But, admittedly, it had turned out to be very corrupt. They justified themselves by arguing that they were just agents of a greater historical force. He ardently defended freedoms, yet he believed that South American nations were not fully prepared for liberal systems. However, this juncture would be rapidly embraced by radicals as an opportunity to proclaim independence from Spain in 1811 under the argument that they would not bow to an illegitimate French King. The rationale was that people with any degree of African descent would not be eligible for full representation. The Cortes, assembled in Cadiz during Napoleons invasion of Spain, redacted a very liberal Constitution by the standards of the time. He was a spirited combatant of monarchies, yet he insisted on being president for life (i.e., a king without a crown). 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. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034670500001534, Andrade, G. and Lugo-Ocando, J., 2018. 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. from the original Spanish by Francisco Javier Ynes) by Bolvar, Simn, 1783-1830; Ynes, Francisco Javier, 1861-1924; Venezuela . 2003. Amrica Latina 4. 2019 should definitely be a year of celebration, for the Angostura Address is a landmark political document. By contrast, Counter-Enlightenment authors such as Joseph de Maistre argued thus: In the course of my life, I have seen Frenchmen, Italians, Russians, etc. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16993/iberoamericana.427, Andrade, Gand J Lugo-Ocando. These leaders assumed the role of dictators while rhetorically expressing their reluctance to do so. The Angostura Address 200 Years Later: A Critical Reading. Levene, R. 1951. It would be even more difficult for the laws of North America to be adopted in Venezuela. During the Second National Congress of Angostura on February 15, 1819 Bolivar stood and gave an address that would form its own place in history. As it was the educational custom of his times, Bolivar was deeply embedded in the Classics, emulating the spirited rhetoric of Cicero and other great orators of Greece and Rome. This may not seem groundbreaking today, but in 1819, it was. Independence would, nevertheless, prove to be no easy task. As with any leader who faces the dichotomy between utopias and realities, Bolivar had some profound ideological transformations throughout his political and military career. ), but few embodied both military and intellectual talents. Dynamics of Political Transformation, Supplement: Comparative Historical Analysis, Moments and Events of Political Transformation, The Historical and Contemporary Role of Women in Ecuadorian Society, Brazilian Sambas Translation and Dialogue with International Dancesport, Dominican Republic Latin America at the Movies, El Salvador Latin America at the Movies, Chapter 15. The authors have no competing interests to declare. What state is more powerful than Great Britain? Happy the citizen that under the shield of arms under his command, has convoked National Sovereignty to exercise its absolute will! However, a very strong point of contention in the Cadiz Cortes, was the demographic balance in the representation of deputies. This logic is very hard to follow. 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. The Angostura Address 200 Years Later: A Critical Reading. Login has been disabled for this journal while it is transferred to a new platform. The Spanish Crown would no longer trust local administrators. Carlos Marx y Simn Bolvar: Apunte sobre el liderazgo autoritario en un movimiento de liberacin nacional. Desarrollo Econmico, 8(30/31): 293311. the Liberator Simn Bolvar's address to the Congress of Angostura, 200 years after the delivery of this monumental work. From there, with the auspices of President Alexandre Petion (17701818) that included 6.000 soldiers, money and even a print- (Helg 2003), Bolivar returned to Venezuela with a military expedition. The Angostura Address: Cultural identity, ethnic relations Although never formally educated in universities, Bolivar was a self-taught man and had at least two illustrious tutors who were the arguably the leading intellectuals of the region at the time; Simon Rodriguez and Andres Bello. The ministers, being responsible for any transgressions committed, will actually govern, since they must account for their actions. Proyecto de Constitucion para la Republica de Bolivia y discurso del Libertador al Congreso Constituyente de Bolivia. In imitation of the British House of Lords, Bolivar proposed a hereditary Senate. I do not solicit the establishment of a nobility, for as a celebrated republican has said, that would simultaneously destroy equality and liberty. Former colonial powers may be admired in many regards, but that does not imply that there is exclusively one single path to progress that must be followed by all nations on Earth. 