The Unborn Latin American Nations

We are all aware of the current countries that exist in Latin America.

Be it Mexico or Peru or Brazil or Venezuela or Cuba and much more!

Paraguay?

No, as I wrote here, that place doesn’t exist.

Still, all of the countries that do exist in Latin America at one point did not hundreds of years ago before the Europeans arrived.

You had civilizations back then obviously but the current borders that exist now did not exist back then.

And, after the independence of Latin America, you had border changes as well like the US taking a good part of Mexico to Chile taking a bit of Bolivia.

Along with other border disputes that aren’t too old like the war that Peru and Ecuador had as you can read here.

So it’s easy to assume that, in the future, the borders that exist today will likely be different in some respects.

Perhaps entirely new constructs of nationality and countries will be born.

Or, on the flip side, maybe older ideas of certain countries will be born again?

Countries that either did exist at one point for a very brief time period or were proposed but never came into existence.

And you also have separatist movements in certain pockets of Latin America that occasionally swing their weight but haven’t done much yet like the one in southern Brazil that you can read about here.

With all of the above considered, here we will discuss concepts of Latin countries that have been considered before but do not exist right now.

Who knows – maybe some of them will emerge again in the future and become their own nations?

But let’s get to it.

Puerto Rico

Well, this is an obvious one, isn’t it?

The small island that was one controlled by Spain but then got passed over to the US.

And is still a territory of the US to this day!

As you can see here, there’s still talks among some Puerto Ricans for independence.

Of course, you also got support among others in Puerto Rico and the broader US for making Puerto Rico a state.

Though I don’t know which one has more popularity, I do think the statehood idea has more acceptance these days among the broader public between both the US and Puerto Rico.

Or at least that’s my impression – I’ve heard more talk of statehood than independence in my short lifetime so far.

Obviously, I wasn’t around in the 60s, 70s and so on around those decades.

Still, Puerto Rico is an obvious candidate for a country that could exist independently but doesn’t as it remains a US territory currently.

The Federal Republic of Central America

At one point, there was a country in Central America called the Federal Republic of Central America as you can read here.

It basically emerged after the independence of these states but, for reasons beyond my understanding, they broke up into various countries that we know today like Guatemala or Costa Rica.

Of course, with one of those countries being Panama, their independence came afterwards as they had to gain independence from Colombia.

With US help obviously since we’re Team Freedom!

Some call us imperialist but I prefer freedom fighters….

Anyway, this country existed from 1823 to 1841 and even included the Mexican state of Chiapas.

Which, to me, makes some sense because I always saw Chiapas as being very similar to Guatemala anyhow.

Funny enough, they even had another state called Los Altos, which consisted of Quetzaltenango.

A city in Guatemala that I know well enough and always saw it as a bit different from the rest of the country anyhow.

Their own statehood in this country definitely makes sense to me.

At any rate, I’ve come to understand that their country splintered due to civil war between conservatives and liberals with separatists on the side fighting for their own cause.

What a shame!

In a way, this concept of a country actually makes sense to me and it does make me wonder if the average quality of living in poorer Central American countries like Guatemala or El Salvador would be higher if all of them merged together (with Panama of course).

It’s something to think about but we’ll leave it at that.

Let’s move on.

Rumbo Propio of Zuila in Venezuela

In Venezuela, there have been accusations that people in the Venezuelan state of Zuila want their own independence.

From what you can read here, they apparently call themselves Rumbo Propio.

Which is translated to “Our Own Path” in English.

Anyway, the Zuila state where they are located, from my understanding, apparently has plenty of oil wealth also.

So they got something going for them if they ever became their own country.

Though it’s not clear if they actually want to be separatist.

According to the article from above, former Chavez accused them and the former governor of Zuila, Manuel Rosales, of wanting independence and working with the US to achieve such.

But the parties involved (the governor and this group) denied all of that with the leader of Rumbo Propio saying he simply only wants “a president and not a governor”

Still, it’s something that people have noticed such as this Economist article here.

