Justo Arosemena’s Claims for Autonomy of Panamá

Independence from Spain and the questionable morals of Gran Colombian, the Republic of New Grenada after 1831, presidents were only the first of the struggles of Panamanians. In the wake of Francisco de Paula Santander’s death (1840-1850), the republic of New Grenada would face a political tug-of-war between conservative and liberal leadership. Important to note during this time was the precarious situation of the province of Panamá.  

Panamanians were becoming quite fed up with subordination to the Neogrenadine republic and were vying for self-governance. Self-governance in the region was a touchy subject as liberal leadership would impose these wishes to the people of Panamá, just to have these rights stripped during times of conservative leadership. But, as the 1850s ushered in an era of widespread liberalism throughout Latin America, the requests for complete Panamanian autonomy was becoming a reality. 

One important figure to note of the progressive movement for Panamanian self-governance is Justo Arosemena. Arosemena was a lawyer but followed his father, famous Panamanian founding father Mariano Arosemena, into the political arena. Arosemena was the key spokesman for Panamanian sovereignty. Much of the ideology of Arosemena would come form through his essays in the 1850s, the most famous of which was El Estado Federal de Panamá (1855). In this critical essay, Arosemena portrays the construction of the Panamanian and Panamanian nationality through sociohistorical lenses by exemplifying the comparatively distinct realities that the people of the Isthmus experienced. This is not to say that Arosemena did not believe in the shared experiences of Latin Americans. Consistently, Arosemena was a proponent of autonomy for many Latin American regions and countries but depicted the notion of a confederation of Latin American nations that would collectively dispel foreign influences. The foreign influence was often linked to the people of the United States, whose ideologies Arosemena believed were inherently corrupt, pervasive, and counterintuitive to Latin American peoples and cultures, the Monroe Doctrine and slavery were used to justify these matters.  

Nonetheless, the work of Arosemena, combined with liberal leadership, would lead to Panamanian sovereignty to be recognized by the federal government of the Republic of New Grenada in 1855. The newly recognized federal Panamanian state would take ownership of autonomous items such as formal elections, army operations, foreign relations, and domestic economic responsibility, but would continue to be included in Neogrenadine matters until the dissolution of the republic in 1858, Panamá would then formulate one of the eight federal states under the Grenadine Confederation. 

Works Cited:

Arosemena, Justo, “El Estado Federal de Panama,” Bogota, Colombia, 1855 https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6AmtDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT5&dq=+justo+arosemana&ots=ZDxznVMO50&sig=VTRT-m1Z6rZWWCNo7d0rxfaMCJw#v=onepage&q=justo%20arosemana&f=false 

Biblioteca Nacional de Panamá – Biblioteca Nacional de Panamá. Accessed March 3, 2020. http://binal.ac.pa/binal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=315&catid=14 

Soley, La Verne M. Seales, “Culture and Customs of Panama.” Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2009. Pgs, 55-56 https://books.google.com/books?id=cNEcEyZs254C&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=the+federal+state+of+panama+justo+arosemana+essay&source=bl&ots=tZr8-fDjL9&sig=ACfU3U0fvsRHcxMYLFvVfvng7fA0w7WzOQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZqNyCg_3nAhXTsJ4KHVeMDPQQ6AEwBHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Howland, Douglas and Luise White, “The State of Sovereignty: Territories, Laws, Populations.” Bloomington, Indiana: University of Indiana Press, 2009. Pgs 26-29 https://books.google.com/books?id=c9aFgCO4Is0C&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=essays+by+justo+arosemana&source=bl&ots=4v64Cvna2i&sig=ACfU3U1Pl3W38Qxfr76McB_VyurKe1sS-A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiD6av1hf3nAhWIsJ4KHXTqD4AQ6AEwEXoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false 

By Peyton O’Laughlin