Angostura Address
- Title of the Document
- Angostura Address
- One Line Summary
- An address, delivered by Bolívar in Angostura, in which he calls for a strong, centralized government to unite and stabilize the new republics of Latin America.
- Author
- Simon Bolívar
- Date Created
- February 15, 1819
- Location
- El Archivo General de la Nación, Caracas, Venezuela
- Type of Document
- Proclamation
- Publisher
- Correro del Orinoco newspaper, issues 19 through 22, February 20-March 13, 1819
- Transcription
-
“Gentlemen:
Fortunate is the citizen, who, under the emblem of his command, has convoked this assembly of
the national sovereignty so that it may exercise its absolute will! I, therefore, place myself among
those most favored by Divine Providence, for I have had the honor of uniting the representatives
of the people of Venezuela in this august Congress, the source of legitimate authority, the
custodian of the sovereign will, and the arbiter of the Nation's destiny.
In returning to the representatives of the people the Supreme Power which was entrusted to me, I
gratify not only my own inner-most desires but also those of my fellow-citizens and of future
generations, who trust to your wisdom, rectitude, and prudence in all things. Upon the fulfillment
of this grateful obligation, I shall be released from the immense authority with which I have been
burdened and from the Unlimited responsibility which has weighed so heavily upon my slender
resources. Only the force of necessity, coupled with the imperious will of the people, compelled
me to assume the fearful and dangerous post of Dictator and Supreme Chief of the Republic. But
now I can breathe more freely, for I am re-turning to you this authority which I have succeeded
in maintaining at the price of so much danger, hardship, and suffering, amidst the worst
tribulations suffered by any society. .
The period in the history of the Republic over which I presided was not one of mere political
storm; nor was it simply a bloody war or merely popular anarchy. It was, indeed, the culmination
of every disruptive force. It was the flood-tide of a devastating torrent which overran the good
earth of Venezuela. What barriers could one man-a man such as myself—erect to stay the onrush
of such devastation? . . .
The continuance of authority in the same individual has frequently meant the end of democratic
governments. Repeated elections are essential in popular systems of government, for nothing is
more perilous than to permit one citizen to retain power for an extended period. The people
become accustomed to obeying him, and he forms the habit of commanding them; herein lie the
origins of usurpation and tyranny. A just zeal is the guarantee of republican liberty. Our citizens
must with good reason learn to fear lest the magistrate who has governed them long will govern
them forever.
Since, therefore, by this profession of mine in support of Venezuela's freedom I may aspire to the
glory of being reckoned among her most faithful sons, allow me, Gentlemen, to expound, with
the frankness of a true republican, my respectful opinion on a Plan of a Constitution, which I
take the liberty of submitting to you as testimony of the candor and sincerity of my sentiments.
As this plan concerns the welfare of all, I venture to assume that I have the right to be heard by
the representatives of the people. I well know that your wisdom needs no counsel, and I know
also that my plan may perhaps appear to be mistaken and impracticable. But I implore you,
Gentlemen, receive this work with benevolence, for it is more a tribute of my sincere deference
to the Congress than an act of presumption. Moreover, as your function is to create a body
politic, or, it might be said, to create an entire society while surrounded by every obstacle that a
most peculiar and difficult situation can present, perhaps the voice of one citizen may reveal the
presence of a hidden or unknown danger.
Let us review the past to discover the base upon which the Republic of Venezuela is founded.
America, in separating from the Spanish monarchy, found herself in a situation similar to that of
the Roman Empire when its enormous framework fell to pieces in the midst of the ancient world.
Each Roman division then formed an independent nation in keeping with its location or interests;
but this situation differed from America's in that those members proceeded to reestablish their
former associations. We, on the contrary, do not even retain the vestiges of our original being. We
are not Europeans; we are not Indians; we are but a mixed species of aborigines and Spaniards.
Americans by birth and Europeans by law, we find ourselves engaged in a dual conflict: we are
disputing with the natives for titles of ownership, and at the same time we are struggling to
maintain ourselves in the country that gave us birth against the opposition of the invaders. Thus
our position is most extraordinary and complicated. But there is more. As our role has always
been strictly passive and our 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.
Permit me to explain this paradox.
