BOLIVARIAN WEEK: CELEBRATION, IMPORTANCE AND ACTIVITIES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Bolivarian Week, officially Bolivarian Studies Week, is a celebration that takes place between February 15 and 19, whose purpose is to honor the life of the emancipatory Latin American leader Simón Bolívar. This commemoration takes place mainly in the schools of Venezuela.

Simón Bolívar (Caracas, 1773-Santa Marta, 1830) was a Venezuelan military man who undertook political and military campaigns that achieved the independence of the Andean countries of South America. Bolívar was also the founder of the Republic of Colombia, his political project that sought to unite the territories of Venezuela, Cundinamarca and Quito.

Simon Bolivar

The choice of the date of the Bolivarian Week is due to the fact that on February 15, 1819, Simón Bolívar delivered in the city of Angostura (today Ciudad Bolívar), the famous Angostura Speech.

This speech was within the framework of the Congress of Angostura, which drafted the Fundamental Law of Colombia, which would be the first constitution of that union of nations.

Legal basis of the Bolivarian Week

This celebration began to take place in 1971, after Decree No. 542 dated February 15, 1971. The decree was signed by the President of Venezuela, Rafael Caldera Rodríguez, his Minister of Internal Relations, Lorenzo Fernández and the person in charge of the Ministry of Education, Pedro Contreras Pulido.

The reasons that led the national government to establish the Bolivarian Studies Week was to recognize Simón Bolívar as “the greatest exponent of our nationality” and that his life is “rich in teachings for the present and the American future” (Caldera, Fernández and Contreras, 1971).

The chosen date coincides with that of the Angostura Speech, which opened the Congress of Angostura, the founding of the Republic of Colombia.

Angostura speech

The Angostura Discourse was Simón Bolívar's greatest political statement during the Angostura Congress in 1819.

Colombia was the greatest political dream of Simón Bolívar, who sought to group the liberated and emancipated colonies into a nation that would be called the Republic of Colombia.

This country existed, and its foundation took place in the city of Angostura, on the south coast of the Orinoco River, in Venezuelan Guiana. The Congress of Angostura was the founding instance of Colombia and Bolívar was its highest speaker, delivering the renowned Angostura Speech.

In this speech, Bolívar expresses to the congress what are his positions on the model of State that Colombia should adopt, in addition to reflecting on the American political panorama and its future.

Simón Bolívar opted for centralism, in a system of four public powers. In addition to the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary, the Moral Power was incorporated. This had to be made up of an Aerópagus in which the intelligentsia would be located, emulating the Aerópagus of Ancient Greece.

Although Bolívar stressed that it was the Americans who had to decide which system would govern their new countries, his speech was completely inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the American Revolution. He also linked the new institutions to those in the United States and Great Britain.

It was in this speech when Simón Bolívar pronounced one of his most famous phrases: Morals and lights are our first needs.

Development of the Angostura Congress

The Angostura Congress of 1819 had the purpose of bringing together the deputies of various Venezuelan and New Granada provinces to constitute the formation of the Republic of Colombia.

The Angostura Speech was the most outstanding speech that took place during the Congress, and the congressmen relied on it to draft the Fundamental Law of Colombia, which was the first political constitution of the nascent Republic of Colombia.

The approved constitution established the city of Santa Fe de Bogotá as the temporary capital, while the new capital, Bolívar, was being built. The head of state and government would be occupied by a president, accompanied by a vice president.

Likewise, the country was divided into three departments: Venezuela, Cundinamarca and Quito, each of them governed by a vice president. In addition, Bolívar was since then proclaimed Liberator.

Importance

Bolivarian Week is the appropriate space for schools to study Bolívar's life and work, especially in the context of the Angostura Speech and Congress.

All this has great relevance, not only in Latin American independence life, but more specifically in the Bolivarian one.

Although Simón Bolívar wrote two texts such as the Jamaica Letter or the Cartagena Manifesto when he saw the Venezuelan republics lose, his greatest display of orality and conviction took place in the Angostura Discourse.

Venezuela honors Simón Bolívar as Liberator and father of the country. Despite the fact that the Republic of Colombia ended up separating in 1830, from Venezuela an extreme respect and cult has been maintained for the figure of the Liberator, as well as for his projects.

The Bolivarian Studies Week is intended for teachers, students, members of the administrative and worker staff, parents and representatives, community neighbors and many other members of society, to study about Bolívar.

This week is completely focused on the figure of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, so its theme is vast, being able to start from any edge or moment of his life.

Activities that take place in the Bolivarian Week

All the activities carried out within the framework of the Bolivarian Studies Week must be a complete study of the work and experiences of Simón Bolívar y Palacios, Liberator of Venezuela.

That is why colloquia between history teachers and students are common, as well as exhibitions on documents written by Bolívar or the production of graphic material on the art made about the Liberator.

Dissertations on certain periods of Simón Bolívar's life, such as his military campaigns or his childhood, are also frequent.

In the same way, his thinking during his 47 years of life is studied as well as his relationship with members of his family and battle companions.

Purpose

The objective of studying in depth the legacy of Simón Bolívar is to be able to learn from his life and relate it to current reality. The more knowledge is acquired about the life of the Liberator, the more a well-founded opinion can be issued.

The purpose of the Bolivarian Studies Week is to reinforce the ties that unite Simón Bolívar with independent Latin America.

Students have the responsibility to do so through the analysis of their experiences and testimonies, receiving the guidance of their professors and teachers.

References

1. Almarza, A. (2018). The II Congress of Venezuela. Formation of a representative popular government, Angostura: 1818-1819. Caribbean History. Atlantic University. 32 (13). 81- Recovered from investigations.uniatlantico.edu.co.
2. Bolívar, S. (1981). Message before the Congress of Angostura Simón Bolívar. Magazine Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the University of La Rioja. (51), 7-29. Recovered from dialnet.unirioja.es.
3. Caldera R., Fernández, L. and Contreras, P. (February 15, 1971). Decree No. 542. Venezuelan Ephemeris. Recovered from efemeridesvenezolanas.com.
4. Helg, A. (2012). Simón Bolívar's Republic: a bulwark against the «Tyranny» of the Majority. Revista de Sociologia e Política, 20 (42), 21-37. Recovered from scielo.br.
5. Lynch, J. (1983). Simon Bolivar and the Age of Revolution. Institute of Latin American Studies Research Papers. University of London: London, UK. Recovered from sas-space.sas.ac.uk
6. Rudan, P. (2014). Bolívar's «Discurso de Angostura» and the constitution of the people. Storically. Laboratorio di Storia. University of Bologna. (10). 1-12. Recovered from storicamente.org.