() Legislators! This style seemed to serve a very specific purpose as by 1819, Bolivar was keen to present himself as a humble citizen that, only reluctantly, takes hold of power, not out of personal ambition, but because of some historical metaphysical necessity. Stoan, SK. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 47, no. El proceso ideolgico de la emancipacin en Colombia. Give Venezuela such an executive power in the person of a president chosen by the people or their representatives, and you will have taken a great step toward national happiness. He attempts to excuse himself thus: Only an imperative necessity, united to a strongly expressed desire on the part of the people, could have induced me to assume the dreadful and dangerous office of dictator, supreme chief of the republic (Bolivar 1819). It would be even more difficult for the laws of North America to be adopted in Venezuela. Even Benito Mussolini was an admirer of Bolivar (Caballero 2006: 72). We are controlled by a system which deprives us of the rights to which we are entitled, and leaves us in a sort of permanent infancy with respect to public affairs (Bolivar 1819). 1 (2018): 7482. and men of philosophical thought (Roscio, Viscardo, etc. Yet, astonishingly, Ferdinand abolished the 1812 Constitution, and imposed a new absolutist regime that, once again, contemplated the American territories as colonies. That Constitution, labeled the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, written under the auspices of Hugo Chavez and the self-proclaimed Bolivarian Revolution, went to great lengths in attempting to imitate Bolivarian thinking in every aspect of political organization. Bogota: Random House. But, as for Man, I declare that I have never met him in my life. He thus anticipated these objections, by trying to assure the audience that a hereditary Senate would not be aristocratic: In no manner whatever would the creation of a hereditary senate be a violation of political equality; it is not a nobility I wish to establish, because that, as has been said by a celebrated republican, would be to destroy at once equality and liberty. Furthermore, in order to avoid competition with the mother country, the Bourbon reforms prohibited the production of certain goods in the Indies. The Bourbons had a clear mercantilist economic program: the Indies were to be ruled only for the benefit of the mother country, Spain (Annino 2015). My sword, and the swords of my illustrious comrades-in-arms, will protect its solemn authority. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16993/iberoamericana.427, Andrade G, Lugo-Ocando J. Originally published in 1923, as part of the Cambridge Plain Texts series, this volume contains the complete text of Simn Bolvar's address before the Venezuelan Congress at Angostura on February 15, 1819. This supreme authority must be perpetual (Bolivar 1819). 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 by Bolvar, Simn, 1783-1830 The Congress of Angostura A Great Address and Campaigning in the Plains (1819) Congress did not meet until February 15, 1819, on account of the late arrival of some representatives. 1999. This is an understandable and legitimate point. 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. But, admittedly, it had turned out to be very corrupt. Download date: August 25th, 2018. 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. In a sense, Bolivars approach is anti-colonial (let us remember that many aspects of colonialism itself were modeled on the universalism of the Enlightenment), inasmuch as he advises colonized peoples not to necessarily copy Eurocentric models. 3(1): 2553. Bolivar, a man of the Enlightenment himself, continued this trope, by presenting the Turks, Persians and Chinese, as despotic peoples. As complement to the strong executive power, in the Angostura Address Bolivar proposed a legislative power divided in two chambers: Representatives and the Senate. Bolivars choice of despotic governments, once again, reveals that he was a man of his time. ; I am even aware, thanks to Montesquieu, that one can be a Persian. Blanchard, P. 2008. How, exactly, does the potential for abuse in a monarchy justify the expansion of executive power in a republic? 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. It is unlikely that any liberal concessions from Spain would have changed his mind, but the fact that these concessions were very incomplete, and that they were ultimately abolished by Ferdinand VII, sealed in his mind the question regarding the break with Spain. We all owe it our obedience and loyalty. Bolivar was given some military assignments in defending the Venezuelan Republic against loyalists of the Spanish monarchy. The Spanish Crown would no longer trust local administrators. Breaking up with TINA? All should not be left to chance and the outcome of elections. Bolivar was deeply influenced by the Enlightenment thinkers. Document #41: "Address at a White House Reception for Members of Congress and for the Diplomatic Corps of the Latin American Republics," John F. Kennedy (1961) Discussion Questions; Further Reading; Chapter 16. Devoted to the government because of a natural interest in its own preservation, a hereditary senate would always oppose any attempt on the part of the people to infringe upon the jurisdiction and authority of their magistrates . While the courts and judges are dependent on the executive power, the laws originate in and are made by Parliament. Repeated elections are essential in popular systems, for nothing is so dangerous as to allow power to remain a long time vested in one citizen; the people become accustomed to obey, and he to command, and this gives rise to usurpation and tyranny (Bolivar 1819). During Simon Bolivar's address at the Congress of Angostura, in 1819, he argued for the freedom of the people of Latin America. Like the North Americans, we have divided national representation into two chambers: that of Representatives and the Senate. New York: Springer. 