199 years ago, Liberator Simon Bolivar convened the Panamanian Amphictyonic Congress

On December 7, 1824, the Liberator Simon Bolivar convened the Panamphictyonic Congress of Panama, considered to be the first attempt at Latin American unity.

His invitation read: “When, after one hundred centuries, posterity seeks the origin of our public law, and remembers the pacts that consolidated their destiny, they will record with respect the protocols of the Isthmus. In it you will find the plan of the first alliances, which will trace the course of our relations with the universe”, reads the call at that time.

On June 22, 1826, the Panamanian Amphictyonic Congress, an old dream of Bolivar, was installed. This Congress was attended by: New Granada, Venezuela and Ecuador, such as Gran-Colombian countries, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru; United Provinces of Central America, Chile and Buenos Aires did not attend because of the internal situation; Bolivia did not arrive in time and Great Britain sent an observer.

The Liberator's proposal for debate at this congress was the strengthening of independence, internal security and non-intervention, legal equality of all States, relations between nations through a permanent plenipotentiary Congress and social reform based on freedom and peace.

However, the results of the Congress were not those desired by Bolívar, since most of the States present were not in a political or economic position to comply with their agreements. On the other hand, divisions and rivalries between American nations generated numerous border conflicts that ended in war.

The Liberator considered the Amphictyonic Congress to be a failed experience, however, he worked to create the Confederation of the Andes, made up of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, an initiative opposed by the United States, together with the nations that did not attend the Congress of Panama and the ruling classes of the liberated countries of Latin America.

Mazo News Team