1999. Although never formally educated in universities, Bolivar was a self-taught man and had at least two illustrious tutors who were the arguably the leading intellectuals of the region at the time; Simon Rodriguez and Andres Bello. Of course, it would be fallacious to accuse Bolivar of being authoritarian, just because he had authoritarian sympathizers. Simn Bolvar, "An Address of Bolvar at the Congress of Angostura (February 15, 1819)" Background As a young man, Simn Bolvar (1783-1830), who would become known as "El Libertador" ("The Liberator") in Latin America, spent a few years in Europe. Unfortunately, again, Bolivars reasoning is very confusing; as every critic of the House of Lords or any other hereditary office reminds us, such an institution is precisely the foundation for a nobility. Chodor, T. 2014. Orientalism. 2015. My sword, and the swords of my illustrious comrades-in-arms, will protect its solemn authority. One of the most significant transformations was his approach to the position of a President for Life. Bolivar makes a sophistic gap that leaves careful readers perplexed. But, this second Venezuelan Republic would also prove to be short-lived. Delhi: Penguin Books. But, it still reflects Bolivars anti-colonial convictions, inasmuch as unlike most figures of the Spanish Enlightenment, he was not embarrassed of having African roots. Liberty has been its cradle, it has grown up in liberty, and it is maintained by pure liberty. Bolivar, typical of his rhetorical style, concluded the Angostura Address with these words: Gentlemen! Again, Bolivar never answers. There, he Government posts were bought and sold, thus being filled by grossly incompetent administrators. Bolivars choice of despotic governments, once again, reveals that he was a man of his time. Unlike Jose de San Martin (who explicitly desired a Constitutional Monarchy for emerging South American nations), he constantly paid lip service to the toppling of monarchs. Bolivar acknowledged that federal forms of government were theoretically virtuous, and that democratic systems of checks and balances were to be emulated. . Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, vol. . This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Bol var and South American Originally published in 1923, as part of the Cambridge Plain Texts series, this volume contains the complete text of Sim n Bol var's address before the Venezuelan Congress at . In his view, federalism may work in some countries, but not in all. Let us start by saying that by 1819, Simon Bolivar was a very uncertain man who had lived till then a hectic life. However, given that the rest of Venezuela was still controlled by Spanish authorities, only a few provinces could send delegates. State Fullerton. 2018 Freedom of Speech Index. Retreived from: https://rsf.org/en/ranking. His success, however, would again be short-lived, as in 1830 Gran Colombia ruptured into its three original constituent countries, and Bolivar would have to march into exile and died on his way in in the city of Santa Marta, before he could make it to Europe. Bolivar was not really greatly concerned with these events in Spain. A republican magistrate is an individual set apart from society, charged with checking the impulse of the people toward license and the propensity of judges and administrators toward abuse of the laws. "An assembly of tried and illustrious men, the Congress of Angostura, responded to the important requirements of the revolution, and when it gave birth to . As our role has always been strictly passive and political existence nil, we find that our quest for liberty is now even more difficult of accomplishment; for we, having been placed in a state lower than slavery, had been robbed not only of our freedom but also of the right to exercise an active domestic tyranny . From: Simn Bolvar, An Address of Bolivar at the Congress of Angostura (February 15, 1819), Reprint Ed., (Washington, D.C.: Press of B. S. Adams, 1919), passim. He was moved towards abolitionism by Haitian President Alexandre Petion, who offered him military support in exchange of the attempt to abolish slavery from liberated territories. The 1999 Constitution articulated a so-called Citizen Power designated by a Republican Moral Council, based on Bolivars original purpose of regulating public morality. In the South American revolutions, there were men of action (Paez, Sucre, etc.) Maistre, J. How does an aristocratic principle, such as hereditary privilege, motivate sharing the peoples interests, opinions and spirit? 2018;47(1):74-82. Mexico: The Taming of a Revolution, Travels and Adventures, William Carpenter (1851), A Mexican Journey, E.H. Blichfeldt (1912), Document #3: President Diaz: Hero of the Americas, James Creelman (1908), Document #4: Plan de San Luis de Potos, Francisco Madero (1910), Document #5: Program of the Liberal Party, Ricardo Flores Magn (1911), Document #6: Plan de Ayala, Emiliano Zapata (1911), Document #7: Speech to the Nation, Lzaro Crdenas (1938), Document #8: First Declaration from the Lacandon Jungle, Today We Say Enough is Enough! (Ya Basta! He was a high-spirited revolutionary, but he understood the dangers of uncontrolled rage and racial vengeance. They went from being controlled by oversea nations to being independent nations. Shubert, A. Nothing in our fundamental laws would have to be altered were we to adopt a legislative power similar to that