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. It should be strongly proportioned to meet the resistance, which the executive must expect from the legislature, from the judiciary, and from the people of a republic. Library of America. This would become a perennial feature amongst many Latin American caudillos ever since and something that would dominate most of the regions politics and society for the next century (Castro 2007). There are some accounts that suggest instead that Bolivar may have been genuinely concerned with perpetual dictators at first (Harwich 2001). Despite not controlling Venezuela, Bolivar called for a Second Congress of Venezuela (the first one had been called in 1811 in Caracas, to declare independence), to assemble in Angostura. 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). 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. 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). He prepared weeks in advance the speech delivered on February 15th, 2019, to delegates of the Congress. Levenes thesis is only half true. It is extremely hard to follow Bolivars logic here. Our weak and feeble fellow citizens will have to increase in strength of mind in a very great degree, before they can be permitted to digest freedoms wholesome food (Bolivar 1819). DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt6wrcf5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X03006849. Again, Bolivar never answers. The Congress ultimately decided not to pursue two of Bolivars most controversial proposals in the Angostura Address: a moral power, and a hereditary senate. One of the most significant transformations was his approach to the position of a President for Life. 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. Considerations on France. The Lycurgus legislature produced glory, virtue, morality and therefore national happiness (Bolivar 1819). A big point of contention between Enlightenment thinkers and their Counter-Enlightenment foes, was about universalism. Inspired by the revolutions of both the. Americans and the French, Bolvar led the. Bolivar remained loyal to his republican convictions, and scolded at the possibility of being crowned as king of Colombia. It was only the chaos of post-colonial South American politics, which drove him towards an increasingly authoritarian approach. 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). This may not seem groundbreaking today, but in 1819, it was. By 1812, liberals in Spain understood that, if the Empire were to survive, some further reforms were required. We are not Europeans; we are not Indians; we are but a mixed species of aborigines and Spaniards. However, a very strong point of contention in the Cadiz Cortes, was the demographic balance in the representation of deputies. 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. Death and Money in the Afternoon: A History of the Spanish Bullfight. Thus, the Angostura Address is plentiful with passages such as these: Sir! the Liberator Simn Bolvar's address to the Congress of Angostura, 200 years after the delivery of this monumental work. But, such celebrations should be devoid of nationalist distortions, and they should be cleansed of the typical hero-worship that has taken place in Latin America for the last 150 years, and has accelerated in Venezuela during the last 20 years. Retrieved from: http://www.archivodellibertador.gob.ve/escritos/buscador/spip.php?article10971. Discussion Questions; Further Readings; Honduras: A Country and a Coup But, the Bourbons, and especially Charles III, embraced a program of enlightened despotism and absolutism that by 1810, had fully converted the Indies into colonies. The population in the Americas was far greater than the population in the Iberian Peninsula, yet, only a minority of deputies posts were assigned to representatives of the American territories. Yale University Press. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 47 (1): 7482. In most cases, these celebrations served the political purpose of legitimating the parties in power that organized the festivities and appropriating nationalists sentiments that could help boost popular support. The Congress of Angostura is considered Venezuela's second legislative congress, the first being the one that met in 1811. In: Lively, J (ed. Castro, P. 2007. How does an aristocratic principle, such as hereditary privilege, motivate sharing the peoples interests, opinions and spirit? State Fullerton. 2015. Independence would, nevertheless, prove to be no easy task. The address is presented in Spanish with a short editorial introduction in English. Iberoamericana Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 47(1), pp.7482. 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. 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. 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. 