The request of Simon Bolivar to organize a congress in Panama focusing on the non-appropriation of Spanish American territories by English and Americans, clashed with the expansionist interests of both powers. It was necessary to close ranks in the face of the U.S. expansionist intentions. That was the essence of the call, in fact the first anti-imperialist response of our America.
“The Spanish American union meant the emergence of a power capable of, in the course of time, assuming and maintaining full sovereignty and of being, consequently, an insurmountable obstacle to neocolonialist ambitions, in which the two greedy Saxon powers already competed.”
“Added to this should be, for example, anti-slavery in Bolivar’s proposals, his liberating projects regarding Cuba and Puerto Rico, and the idea of a kind of “common market” -Spanish American.” (1)
Very similar to what happens today with the media war unleashed by the American empire against Cuba. The edition of the Times, of London, of 11 April 1825, is a living example of the old procedure of running campaigns of defamation and discredit against Bolivar in those days and presently against Fidel.
It has been 187 years now since Bolivar’s call upon the Congress of Panama without changes in the essentials of the annexationist modus operandi or the ideological structure that the empire outlines to manipulate public opinion. Simon Bolivar was given the intriguing label of “Cesarist,” in the same way Cubans showing solidarity are described today as communists and terrorists -all weapons, hot and cold, aimed at the physical or moral destruction of opponents.
In 1826, year of the Panama Congress, slavery advocates controlled the government of the United States: any resemblance to today’s Republican Party is not pure coincidence.
The Congress of Panama failed as a result of the high-handed policy against the Spanish American peoples, which had the unconditional support and submission of those native oligarchies.
“Slavers and feudal lords and provincial oligarchies were unable to sacrifice the least of their caste privileges to the great cause of our America: Bolivar, however, sacrificed everything, until he died in poverty.” (2)
(1 and 2) Galich, Manuel: Granma 1981
