for independence was unjustified. Wittfogel, K. 1953. hold on the North American continent five. London: Longman Publishing Group. Bolivar's speaking style reflected the values of his epoch. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. In this regard, Bolivar very much anticipates Tocquevilles analysis in Democracy in America. Bolivar himself made such a proclaim when arguing: Amidst that sea of woes and afflictions, I was nothing more than the miserable sport of the revolutionary hurricane, driven to and fro like the wild bird of the ocean (Bolivar 1819). Nevertheless, his main concern was not so much with absolutism itself, but rather, with the exclusion of criollos in the administration of the Spanish Empire. Timeline for Colonial Latin America, 1492-1824, Colonial Latin American Profiles and Personalities, Moments and Events in Late Colonial Latin America, Analysis of Arthur Syzks Bolvar and Sucre at Junin, oil on canvas (1950), Simn Bolvar and Restrained Republicanism, Document #1: Letter from Jamaica, Simn Bolvar (1815), Document #2: Address at the Congress of Angostura, Simn Bolvar (1819), Chapter 3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2515360. Discussion Questions; Further Readings; Honduras: A Country and a Coup Despite their genuine admiration for Bolivar, constituents understood that Bolivars argumentation in favor of hereditary principles of political power was very weak (not to say confusing), and that an institution imitating the British House of Lords would be nothing but a setback to old aristocratic times. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16993/iberoamericana.427, Andrade, Gand J Lugo-Ocando. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. 2015. Levene, R. 1951. This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook. Cuba: Key Colony, Socialist State, From Haciendas to the Peal of the Antilles, The Island of Cuba, Alexander von Humboldt (1856), Through Afro-America, William Archer (1910), Document #13: Montecristi Manifesto, by Jos Mart and Mximo Gmez (1895), Document #14: My Race, Jose Mart (1893), Document #15: History Will Absolve Me, by Fidel Castro (1953), Document #17: What is Cubas Sin?, Fidel Castro (2003), Document #16: Statement from Mexico City, Juana Castro (1964), Chapter 6. Its culminating piece of legislation was the Venezuelan Constitution of 1819, officially adopted on August 15, but quickly made obsolete by the creation of the Republic of Colombia on December 17, 1819. In an oft-quoted passage of the Angostura Address, he argues: The continuation of authority in the same individual has frequently proved the ruin of democratic governments. The conspiracy against Miranda July 31, 1812. Dilogos Revista Electrnica de Historia, 16(2): 219267. Yet, astonishingly, Ferdinand abolished the 1812 Constitution, and imposed a new absolutist regime that, once again, contemplated the American territories as colonies. Slavery is the daughter of darkness: an ignorant people is a blind instrument of its own destruction. This time, he wandered throughout the Caribbean. Sponsor: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] (Introduced 02/24/2023) Committees: House - Foreign Affairs; Judiciary: Committee Meetings: 02/28/23 2:00PM: Latest Action: House - 02/24/2023 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as . The facts that the year 2019 will mark the 200th anniversary of Bolivars Angostura Address, is perhaps a neat opportunity to correct this and perhaps fill some of the gaps of a story that in the light of the Venezuelas crisis of today has become ever so more relevant in our days. This address is for the Congress of Angostura in which the first issue he places on the table is that the mestizos are not European, nor Indians, but a mixture of both Spaniard and native blood. This is his explanation in the Angostura Address: Nevertheless, the North American people are a singular example of political virtue and moral rectitude. Bushnell, D. 2003. This time he understood that he could not make a frontal assault on Caracas, so he decided to begin a campaign of guerrilla warfare in the Eastern and Southern region of Guayana, in Venezuela, via the Orinoco River. But, in the Angostura Address, he clearly mistrusts democracy, as it seems to cripple the strength of a nation: But what democratic government was ever able to unite power, prosperity and permanency at the same time? It is an office for which candidates ought to be prepared, as a senator needs much wisdom and the right faculties to acquire knowledge (Bolivar 1819). That is the goal of this article. This logic is very hard to follow. Disqus. He liked to describe himself as the man of difficulties. To a certain extent, this implied moving away from its African roots, and some authors made it explicit that, in order to be more civilized, Spain should be less African (Shubert 1999: 2). Introduction to Political Thought. To get his point across, Bolivar returns to the question of cultural identity in the Angostura Address, but adds an interesting remark about Spain: Let us bear in mind that our population is neither European nor North American, but are closer to a blend of Africa and America than they are to Europe, for even Spain herself is not strictly European due to its African blood, institutions and character (Bolivar 1819). Neoliberal Hegemony and the Pink Tide in Latin America. He was a spirited combatant of monarchies, yet he insisted on being president for life (i.e., a king without a crown). In the South American revolutions, there were men of action (Paez, Sucre, etc.) What state is more powerful than Great Britain? Bolivars authoritarian turn came later in