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Colombia Gran Colombia
As victory over Spain became increasingly apparent,
leaders
from present-day Venezuela, Colombia, and Panana convened
a
congress in February 1819 in Angostura (present-day Ciudad
Bolívar,
Venezuela) and agreed to unite in a republic to be known
as Gran
Colombia. After Bolívar was ratified as president in
August 1819,
he left Santander, his vice president, in charge of Gran
Colombia
and traveled south to liberate present-day Ecuador, Peru,
and
Bolivia. When present-day Ecuador was liberated in 1822,
it also
joined Gran Colombia. In 1821 the Cúcuta Congress wrote a
constitution for the new republic. The Cúcuta political
arrangement
was highly centralized and provided for a government based
on
popular representation with a bicameral Congress, a
president, and
a Supreme Court consisting of five magistrates. The
constitution
also guaranteed freedom for the children of slaves;
freedom of the
press; the inviolability of homes, persons, and
correspondence; the
codification of taxes; protectionist policies toward
industry and
agriculture; and the abolition of the mita system
of labor.
Nonetheless, political rivalries and regional
jealousies
progressively weakened the authority of the new central
state.
Venezuelan leaders especially were resentful of being
ruled by
Santander, a native of present-day Colombia, in the
absence of
their president and fellow Venezuelan, Bolívar. In 1826
General
José Antonio Páez led a Venezuelan revolt against Gran
Colombia.
Outbreaks and disturbances also occurred elsewhere.
On his return from Peru in 1827, Bolívar was barely
able to
maintain his personal authority. In April 1828, a general
convention was convened in Ocańa to reform the
constitution of
Cúcuta, but the convention broke up as a result of
conflicting
positions taken by the followers of Santander and Bolívar.
Those
backing Santander believed in a liberal, federalist form
of
government. Bolívar's followers supported a more
authoritarian and
centralized government, and many, especially those in
Bogotá,
called on Bolívar to assume national authority until he
deemed it
wise to convoke a new legislative body to replace
Congress.
In August 1828, Bolívar assumed dictatorial powers and
attempted to install a constitution that he had developed
for
Bolivia and Peru. Unpopular with a large portion of the
New
Grenadine populace, this constitution called for increased
central
authority and a president-for-life who could also name his
own
successor. During a constitutional convention held in
January 1830,
Bolívar resigned as president, naming José Domingo Caicedo
as his
successor. That same year, the divisive forces at work
within the
republic achieved a major triumph as the Venezuelan and
Ecuadorian
portions of the republic seceded.
Data as of December 1988
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