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| Bolívar by Marie Arana – review | Bolívar by Marie Arana – review |
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| The swaggering, verbose, former coup plotter Hugo Chávez, who died this year, renamed his country "the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" after finally winning election to the presidency. He later had Simón Bolívar's bones dug up. "My God, my God, I confess we have cried, we have sworn," he tweeted. "This glorious skeleton must be Bolívar because you can feel his ardour." | The swaggering, verbose, former coup plotter Hugo Chávez, who died this year, renamed his country "the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" after finally winning election to the presidency. He later had Simón Bolívar's bones dug up. "My God, my God, I confess we have cried, we have sworn," he tweeted. "This glorious skeleton must be Bolívar because you can feel his ardour." |
| Such is the power that Bolívar, who died in 1830, still exerts. Both Ecuador and Bolivia, named after the so-called Liberator himself, are also run by self-declared bolivarianos – Rafael Correa and Evo Morales. Like Venezuela, their countries were liberated by the mercurial "Washington of South America" – a man of stunning ability, relentless ambition and a volatile personality that cast as many dark, violent shadows as it produced blinding flashes of brilliance. | Such is the power that Bolívar, who died in 1830, still exerts. Both Ecuador and Bolivia, named after the so-called Liberator himself, are also run by self-declared bolivarianos – Rafael Correa and Evo Morales. Like Venezuela, their countries were liberated by the mercurial "Washington of South America" – a man of stunning ability, relentless ambition and a volatile personality that cast as many dark, violent shadows as it produced blinding flashes of brilliance. |
| The case for Bolívar as one of the world's most extraordinary 19th-century leaders is well made by Marie Arana, a US-based writer with roots in Peru, another country he helped free from the Spanish yoke. "Bolívar's military action lasted twice as long as Washington's. The territory he covered was seven times as large," she says. "He led both a revolution and a civil war." | The case for Bolívar as one of the world's most extraordinary 19th-century leaders is well made by Marie Arana, a US-based writer with roots in Peru, another country he helped free from the Spanish yoke. "Bolívar's military action lasted twice as long as Washington's. The territory he covered was seven times as large," she says. "He led both a revolution and a civil war." |
| Adulators and revilers have scrapped over him ever since his death. The former laud the military brilliance of a man who evicted Spain from a million square miles of territory in an extraordinary 11-year campaign. Battles often pitted him against numerically superior forces or required superhuman marches though jungles and over snow-capped mountains. The defeats were many, but he always came back, often accompanied by British mercenaries. | Adulators and revilers have scrapped over him ever since his death. The former laud the military brilliance of a man who evicted Spain from a million square miles of territory in an extraordinary 11-year campaign. Battles often pitted him against numerically superior forces or required superhuman marches though jungles and over snow-capped mountains. The defeats were many, but he always came back, often accompanied by British mercenaries. |
| Born into the powerful creole elite, Bolívar saw that revolution would fail without the support of all the Latin American peoples – indigenous Indians, black slaves and people of mixed race. He called for the abolition of slavery, but failed to topple a system that still favours paler-skinned Latin Americans. Well-read and familiar with both the aristocratic salons and brothels of Europe's capitals, he preached enlightenment values. Liberty and justice, he vowed, would replace 300 years of Spanish tyranny. | Born into the powerful creole elite, Bolívar saw that revolution would fail without the support of all the Latin American peoples – indigenous Indians, black slaves and people of mixed race. He called for the abolition of slavery, but failed to topple a system that still favours paler-skinned Latin Americans. Well-read and familiar with both the aristocratic salons and brothels of Europe's capitals, he preached enlightenment values. Liberty and justice, he vowed, would replace 300 years of Spanish tyranny. |