his political career, well after independence was sealed. Scanned by: J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. Would it not be most difficult to apply to Spain the English system of political, civil, and religious liberty: Hence, it would be even more difficult to adapt to Venezuela the laws of North America. An address of Bolivar at the Congress of Angostura (February 15, 1819) Reprint ordered by the government of the United States of Venezuela, to commemorate the centennial of the opening of the Congress (tr. However, given that the rest of Venezuela was still controlled by Spanish authorities, only a few provinces could send delegates. Angostura, 1819" Main Point Summary/Background: Simn Bolvar's "Message to the Congress of Angostura, 1819" is more than the opening speech of a statesman to a constituent assembly; it is a voice that embodied realities of a new revolutionary society in Latin America. How is everything conspiring against the executive power in a republic? But, regardless of the effectiveness of this form of government with respect to North America, I must say that it has never for a moment entered my mind to compare the position and character of two states as dissimilar as the English-American and the Spanish-American. Geographies of Philological Knowledge: Postcoloniality and the Trasatlantic National Epic. Again the Angostura Address of 1819 clearly shows a Bolivar who was already very concerned with the chaotic potential of an independent South America. Bolivars stand on the abolition of monarchy, however, is more problematic. In the Angostura Address, Bolivar, typical in his style, praises North American society over and over again: Our legislators were influenced by the provincials, and were carried away by the dazzling appearance of North Americas happiness, thinking that the blessings she enjoyed were owed exclusively to the form of government, and not to the character of the people (Bolivar 1819). Andrade G, Lugo-Ocando J. Strategies for Economic Development, Moments and Events in Latin American Economic Development, Document #35: Testimony before Congress on the Goals of NAFTA and Preliminary Evaluation, C. Fred Bergsten (1997), Document #36: NAFTA Equals Death, Say Peasant Farmers, Diego Cevalos (2002), Chapter 13. In the context of early 19th Century Venezuela, this was a major accomplishment. Simon Bolivar was one of the liberators in the time of the revolution in the northern part of South America. But, his concern was, if not legitimate, then at least understandable. Not surprisingly, this quote (and Rousseaus political philosophy as a whole) has historically risen some eyebrows, as it seems to sympathize with authoritarian regimes, ironically all in the name of liberty itself. The Cortes, assembled in Cadiz during Napoleons invasion of Spain, redacted a very liberal Constitution by the standards of the time. Once again, he was inspired by his upbringing of admiration for Classical Antiquity: I have dared to suggest a moral power, drawn from the remote ages of antiquity and those obsolete laws, which for some time maintained public virtue amongst the Greeks and Romans (Bolivar 1819). Who can resist the lure of a beneficent government which employs an able, active and powerful hand to direct all its efforts at all times towards social perfection, which ought to be the end of all human institutions? (Bolivar 1819). Furthermore, by 1814, Napoleons troops retreated from Spain, and Ferdinand VII returned to power. One of the main thesis of that classic work of political philosophy, is that American democracy is not only built on a particular form of government and its institutions, but also on the cultural foundations of Americans (Tocqueville 2004). The enforcement of public morality has repeatedly been associated with authoritarian regimes. Bolivar insists that, in monarchies, the executive power becomes too powerful, as it enjoys too many advantages. Under the leadership of the Libertador Simn Bolvar, revolutionary forces repeatedly fought off Spanish attempts to regain control of the region until Bolvar decisively expelled Spanish forces at the battle of Ayacucho in 1824. If he attempts to infringe upon the law, his own ministers will desert him, thereby isolating him from the Republic, and they will even bring charges against him in the Senate. The Viceroyalty of New Granadawhich included present-day Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and parts of Ecuadorachieved independence from the Spanish Empire in a slow and uneven process. Yet, it is very revealing that, in this and other passages, he has a predilection for Rousseau. Therefore, let the entire system of government be strengthened, and let the balance of power be drawn up in such a manner that it will be permanent and incapable of decay because of its own tenuity. Please try again in 48 hours. Again, Bolivar never answers. He begins the address by presenting the concept that "We are not Europeans; we are not Indians; we are but a mixed species of aborigines and Spaniards" (Boli var). Who could resist the glorious attraction of the full and absolute enjoyment of sovereignty, independence, and liberty? Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 47, no. He stated that government should work in favor of the people because they are all "American by birth and European by law", and that they should have the same rights as the other Europeans. Mexico: The Taming of a Revolution. Pablo Morillo and Venezuela, 18151820. Although those people [North Americans], so lacking in many respects, are unique in the history of mankind, it is a marvel, I repeat, that so weak and complicated a government as the federal system has managed to govern them in the difficult and trying circumstances of their past. He was proud, and his words show it. Although Bolivar admired British imperialism more for its liberal ethos than for its military might (as opposed to the despotism of Spain), he was still a man of arms, and imbued his political ideas with militarism. Thus our position is most extraordinary and complicated. One common colonialist trope in the 19th Century was the concept of Oriental despotism (Wittfogel, 1953), popularized by Hegel and Hegelians especially Karl Marx himself. During Simon Bolivar's address at the Congress of Angostura, in 1819, he argued for the freedom of the people of Latin America. Scanned by J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. Independence would, nevertheless, prove to be no easy task. Altaschul, N. 2012. Helg, A. In 2010, in the backdrop of a wave of left-wing, populists and nationalists governments that have been swept into power in what some refer to as the Pink Tide (Chodor 2014), many Latin American countries (most notably Venezuela, Peru and Argentina) held massive celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the beginning of independence from Spain. What I propose is an office for which the candidates must prepare themselves, an office that demands great knowledge and the ability to acquire such knowledge. Ambition and intrigue abuses the credulity and experience of men lacking all political, economic, and civic knowledge; they adopt pure illusion as reality; they take license for liberty, treachery for patriotism, and vengeance for justice. Lynch, J. This supreme authority must be perpetual (Bolivar 1819). He believes that The most perfect system of government is that which produces the greatest degree of happiness, of social security, and political stability (Bolivar 1819). The Angostura Address 200 Years Later: A Critical Reading. State Fullerton. Despite the confusing nature of some of these arguments, we must not lose sight of the fact that Bolivar was, above all, a man of revolutionary action, and he responded to particular historical circumstances that may have required some necessary measure in the mist of the chaos originated in the civil war that had been going on for almost ten years. However, he implores his audience of 26 representatives to take into account social realities of the former Viceroyalty when writing a new constitution. Venezuela: The Perils of Prosperity, Document #23: Address to the United Nations, Hugo Chvez (2006), Document #22: Pact of Punto Fijo, Accin Democrtica, COPEI and Unin Republicana Democrtica (1958), Chapter 9. This new nation . Las Indias no eran colonias. He would lead them cross the Andes chain of mountains in modern-day Colombia towards a surprise attack on the capital, Bogota. In the speech, Bolvar lays the foundations for the establishment of democratically governed Gran Colombia that is free from the burden of slavery and racial inequality. Almost immediately, Bolivar had to confront a revolt lead by Juan Domingo de Monteverde y Rivas (17731832) and Jos Toms Boves (17821814), who lured black slaves, mulatos and indigenous people to swore allegiance to the legitimate Spanish King who by then had been re-stated to the Crown. Government posts were bought and sold, thus being filled by grossly incompetent administrators. 3(1): 2553. This thesis was put forth by Argentine historian Ricardo Levene (1951), in an influential treatise, Las Indias no eran colonias. Bolivar was not really greatly concerned with these events in Spain. After he assumed full dictatorial powers in 1828, Bolivar severely limited various basic liberties, appealing to reasons of public morality. State Fullerton. The wording is unmistakably reminiscent of Benthams philosophy, and indeed, the English philosopher was a major influence on Bolivars political thinking. Bolivar was given some military assignments in defending the Venezuelan Republic against loyalists of the Spanish monarchy. Simon Bolivar's message to the Congress of Agostura is explaining that the people of Venezuela should be free and not be ruled over by someon thousands of miles of way. Under the flags of freedom: slave soldiers and the wars of independence in Spanish South America. It must be based on the sovereignty of the people, the division of powers, civil liberty, the prohibition of slavery and the abolition of monarchy and privileges (Bolivar 1819). Despite Bolivars gratitude for Petions support, Bolivar was extremely concerned by the way the Haitian revolutionaries exterminated whites. Inspired by the revolutions of both the. They justified themselves by arguing that they were just agents of a greater historical force. The Angostura Address 200 Years Later: A Critical Reading. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 47(1), pp.7482. Retreived from: https://rsf.org/en/ranking. Retrieved from: https://es.wikisource.org/wiki/Carta_de_Bol%C3%ADvar_al_general_Juan_Jos%C3%A9_Flores_(1830). What government is more ancient than that of China? Bolivar makes a sophistic gap that leaves careful readers perplexed. Again, Bolivar does not make it sufficiently clear. Precisely because no form of government is so weak as the democratic, its framework must be firmer, and its institutions must be studied to determine their degree of stabilityunless this is done, we will have to reckon with an ungovernable, tumultuous, and anarchic society, not with a social order where happiness, peace, and justice prevail. Who was already very concerned with these events in Spain modern-day Colombia towards a surprise attack the! 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