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. Under Jose de Galvezs (17201787) recommendation (after an administrative visit to the Indies), posts high in the military and civil hierarchy (including ecclesiastical appointments) ruling American affairs, would no longer be occupied by people born in Spanish America, but rather, by administrators born in Spain, i.e., the peninsulares. University of Chicago Press. Annino, A. Lpez, J and Lopez, J. The morality of slavery was by no means a settled debate during the time of the Angostura Address. In the Angostura Address, Bolivar tries to define Venezuelan national identity, more negatively than positively as he seemed clearer about what Venezuelans were not than what Venezuelans were: We are not Europeans, we are not Indians, but a middle race between the indigenous peoples and the Spaniards (Bolivar 1819). Admittedly, Bolivar came late to abolitionist ideals. 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 . 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. 1965. With us it is quite different. The congress of the Republic of Venezuela is installed. 2004. 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. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16993/iberoamericana.427. Shubert, A. ended four years prior. Retrieved from: http://www.archivodellibertador.gob.ve/escritos/buscador/spip.php?article9987. Angostura (plant), a genus in the family Rutaceae. of History, Cal. Congress of Angostura, an 1819-1821 legislative body of Gran Colombia. Consuls, senate and people all served also as legislators, magistrates and judges. 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. The Cortes, assembled in Cadiz during Napoleons invasion of Spain, redacted a very liberal Constitution by the standards of the time. 1974. He was a high-spirited revolutionary, but he understood the dangers of uncontrolled rage and racial vengeance. He failed miserably, the Republic collapsed, and after guaranteeing his own freedom by turning against Francisco de Miranda he managed to flee into exile (Paredes 2015). Paredes Muante, J. 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. 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. He appeals to the idea of a modern state of equality by claiming that "slavery is the daughter of darkness: an ignorant people is a blind instrument of its own destruction" (Boli var). Mexico: The Taming of a Revolution. Throughout his post-colonial critique of Orientalists, Edward Said (2006) has documented how 19th Century Western scholars portrayed the East as some sort of mysterious place ruled by despots, mainly as a way to contrast the virtues of Western Enlightenment. Helg, A. The opportunity came in 1808 when Napoleon invaded Spain, and the Caracas junta which became the facto government- rejected Spanish authority in Seville in 1810, and reaffirmed its allegiance to Ferdinand VII, who was imprisoned by Napoleon. Bolivar, S. 1821. But, as it turned out, this was just to pay lip service as Bolivar assumed dictatorial powers again and again throughout his ensuing political career. Caballero, M. 2006. Our piece is an opportunity to challenge future attempts by the Venezuelan government with its self-proclaimed Bolivarian Revolution- to expand the uncritical hero-worship of Simon Bolivars memory as an instrument of self-national aggrandizement.1. In 1829, in the mist of continuous crises of legitimacy, some of Bolivars loyalists in Bogota proposed to establish a monarchy, with Bolivar as king, although his title would be Liberator; he would then have a European prince as successor (Lynch 2010: 263). Simon Bolivar was one of the liberators in the time of the revolution in the northern part of South America. Thus our position is most extraordinary and complicated. Said, E. 2006. The Angostura Address 200 Years Later: A Critical Reading. Mine is done. 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. Prof. Arkenberg has modernized the text. There, he Levene, R. 1951. He ardently defended freedoms, yet he believed that South American nations were not fully prepared for liberal systems. To fully grasp the most brilliant thought of the time, some basic context is required. Reprint ed., Washington, D.C.: Press of B. S. Adams, 1919. Bolivars authoritarian turn came later in his political career, well after independence was sealed. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16993/iberoamericana.427, 1. For, his intellectual and political legacy is a mixed bag. Indeed, despite his strong criticisms of Spanish imperialism he seemed to acknowledge that Spanish rule offered an important degree of stability and unity while independence could bring instead disunity and possible chaos amongst the emerging nations: The separation of America from the Spanish Monarchy resembles the state of the Roman Empire, when that enormous structure fell to pieces in the midst of the ancient world (Bolivar 1819). Andrade, G. and Lugo-Ocando, J., 2018. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16993/iberoamericana.427, Andrade, Gand J Lugo-Ocando. This speech, now known as the Angostura Address, is a prime document in the Bolivarian canon. The Bourbon reforms sought to change that, and they succeeded in doing so. Addressing the Congress of Angostura, 1819 [Bolvar addresses the Congress of Angostura. 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. And, at times, he seems to believe that, the new nations are not sufficiently mature to be wholly free: Liberty, says Rousseau, is a succulent food, but difficult to digest. 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. As he explains it in the Angostura Address: In absolute governments there are no limits to the authority of public functionaries. Delhi: Penguin Books. Colombia: Civility and Violence, Document #20: Press Release from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Secretariat of the Central General Command of the FARC-EP (2002), Document #21: Statement by Humberto de la Calle, Head of the Government Delegation to the Conversations Table, Humberto de la Calle (2013), Chapter 8. 