| Yet Bolívar's detractors point to his own tyranny. Karl Marx called him "the dastardly, most miserable and meanest of blackguards". His "war to the death" was a merciless assault that both spread terror and set the tone for future violence among Latin Americans. His commitment to liberty was tempered by mistrust. He did not like the new democracy of the United States. "A democratic system, far from rescuing us, can only bring us ruin," he said. "We are a region plagued by… cruelty, ambition, meanness and greed." His model constitution, adopted by Bolivia and Peru, required a president for life. As Cubans can attest, the idea lives on. His vanity was overweening. "I propose a toast to the two greatest men of South America – to General San Martín, and to me," he said on meeting fellow liberator José San Martín. He may have been right. Such self-regard is hardly surprising. For years, Bolívar was praised and feared. His speeches were rich in images and ideas – precursors to the remarkable but incontinent style of Chávez or Fidel Castro. And when he did relinquish power he often had it thrust back into his hands. His titles included those of President of Venezuela and Greater Colombia, Liberator of Bolivia and Dictator of Peru. But at the end of his life his dream of pan-American unity lay in tatters. "Independence is the only thing we have won, at the cost of all else," he said. | Yet Bolívar's detractors point to his own tyranny. Karl Marx called him "the dastardly, most miserable and meanest of blackguards". His "war to the death" was a merciless assault that both spread terror and set the tone for future violence among Latin Americans. His commitment to liberty was tempered by mistrust. He did not like the new democracy of the United States. "A democratic system, far from rescuing us, can only bring us ruin," he said. "We are a region plagued by… cruelty, ambition, meanness and greed." His model constitution, adopted by Bolivia and Peru, required a president for life. As Cubans can attest, the idea lives on. His vanity was overweening. "I propose a toast to the two greatest men of South America – to General San Martín, and to me," he said on meeting fellow liberator José San Martín. He may have been right. Such self-regard is hardly surprising. For years, Bolívar was praised and feared. His speeches were rich in images and ideas – precursors to the remarkable but incontinent style of Chávez or Fidel Castro. And when he did relinquish power he often had it thrust back into his hands. His titles included those of President of Venezuela and Greater Colombia, Liberator of Bolivia and Dictator of Peru. But at the end of his life his dream of pan-American unity lay in tatters. "Independence is the only thing we have won, at the cost of all else," he said. |
| Arana navigates the jungles and mountains of Bolívar's giddy story without avoiding the darkest valleys. "There is little doubt that he created the mythic creature that the Latin American dictator became," she admits. But her sympathies clearly lie with the man who, in his dying days, was shunned by all. He died in exile, seeing only disaster ahead. "The country is bound to fall into unimaginable chaos, after which it will pass into the hands of an indistinguishable string of tyrants," he said. Yet a dozen years later his remains were being worshipped like those of a saint, with his bones transported to Caracas while Colombia claimed his heart. | Arana navigates the jungles and mountains of Bolívar's giddy story without avoiding the darkest valleys. "There is little doubt that he created the mythic creature that the Latin American dictator became," she admits. But her sympathies clearly lie with the man who, in his dying days, was shunned by all. He died in exile, seeing only disaster ahead. "The country is bound to fall into unimaginable chaos, after which it will pass into the hands of an indistinguishable string of tyrants," he said. Yet a dozen years later his remains were being worshipped like those of a saint, with his bones transported to Caracas while Colombia claimed his heart. |
| "There is a reason why blood trickles down roads and heads roll out from under bushes in Latin American literature: this is not magical realism. It is history. It is true," warns Arana. Yet Bolívar's sword-wielding lover, Manuela Sáenz, who outraged conservatives by dressing like a man and going around with fearsome black female servants, would stretch the imagination of even Gabriel García Márquez. And José Boves, the terrifying leader of the wild Legions of Hell, is pure terror. | "There is a reason why blood trickles down roads and heads roll out from under bushes in Latin American literature: this is not magical realism. It is history. It is true," warns Arana. Yet Bolívar's sword-wielding lover, Manuela Sáenz, who outraged conservatives by dressing like a man and going around with fearsome black female servants, would stretch the imagination of even Gabriel García Márquez. And José Boves, the terrifying leader of the wild Legions of Hell, is pure terror. |
| Arana's prose is often beautiful. A novelist turned historian, she tells Bolívar's story wonderfully, though specialists have noted factual errors and anti-Spanish bias. Two centuries after his death, Bolívar inflames passions that better-known characters no longer ignite. Arana's biography explains why. | Arana's prose is often beautiful. A novelist turned historian, she tells Bolívar's story wonderfully, though specialists have noted factual errors and anti-Spanish bias. Two centuries after his death, Bolívar inflames passions that better-known characters no longer ignite. Arana's biography explains why. |
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