Bolivar: Lack of progress made in Ocana

The following is a statement made by Simon Bolivar after the passing of the 1828 Consitution of Colombia.

Fellow delegates of Ocana,

I am wholeheartedly disappointed in the lack of progress we have made today.

I call the attention of all delegates to the nature of the new constitution - it is fundamentally the same as the 1821 Colombian constitution, apart from the changes to two clauses. Firstly, changes to funding, with a 60-40 split. Secondly, the right to succession of provinces with a majority vote. How is a clause that sanctions succession supposed to hold our country together? It will just further delay the problems we face today. Whatever illusion of unity that fills this room today will quickly dissipate once every governor returns to their respective provinces. 

Every delegate is thinking for themselves, their personal interests, their personal gains, rather than the common good of the Republic. The risk of military confrontation has been higher than ever. Governors are shuffling troops around, for what purpose? You risk us descending into civil war!

Everyone in this room was born before the birth of the Republic. We all remember the tyranny of the Spanish crown. We shall not go back on the years of progress made in the name of the Republic. Most of you remember the la Patria Boba (the Foolish fatherland). Ocana shall not be remembered by future generations as la Ocana Boba.

Simon Bolivar

El Liberator