In absolute systems, the central power is unlimited. The will of the despot is the supreme law,
arbitrarily enforced by subordinates who take part in the organized oppression in proportion to
the authority that they wield. They are charged with civil, political, military, and religious
functions; but, in the final analysis, the satraps of Persia are Persian, the pashas of the Grand
Turk are Turks, and the sultans of Tartary are Tartars. China does not seek her mandarins in the
homeland of Genghis Khan, her conqueror. America, on the contrary, received everything from
Spain, who, in effect, deprived her of the experience that she would have gained from the
exercise of an active tyranny by not allowing her to take part in her own domestic affairs and
administration. This exclusion made it impossible for us to acquaint ourselves with the
management of public affairs; nor did we enjoy that personal consideration, of such great value
in major revolutions, that the brilliance of power inspires in the eyes of the multitude. In brief,
Gentlemen, we were deliberately kept in ignorance and cut off from the world in all matters
relating to the science of government.
Subject to the threefold yoke of ignorance, tyranny, and vice, the American people have been
unable to acquire knowledge, power, or [civic] virtue. The lessons we received and the models
we studied, as pupils of such pernicious teachers, were most destructive. We have been ruled
more by deceit than by force, and we have been degraded more by vice than by superstition.
Slavery is the daughter of Darkness: an ignorant people is a blind instrument of its own
destruction. Ambition and intrigue abuse 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 patriot-ism, and vengeance for justice. This situation is similar to that of the
robust blind man who, beguiled by his strength, strides forward with all the assurance of one who
can see, but, upon hitting every variety of obstacle, finds himself unable to retrace his steps. . . . .
I am forced to gather all my strength and to exert every effort of which I am capable in order to
perceive the supreme good embodied in this immortal Code of our rights and laws. But how can
I venture to say it! Shall I dare, by my criticism, to profane the sacred tablets of our laws . . .
[sic]? There are some feelings that a true patriot cannot retain in his heart. They overflow, forced
out by their own violence, and in spite of one's efforts to restrain them an inner force will make
them known. I am thoroughly imbued with the idea that the government of Venezuela should be
reformed; and, although many prominent citizens think as I do, not all of them possess the
courage necessary to recommend publicly the adoption of new principles. This consideration
obliges me to take the initiative in a matter of the greatest importance—a matter in which the
utmost audacity is required—the offering of advice to the councilors of the people.
The more I admire the excellence of the federal Constitution of Venezuela, the more I am
convinced of the impossibility of its application to our state. And, to my way of thinking, it is a
marvel that its prototype in North America endures so successfully and has not been overthrown
at the first sign of adversity or danger. Although the people of North America are a singular
model of political virtue and moral rectitude; although that nation was cradled in liberty, reared
on freedom, and maintained by liberty alone; and—I must reveal everything—although those
people, 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, 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. 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. Does not L'Esprit des Lois state that
laws should be suited to the people for whom they are made; that it would be a major
coincidence if those of one nation could be adapted to another; that laws must take into account
the physical conditions of the country, climate, character of the land, location, size, and mode of
living of the people; that they should be in keeping with the degree of liberty that the
Constitution can sanction respecting the religion of the inhabitants, their inclinations, resources,
number, commerce, habits, and customs? This is the code we must consult, not the code of
Washington!
The Venezuelan Constitution, although based upon the most perfect of constitutions from the
standpoint of the correctness of its principles and the beneficent effects of its administration,
differed fundamentally from the North American Constitution on one cardinal point, and,
without doubt, the most important point. The Congress of Venezuela, like the North American
legislative body, participates in some of the duties vested in the executive power. We, however,
have subdivided the executive power by vesting it in a collective body. Consequently, this
executive body has been subject to the disadvantages resulting from the periodic existence of a
government which is suspended and dissolved whenever its members adjourn. Our executive
triumvirate lacks, so to speak, unity, continuity, and individual responsibility. It is deprived of
prompt action, continuous existence, true uniformity, and direct responsibility. The government
that does not possess these things which give it a morality of its own must be deemed a
nonentity.
Although the powers of the President of the United States are limited by numerous restrictions,
he alone exercises all the govern-mental functions which the Constitution has delegated to him;
thus there is no doubt but that his administration must be more uniform, constant, and more truly
his own than an administration wherein the power is divided among a number of persons, a
grouping that is nothing less than a monstrosity. The judicial power in Venezuela is similar to
that of North America: its duration is not defined; it is temporary and not for life; and it enjoys
all the independence proper to the judiciary.
The first Congress, in its federal Constitution, responded more to the spirit of the provinces than
to the sound idea of creating an in-divisible and centralized republic. In this instance, our
legislators yielded to the ill-considered pleadings of those men from the provinces who were
captivated by the apparent brilliance of the happiness of the North American people, believing
that the blessings they enjoy result exclusively from their form of government rather than from
the character and customs of the citizens. In effect, the United States' example, because of their
remarkable prosperity, was one too tempting not to be followed. Who could resist the powerful
attraction of full and absolute enjoyment of sovereignty, independence, and freedom? Who could
resist the devotion inspired by an intelligent government that has not only blended public and
private rights but has also based its supreme law respecting the desires of the individual upon
common consent? Who could resist the rule of a beneficent government which, with a skilled,
dextrous, and powerful hand always and in all regions, directs its resources toward social
perfection, the sole aim of human institutions?
