La Convención de Ocaña 1828: La Gran Colombia
Es un nuevo día en América del Sur. Durante la última década, el dominio español en América Latina se ha derrumbado, dando paso a una ola de guerras de independencia en toda la región. Simón Bolívar fue a la vez el principal arquitecto de muchas de esas rebeliones, y el idealista detrás de Gran Colombia: Un país que va desde el istmo panameño a las selvas de Guyana y actúa como el líder de la nueva América del Sur. Sin embargo, esto es mucho más fácil decirlo que hacerlo. Un país grande y experimental ha supuesto oleadas interminables de desafíos nacionales e internacionales, lo que ha hecho que los oficiales alineados con Bolívar en la capital de Bogotá desconfíen de los gobernadores federalistas en todo el resto del país liderados por Fransico de Paula Santander, y viceversa. El sueño de Bolívar de la gran unidad colombiana parece estar desapareciendo por minuto.
Sin embargo, no toda esperanza se pierde para este joven país. O al menos eso es lo que a los optimistas les gustaría pensar. Funcionarios clave del país acordaron recientemente establecer una convención constitucional en la ciudad de Ocaña. La charla de la ciudad es que habrá una nueva constitución, pero con la cantidad de incertidumbre en el país hoy en día, está completamente en el aire. Los delegados tendrán que trabajar para establecer un nuevo marco que alivie las crisis políticas que están ocurriendo en todo el país, que van desde equilibrar el poder federal y estatal hasta la legitimidad internacional, la representación justa de los votantes vulnerables y cualquier otro lugar intermedio. Hay un montón de incendios para apagar, y los Gran Colombianos están conteniendo la respiración en esto. ¿El país saldrá de esta convención más unido que antes, o se convertirá en el paso final para que el sueño de un frente sudamericano unido se separe desde adentro? Solo el tiempo, y los delegados, serán capaces de decir.
It’s a new day in South America. Over the past decade the Spanish dominion in Latin America has collapsed, giving way to a wave of independence wars throughout the entire region. Simon Bolivar was both the chief architect of many of those rebellions, and the idealist behind Gran Colombia: A country that goes from the Panamanian isthmus to the jungles of Guyana and acts as the leader of the new South America. However, this is much easier said than done. A large, experimental country has meant endless waves of domestic and international challenges, which has made the Bolivar-aligned officers in the capital of Bogota distrustful of the federalist governors throughout the rest of the country led by Fransico de Paula Santander, and vice versa. Bolivar’s dream of Gran Colombian unity seems to be fading away by the minute.
Yet, not all hope is lost for this young country. Or at least that’s what optimists would like to think. Key officials of the country have agreed recently to establish a constitutional convention in the town of Ocaña. The talk of the town is that there will be a new constitution, but with the amount of uncertainty in the country nowadays, it is completely up in the air. Delegates will have to work to establish a new framework that alleviates the political crises going on around the country, ranging from balancing federal and state power to international legitimacy to fair representation of vulnerable voters and anywhere in between. There are plenty of fires to put out, and Gran Colombians are holding their breath at this. Will the country come out from this convention more united than before, or will it become the final step for the dream of a united South American front to tear itself apart from the inside? Only time, and delegates, will be able to tell.
This committee will be run as a bilingual general assembly committee, with elements in Spanish and English, and thus is recommended for delegates with proficiency in Spanish.
This is a single-delegate committee. There are no position papers due for this committee.
Haley coleman
CHAIR
Haley is a second year in the college, and she intends to pursue Global Studies and a BA/MA in International Relations. She grew up in a Spanish-American household in Dallas and lived temporarily in a handful of cities outside of the US. Aside from Spanish, she speaks French, German, and Chinese. She is excited to work for the Gran Colombia committee to not only practice Spanish, but also to create a space where others feel comfortable developing their language competency in an applicable context. She has competed in Model UN tournaments since middle school, and this will be her first time chairing a committee. Outside of committee, she likes sailing, hiking, and essentially anything to keep her outside. She grew up in a cycling community, and after getting kicked off of too many sports teams in high school, she started running around White Rock Lake. After running herself into an injury, she joined the varsity swim team at her high school and has been competing in triathlons ever since.
Feel free to reach out to hkcoleman@uchicago.edu if you have any questions about committee or even just to practice your Spanish!
Ana Emilia Davalos
chair
Riqui (a nickname with a mysterious source) is a second year in the college double majoring in Public Policy and Romance Languages. She grew up in the not-so-small town of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, but went to school in Calexico, California. After being suddenly roped into Model UN during her first year of college, she was an Assistant Chair on Pitch Please: Major League Baseball, 1994, will be serving as a GA chair for UChicago’s High school conference, MUNUC this year, and competes with the UChicago travel MUN team, preferring GAs. In her limited hours outside the MUNiverse, she volunteers for the University’s Institute of Politics, teaches anybody who will listen Mexican slang (neta, wey!), and consumes an insane amount of media, her current obsessions being scouring wikipedia, binge watching sitcoms, and listening to 90s hip-hop.
If you have any questions, or want to learn some mexican slang, feel free to email Riqui at davalos@uchicago.edu.
Rodrigo Caridad
Chair
Rodrigo or Rorro (if you can pronounce it) is a second year in the college majoring in mathematics. He was born, and grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. He joined MUN his first year of high school, and competed in the high school Venezuelan circuit. During his first year of high school he joined the Model UN team where he got the opportunity to compete in a GA conference. Moreover, he participated in CHOMUN 2022 as an AC in the committee Fall of The Cholas Empire. Outside Model UN, he does Machine Learning research in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, loves to visit random coffee shops around the city, and goes on long walks listening to music.
Any question you have, or if you want to reach out to Rodrigo, shoot him an email at rorroarturo@uchicago.edu.
Secretariat oversight:
victor brown, Under-secretary-general