held by the British Parliament. However, he implores his audience of 26 representatives to take into account social realities of the former Viceroyalty when writing a new constitution. But, he believed that federalism was not suited for the political culture of Spanish America, Indeed, this is the main thesis of his Cartagena Manifesto, in which he places most of the blame for the collapse of Venezuelas First Republic, on federalism. New York: Springer. La Gran Colombia: una ilusin ilustrada. Again, his justification for this very aristocratic proposal was not altogether clear, although he tried to offer some rather confusing arguments: A hereditary senate, coming from the people, would share its interests, its opinions and its spirit, and for that reason it is not to be presumed that a hereditary senate would not follow the peoples interests or forget its legislative duties (Bolivar 1819). Considerations on France. Neoliberal Hegemony and the Pink Tide in Latin America. 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. Madrid: Espasa Calpe. Unless the executive has easy access to all the administrative resources, fixed by a just distribution of powers, he inevitably becomes a nonentity or abuses his authority. But there is more. Prof. Arkenberg has modernized the text. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X03006849. Pablo Morillo and Venezuela, 18151820. Mine is done. 2010. Across his address, Bolvar Predictably, very much as Bolivar did in 1828, watching over public morality in the Bolivarian Revolution became despotic in itself, and many of Venezuelas basic freedoms (but most especially freedom of speech; Venezuela currently occupies number 143, as indexed by Reporters Without Borders (2018)) have deteriorated over the last 18 years. Thanks to these achievements he would then be invited by the Peruvian authorities to organize the military campaign against the remaining Spanish and loyalist forces in Peru and Upper Peru (modern-day Bolivia), thus completing the final defeat of the Spanish Empire in South America. At least theoretically, this would ensure that criollos would no longer be second class citizens. Introduction to Political Thought. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 47 (1): 7482. Bolivar was a great man of action and an important thinker, but he was still flawed in many regards. 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). By 1812, liberals in Spain understood that, if the Empire were to survive, some further reforms were required. Mindlessly appropriating the constitutions of other nations, he argued, would lead to Gran Colombias demise. 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. The executive is commander in chief of the army and navy; he makes peace and declares war; but Parliament annually determines what sums are to be paid to these military forces. This new nation . 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. You may begin your work. Addressing the Congress of Angostura, 1819 [Bolvar addresses the Congress of Angostura. In China they do not send for their mandarins, military, and literati to the country of Genghis Khan, who conquered them, even though the present race of Chinese are direct descendants of the tribes subjugated by the ancestors of the present Tartars. In the Angostura Address, he returns to this theme: The more I admire the excellency of the Federal Constitution of Venezuela, the more am I convinced of the impossibility of applying it to our situation (Bolivar 1819). 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. Yet, Bolivar (very much as Unamuno would do almost a century later), embraced Spains African identity. Caracas: Monte Avila Editores. Simn Bolvar, el culto heroico y la nacin. Hispanic American Historical Review, 107145. At the opening session, held at the Orinoco River port of Angostura (today Ciudad Bolvar), on 15 February 1819, Bolvar delivered a major address in which he warned against imitation of Anglo-American institutions and called for a new constitution featuring a hereditary Senate and a "moral power" with special responsibility for education and 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. This is an understandable and legitimate point. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 47, no. Por que no soy bolivariano. El proceso ideolgico de la emancipacin en Colombia. 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). Throughout many of his private writings, Bolivar expressed enormous concerns about pardocracia, the takeover by pardos. Carta de Bolivar al General Juan Jose Flores. Bolivar was fully aware that whoever takes on the responsibility of demolishing an ancient order, must also immediately come up with ideas for a new one. Inspired by the revolutions of both the. Dangers of uncontrolled rage and racial vengeance 1 ): 7482 historical force by a Republican Moral,. Lugo-Ocando, J., 2018 Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 47 ( 1 ): 7482 would... Studies, vol Studies 47, no carlos Marx y Simn Bolvar: Apunte el! In 1819, it was more difficult for the laws of North America to be.... 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