But no matter how tempting this magnificent federative system might have appeared, and
regardless of its possible effect, the Venezuelans were not prepared to enjoy it immediately upon
casting off their chains. We were not prepared for such good, for good, like evil, results in death
when it is sudden and excessive. Our moral fibre did not then possess the stability necessary to
derive benefits from a wholly representative government, a government so sublime, in fact, that
it might more nearly befit a republic of saints.
Representatives of the People! You are called upon to confirm or to suppress whatever may
appear to you worthy of preservation, modification, or rejection in our social compact. The task
of correcting the work of our first legislators is yours. I should like to say that it is your duty to
cloak some of the charms that are displayed in our political code; for not every heart is capable
of admiring all beauty, nor are all eyes able to gaze upon the heavenly light of perfection. The
Book of the Apostles, the teachings of Jesus contained in that divine work, so sublime and so
sacred, that Providence has sent us for the betterment of mankind, is now a rain of fire in
Constantinople; indeed, Asia would burst into fiery flames if this Book of Peace were suddenly
imposed upon her as a code of religion, law, and customs.
Permit me to call the attention of the Congress to a matter that may be of vital importance. We
must keep in mind that our people are neither European nor North American; rather, they are a
mixture of African and the Americans who originated in Europe. Even Spain herself has ceased
to be European because of her African blood, her institutions, and her character. It is impossible
to determine with any degree of accuracy where we belong in the human family. The greater
portion of the native Indians has been annihilated; Spaniards have mixed with Americans and
Africans, and Africans with Indians and Spaniards. While we have all been born of the same
mother, our fathers, different in origin and in blood, are foreigners, and all differ visibly as to the
color of their skin: a dissimilarity which places upon us an obligation of the greatest importance.
Under the Constitution, which interprets the laws of Nature, all citizens of Venezuela enjoy
complete political equality. Although equality may not have been the political dogma of Athens,
France, or North America, we must consecrate it here in order to correct the disparity that
apparently exists. My opinion, Legislators, is that the fundamental basis of our political system
hinges directly and exclusively upon the establishment and practice of equality in Venezuela.
Most wise men concede that men are born with equal rights to share the benefits of society, but it
does not follow that all men are born equally gifted to attain every rank. All men should practice
virtue, but not all do; all ought to be courageous, but not all are; all should possess talents, but
not everyone does. Herein are the real distinctions which can be observed among individuals
even in the most liberally constituted society. If the principle of political equality is generally
recognized, so also must be the principle of physical and moral inequality. Nature makes men
unequal in intelligence, temperament, strength, and character. Laws correct this disparity by so
placing the individual within society that education, industry, arts, services, and virtues give him
a fictitious equality that is properly termed political and social. The idea of a classless state,
wherein diversity increases in proportion to the rise in population, was an eminently beneficial
inspiration. By this step alone, cruel discord has been completely eliminated. How much
jealousy, rivalry, and hate have thus been averted!
Having dealt with justice and humanity, let us now give attention to politics and society, and let
us resolve the difficulties inherent in a system so simple and natural, yet so weak that the
slightest obstacle can upset and destroy it. The diversity of racial origin will require an infinitely
firm hand and great tactfulness in order to manage this heterogeneous society, whose
complicated mechanism is easily dam-aged, separated, and disintegrated by the slightest
controversy.
The most perfect system of government is that which results in the greatest possible measure of
happiness and the maximum of social security [seguridad social] and political stability. The laws
enacted by the first Congress gave us reason to hope that happiness would be the lot of
Venezuela; and, through your laws, we must hope that security and stability will perpetuate this
happiness. You must solve the problem. But how, having broken all the shackles of our former
oppression, can we accomplish the enormous task of preventing the remnants of our past fetters
from becoming liberty-destroying weapons? The vestiges of Spanish domination will long be
with us before we can completely eradicate them: the contagion of despotism infests the
atmosphere about us, and neither the fires of war nor the healing properties of our salutary laws
have purified the air we breathe. Our hands are now free, but our hearts still suffer the ills of
slavery.” [Bolivar continues by outlining his plan for government, along with a plea to reunite
Venezuela and Colombia.] - Provenance
- Correro del Orinoco newspaper, issues 19 through 22, February 20-March 13, 1819