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. Throughout his lifetime, Bolivar was concerned with public morality, and perhaps his most quoted words by Colombian and Venezuelan schoolchildren, come from the Angostura Address: Morals and knowledge are what we most need now (Bolivar 1819). Disqus. But there is more. There was no exact distribution of power there. Simon Bolivar and the spectre of pardocracia: Jose Padilla in post-independence Cartagena. Journal of Latin American Studies, 35(3): 447471. Altaschul, N. 2012. The Angostura Address 200 Years Later: A Critical Reading. 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. It met from February 15, 1819, established the new independent-from-Spain nation on December 17, was interrupted by further independentist activity, and reconvened on July 31, 1821, when . The infamous slogan, se acata pero no se cunple (laws are obeyed, but not enforced), became a common standard of criollo administration. Caracas: Alfa. In it, from this moment, national sovereignty is centred. 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. Simn Bolvar, el culto heroico y la nacin. Hispanic American Historical Review, 107145. Poltica y cultura, 27: 929. The Enlightenment did not reach Spain with the same force as it did in France or Great Britain. Armed Trading Weaponry on trade ships. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2515360. Caracas: Alfa. 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). A strongly rooted force can only correct this weakness. In this regard, despite his flaws, he is to be considered one the great men of South American history. Roberts, P. 2012. The Congress would lay down the political foundation for the Third Republic. Retrieved from: https://www.ensayistas.org/antologia/XIXA/bolivar/bolivia.htm. CiteSeerX Address to the Congress at Angostura CiteSeerX - Document Details (Isaac Councill, Lee Giles, Pradeep Teregowda): The idea never entered into my head to consider as identical the characteristics of two peoples as different as the Anglo-American and the Spanish-American. The executive power, consisting of two consuls, had the same flaw as Sparta. 2018. His praise for division of powers was also only half-hearted. Once again, Bolivar had to flee. comments powered by Yet notwithstanding this deformity, the Roman Republic did not suffer from the disastrous discord which might be expected from a leadership consisting of two individuals, both endowed with a monarchs powers (Bolivar 1819). 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 . El caudillismo en Amrica Latina, ayer y hoy. 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). He was proud, and his words show it. 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. 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). All three sources reveal patriotic feelings and attitudes towards their own countries. But, even in the Angostura Address itself, Bolivar seemed to be very enthusiastic about strong governments with little distribution of power, as this passage makes clear: The Roman Constitution brought about the greatest power and fortune that any people on earth have enjoyed. Bolivar did not elaborate much on what this moral power would do exactly, but he seemed to have in mind a governing body akin to Roman censors, whose basic function was to regulate public morality (Leiva 1985). 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. Of course, it would be fallacious to accuse Bolivar of being authoritarian, just because he had authoritarian sympathizers. State Fullerton. State Fullerton. Indeed, in the 18th Century, a series of reforms began to be undertaken by the new Spanish ruling dynasty, the Bourbons. Madrid: Planeta. Wittfogel, K. 1953. Download date: August 25th, 2018. 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. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. In the South American revolutions, there were men of action (Paez, Sucre, etc.) 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. 80: Communist Interference in El Salvador, and Response to Stories Published in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, U.S. Department of State and Alexander Haig (1981), Document #12: Testimonies of Guatemalan Women, Luz Alicia Herrera (1980), Chapter 5. The ministers, being responsible for any transgressions committed, will actually govern, since they must account for their actions. 1Despite the prominent hero-worship of Bolivar, there have been scholarly works critical of his deeds. 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. Yet, Bolivar (very much as Unamuno would do almost a century later), embraced Spains African identity. 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. God save Congress! (Bolivar 1819). This thesis was put forth by Argentine historian Ricardo Levene (1951), in an influential treatise, Las Indias no eran colonias. 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. In political storms this body would arrest the thunderbolts of the government and would repel any violent popular reaction. If he exists, I certainly have no knowledge of him (Maistre 1965: 80). The address is presented in Spanish with a short editorial introduction in English. After Spains humiliating defeat in the Seven Years War, Charles III understood the necessity to cleanse the corrupt and inefficient administration of the Spanish Empire. Silencios y disputas en la historia de Hispanoamerica. But, his concern was, if not legitimate, then at least understandable. This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.

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