Chapter 9: Congress of Cucuta.

"It's harder to maintain freedom's balance than to support tyranny's force."

-Colombian Generalissimo, Simon Bolivar.

The Congress of Cucuta, sometimes called the Vienna of Latin America, was an international congress held in the Colombian city of Cucuta. The Congress was called by Colombian president Francisco de Miranda and had the main objective of deciding the borders of the new Latin American states.

Prominent libertadores, heads of state and leaders of all around the continent came to the congress, which was held between August 10th (Dia de la Libertad) and November 21th, 1816. Some of the people that went to it are Dr.Francia from Paraguay, San Martin and Artigas from La Plata, O'Higgins from Chile and even the former Viceroy of Peru.

The Congress was called once Lima fell, and with it, just as several leaders had predicted, the royalist efforts in the continent. The last stronghold, Santiago, had fallen little before the Colombian armies marched in the City of Kings, and the only remnants were guerillas hidden in Peru's mountains.

The objectives of the congress were as follows:

1.- The establishment of stable democracies in Latin America, especially federations, and the delimitation of their border by both historical means and consideration of the people.

2.- Promoting cooperation and peace between the new nations.

3.- Promoting free trade between the countries and the European markets (read: the United Kingdom)

4.- Total demobilization of the continent. Promoting economic grown in the different countries.

5.- Reparations and re-building after the destruction of the war.

6.- Ending the Peruvian protectorate, bringing stability to the country and establishing a democracy.

7.- Even though the Platinean Civil War was over, the region was still far from stable and one of the goals was creating a stable federation.

8.- Destroy the guerillas and bandit groups that formed through the war.

However, perhaps the most important objective besides the first one was the creation of the American Union (Union Americana). Miranda, trying to accomplish his dream of a united Latin America, promoted this union. More like an international organization than a real federation, or even a loose union of republics like the US, its objective was to work together in order to build up Latin America and protect it from foreign powers, especially a Spain that might try a "reconquista" on its former colonies. It would have a central parliament (in Cucuta), with an executive body formed by the presidents of the nations that formed part of it. The Union would not only secure the Congress' goals, but also being the first step to a real federation.

Opinions of the Congress of Cucuta nowadays are divided. In one hand, it's considered that the Congress managed to maintain peace in Latin America for the following ten years, when the region would have had almost immediate wars otherwise. However, the same point is made against it, in that a more competent Congress should have been able to maintain peace for far more time.

Another criticized aspect of the congress was that, being Colombian led, its most important goal seemed to be placing Colombia as the leader of Latin America. For example, Colombia annexed Tumbes and several amazonic territories from Peru, never mind that those lands had been Peruvian since the very establishment of the colony, never were part of neither New Granada nor Quito, and without asking the population. The same happened in La Plata, where Colombian support for both Paraguay and Charkas seemed to be more out of limiting Platinean power than true care for the people there.

This created mistrust and lack of cooperation between the new republics, as no one, not even pro-Colombia states such as Chile or Charkas, wanted to be under Colombian domination.

But, by far, the greatest mistake of the Congress was one that many Congress and Peace Conferences through the ages made. Nobody was really happy with the result.

Colombia saw its dream unfinished, with no republic in the entire region willing to listen to neither it nor the Union, which was rendered powerless thanks to lack of cooperation and difficulties of communication. At the end, almost no goal of the Congress was effectively reached.

Peru remained a Colombian protectorate for almost two years, and lost territories that it considered Peruvian to Colombia, which remained a great influence in the country. The criollos were furious at this, and at what they thought was a military occupation or even a Colombian colony, while the Indigenas were betrayed and had their dream of a new Incan Empire crushed.

Chilean ambitions over the Charkean coast and Northern La Plata were defied by Colombia, while Charkas and Paraguay were left with borders that didn't satisfy either. Though Central American control over Yucatan was recognized, Colombia annexed Costa Rica and Panama, areas that the new federation wanted as well. Also, while in order to keep tensions low Colombia had at least one representative for each one of its states, Central America had only a few general ones, thus bringing tensions to the maximum.

As for La Plata, they became a confederation, formed by four major states: Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Corrientes and Provincias Orientales. Not wanting to share power with Artigas, San Martin exiled himself to Europe. The four states were openly hostile to each other, had their own armies and laws, and were more like a series of Warlord States than a true confederation.

Finally, Mexico was completely ignored as the Congress considered that it was still a colony, with the fight for independence being reduced to only ineffectual guerilla warfare. However, the fact that the Congress, and especially Colombia "dared" to use Mexican (or rather, New Spanish) territory as they pleased brought hostility and almost caused a war once the Mexican Empire reached independence.

Should we consider Cucuta a failure? While it certainly didn't manage to accomplish most of its goals, Cucuta managed to lay the foundation for the modern Latin America, especially as it did manage to promote cooperation and democracy through the continent. The effects of Cucuta were still felt even in the XXth century, and it was the basis for the Peace Talks and other Congress that would decide the future of the nations decades later.