This study of Ecuador under Gran Colombia comprises more than a catalogue of the obstacles underlying the failure of Simon Bolívar's experiment in statecraft. While the distinct nature of the regional and local problems of the southern departments add to that diagnosis, they also stand apart as factors in the formation of the Republic of Ecuador. The Liberator's determination to maintain the territorial integrity of the audiencia of Quito as a part of the viceroyalty of New Granada prevented the potential partitioning of that region between Peru and Colombia. Colombian military assistance enabled the fleeting Republic of Guayaquil to play a crucial role in the liberation of the audiencia. This ensured a patriotic legacy for Guayaquil compatible with that of Quito in the formation of Ecuadorian national identity. The special treatment accorded the Southern Departments by Bolívar's use of his extraordinary faculties and his later authority as dictator maintained the regional identity of Ecuador. The inability of the Colombian government to effectively respond to the local problems of the Southern Departments undermined the legitimacy of that regime. In contrast, the efficiency of the military administration imposed upon the departments by Bolívar enhanced his personal authority. Also, at the expense of Gran Colombia, the Liberator fostered an embryonic administrative centralism around the leadership of one of his most loyal officers, General Juan José Flores. The era of Ecuador under Gran Colombia witnessed the continuation of the colonial economic system beneath the superstructure of republican politics. In recognition of the distinct nature of southern society, Bolívar formally sanctioned that continuity, ultimately replacing the few liberal reforms attempted in the south with a return to colonial institutions. Within this framework the local elites of Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca remained secure in their society. Within the decade of its existence as part of Gran Columbia, Ecuador demonstrated its own dynamic elements, both local and regional in nature, that gradually coalesced to form an embryonic national identity. The emergence of the Republic of Ecuador in May 1830 was an affirmation of that historical development.

Tesis para optar al grado de Doctor en Estudios Latinoamericanos / En esta investigación nos proponemos analizar la racionalidad con la que Bolívar construyó su proyecto político hispanoamericano –la que designamos bajo el concepto de conciencia histórica– con el objeto de propender a un extrañamiento respecto de las actuales formas de tratar con el pasado latinoamericano. Frente a éstas buscamos relevar la “inactualidad” de Bolívar, su carácter hoy anacrónico, para hacernos conscientes de la arbitrariedad de esas formas dentro de las que habitamos hoy, que tienen como rasgo principal la disociación entre el discurso de la historia y el de la acción. Proponemos una comprensión de Bolívar como sujeto moderno-americano construyendo formas de leer y construir (en) la Historia, un campo –en su época– de reciente invención y en el que América no tenía aún un lugar definido. He aquí nuestra tesis: fueron las respuestas ante las coyunturas presentes las que terminaron creando una nueva concepción de la Historia en la que América Latina encuentra su sitio. Dicha concepción fue fraguada en la acción, teniendo en la experiencia moderna del tiempo una matriz sobre la que volverá con importantes rectificaciones, transitando desde una filosofía de la historia de corte ilustrado hasta planteamientos ligados al historicismo.

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This research analyzes the Bolivarian historical ideology since the Simon Bolívar death in 1830 until the end of the 20th Century, focusing on the development of what we shall call social consciousness practices in an experience of popular armed confrontation: The Venezuela’s Federal War of 1858-1863. Our aim was to understand and evaluate the potentialities of the historical memory as a social and emancipatory mobilization practice. In order to conduct the research and guided by the available documents and other historical sources, we did characterized "bolivarianism" as a revolutionary-romantic ideology, with a special and contradictory unity between revolution and conciliation. The research has revealed that Bolivar’s project of creating Gran Colombia was a relevant part of the Federal War political proposal. Bolivarianism was also a general ideological reference to important individuals during the Federal War. Finally, the study brought new evidence and insight regarding the nexus between historical memory and ideology as an activity of remembrance in an operative present, which helps to explain how the past is selected through conflicting projects of future.

This research analyzes the Bolivarian historical ideology since the Simon Bolívar death in 1830 until the end of the 20th Century, focusing on the development of what we shall call social consciousness practices in an experience of popular armed confrontation: The Venezuela’s Federal War of 1858-1863. Our aim was to understand and evaluate the potentialities of the historical memory as a social and emancipatory mobilization practice. In order to conduct the research and guided by the available documents and other historical sources, we did characterized "bolivarianism" as a revolutionary-romantic ideology, with a special and contradictory unity between revolution and conciliation. The research has revealed that Bolivar’s project of creating Gran Colombia was a relevant part of the Federal War political proposal. Bolivarianism was also a general ideological reference to important individuals during the Federal War. Finally, the study brought new evidence and insight regarding the nexus between historical memory and ideology as an activity of remembrance in an operative present, which helps to explain how the past is selected through conflicting projects of future.

This research analyzes the Bolivarian historical ideology since the Simon Bolívar death in 1830 until the end of the 20th Century, focusing on the development of what we shall call social consciousness practices in an experience of popular armed confrontation: The Venezuela’s Federal War of 1858-1863. Our aim was to understand and evaluate the potentialities of the historical memory as a social and emancipatory mobilization practice. In order to conduct the research and guided by the available documents and other historical sources, we did characterized "bolivarianism" as a revolutionary-romantic ideology, with a special and contradictory unity between revolution and conciliation. The research has revealed that Bolivar’s project of creating Gran Colombia was a relevant part of the Federal War political proposal. Bolivarianism was also a general ideological reference to important individuals during the Federal War. Finally, the study brought new evidence and insight regarding the nexus between historical memory and ideology as an activity of remembrance in an operative present, which helps to explain how the past is selected through conflicting projects of future.