Organised by Simón Bolívar, the Congress of Panamá, which was convened in Panama from June 22 to July 15, 1826, has the merits of bringing together Mexico, Peru, Gran Colombia (comprising de modern-day nations of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela), and the United Provinces of Central America (contemporary Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica) around common defense and union objectives. However, contrary to what some scholars consider[1], the Congress of Panamá cannot be regarded as the origins of pan-Americanism as its restrictive scope was limited to aspects of the Contracting Parties ´defense (against Spain).
During that Congress, the Contracting parties drafted (on July 15, 1826) the Treaty of Perpetual Union, League, and Confederation between the Republics of Colombia, Central America, Peru, and the United Mexico States, whose terms are oriented to establish a legal framework of cooperation and mutual defense between them.
Shortly after the preamble, in Article 2, Contracting States made it a point that “the object of this perpetual compact will be to maintain in common, defensively and offensively, should occasion arise, the sovereignty and independence of all and each of the confederated powers of America against foreign subjection, and to secure to themselves from this time forward the enjoyment of unalterable peace, and to promote in this behalf better harmony and good understanding as well between de countries, citizens, and subjects, respectively, as with the other powers with which they should maintain or enter into friendly relations”
No commercial cooperation concerns arise from the terms of that treaty between the Contracting Parties. Thus, contrary to what a few scholars sustain, the Congress of Panamá cannot be regarded as the origin of Pan-Americanism owing to its exclusive security objective, which contrasts against the ties of free trading that were one of the main targets of Pan-Americanism.
Moreover, the countries convened had a typical trace of their relationship with Spain, which was not the case with Brazil, a country that had been colonized by Portugal and had good relations with it. Brazil was invited to the 1826 Congress of Panama but was absent.
Further, notably, the Congress of Panama had a quite personal shape related to Simón Bolívar’s ideals and political inspirations; as explained by Samuel Guy Iman[2], other Latin leaders “were afraid that the ambitions of Bolivar might convert the congress into an instrument for the realization of his personal ambitions”.
When the President of the United States was invited, and the Senate was called to advise about the political convenience of having the country’s representatives in Panama, the Senate’s deliberation almost contradicted the US participation in the Panamanian Congress. The problem there was effectively the US’s political neutrality and the clear idea of Simón Bolívar setting up a regional mechanism of military protagonism with Spain. On the other hand, there was the commercial question, which was a critical issue to the US as it was willing to have a close commercial relationship with the Central American States, where Spain was by then dominating.
The objectives of 1826 were not in the interest of the United States (or of other Latin countries such as Brazil and Argentina) but were oriented towards regional issues of independence and defense.
So, the Organization of American States, the world´s oldest regional organization, should have its origins traced to the First International Conference of American States[3], opened on April 14, 1890, in Washington D.C., where emerged the International Union of American Republics, along with a Commercial Bureau[4].
Notice that a span of 63 years lapsed until the First International Conference of American States came to be. It is too long a span to consider that a connection could exist with the Congress of Panama[5]:
And the targets (of study considered by the created executive committee of the Union of American Republics), established during the First Conference to be re-approached in the Second Conference[6], were utterly different from those found in the Panama Congress of 1826.
Then, “On October 22, 1901, at four, o’clock in the afternoon, the Second International American Conference met in the reception room of the Ministry of Finance in the National Palace in Mexico City. The conference was called to order by Ignacio Mariscal, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Mexico. He spoke of the results of the First International Conference at Washington and predicted success for the Second Conference. He expressed his confidence that the members would do their utmost”. The diplomatic debates would follow distinct directions from the ideals of the 1826 Panama Congress.
That Conference met for the last time on the afternoon of January 31, 1902, and probably the most prominent issue during the work was the unflinching and aggressive stand of Chilean delegates over the proposal of a compulsory arbitration treaty. The Second Conference differed from the First of 1889 in that it profited very much from the experience acquired at the 1899 First Peace Conference held in The Hague.
Considering all the diplomatic conflicts and legal discussions surrounding the First and Second International Conferences of American States, it is conclusive that the 1826 Panama Congress was an important event but had no bonds with the International Conferences of American States, which gave birth to the current Organization of American States, instituted in 1948.
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[1] Sanders, Ralph. “Congressional Reaction in the United States to the Panama Congress of 1826.” The Americas, vol. 11, no. 2, 1954, pp. 141–54. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/978460. Accessed March 27 2025.
[2] INMAN, SAMUEL GUY. “PAN-AMERICAN CONFERENCES AND THEIR RESULTS.” The Southwestern Political and Social Science Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 3, 1923, pp. 238–66. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42884131. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
[3] The First International Conference was held in Washington, from October 2, 1889, to May 19, 1890; the second in the City of Mexico, from October 22, 1901, to January 31, 1902; the third in Rio de Janeiro, July 23 to August 27, 1906; the fourth in Buenos Aires, July 12 to August 30, 1910.
[4] Jiménez, Heidi V. “ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES: INTEGRATED TEXT OF THE CHARTER AS AMENDED BY THE PROTOCOLS OF BUENOS AIRES AND CARTAGENA DE INDIAS; THE PROTOCOL OF AMENDMENT OF WASHINGTON; AND THE PROTOCOL OF AMENDMENT OF MANAGUA.” International Legal Materials, vol. 33, no. 4, 1994, pp. 981–1013. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20698366. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.
[5] Wilgus, A. Curtis. “The Second International American Conference at Mexico City.” The Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 11, no. 1, 1931, pp. 27–68. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2506482. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
[6] Ibid, p. 22.