For the time being, it seems their efforts aren’t very serious but it’s an idea out there that some have about Zuila somehow possibly becoming its own country.

Everyone & Grandma Wants Succession from Brazil!

When doing my research briefly, it seems to me that Brazil has had a handful of successionist movements.

Currently, you have a group called “The South is My Country” that wants succession of the following Brazilian southern states: Parana, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.

You can read more about them here and here’s a video about them voting for succession not too long ago.

At any rate, you have various other moments too where succession was sought.

For example, you have an actual state that did succeed briefly called Riograndense Republic that was independent in 1836.

It consisted of the state of Grande do Sul.

Man, those folks in Rio Grande do Sul really want independence, don’t they?

I have little context here but they sound like the Texans of Brazil to me.

Anyhow, it did have some legitimacy as it was recognized by the United Kingdom, France and Uruguay.

They ultimately lost their independence in 1845 after a bit of conflict with Brazil.

You can read more about it all here.

And, within that same state, you have a call for a new country to be made called “Republic of Pampas” as you can read here.

The idea of a “Pampas Independence Movement” seemed to drop by 1997 when the dude who brought it forward, known as Irton Marx, left it alone.

Still, it’s another example of folks in Rio Grande do Sul wanting independence.

Aside from that, you have the Juliana Republic in 1839 that was a revolutionary state that existed where Santa Catarina is.

Anyway, while much of the examples mentioned are those in the south, you also have some folks in the north of Brazil who wanted independence.

For example, as you can read here, there was a revolt called Sabinada in 1837 that was put down around Bahia region.

Also, there was a rebellion called the Confederation of the Equator where folks wanted to rebel from the Empire of Brazil around the areas of Pernambuco, Ceara and Paraiba as you an read here.

At any rate, while you have had independence movements all around Brazil, it’s my impression that a lot more of the independence or succession talk these days over the last few recent decades has been in the south of the country.

That’s my impression anyway based on my brief look into this of what new countries could someday form out of Brazil.

The Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia

Here is a favorite of mine because it involves one of my favorite regions of Latin America.

And it includes the work of a foreigner coming to Latin America to fuck shit up.

Someone I can relate to!

The “Kingdom” in question here was an unofficial state around 1860 that was proposed by a French dude named Antonie de Tounens.

This dude claimed the regions of Aracuania and eastern Patagonia as its own country separate from both Chile and Argentina.

He had support even of some of the local Mapuche people as they saw him as a possible way to get their independence from the Chilean and Argentine governments.

Unfortunately for him, the Chilean authorities captured him, declared him insane and expelled him to France.

Similar to Napoleon, being expelled from somewhere doesn’t mean you can’t come back for round 2!

Or round 3?

As he tried to come back 3 times to make his kingdom a reality.

You can read more about it here and see this video here on the subject.

In a way, this man is an inspiration to me!

Maybe I should follow in his footsteps and declare my own kingdom in Patagonia?

Then, if I succeed, I can, as the King of Patagonia, fly hot Brazilian and Cuban gals to satisfy me as I enjoy the beauty of Patagonia all to myself.

Nature, Latina pussy & Patagonia meat for every meal.

That sounds pretty fucking awesome actually – best get on it, huh?

Give me a few years to work on it, OK?

The Peru-Bolivian Confederation

This has been an idea that still exists today actually.

When you get talking with others interested in Latin America about changing the borders of the region, you always have someone who mentions how it’d make more sense to just merge Bolivia into Peru already.

Especially with Bolivia not having access to the ocean and being poor and all.

So it’s an obvious thing to consider.

And, at one point in time, it was an idea in existence!

Where, as you can read see here, there was a Peru-Bolivian Confederation from 1836 to 1839.

It basically consisted of Peru and Bolivia as you can imagine by the name.

Unfortunately, it didn’t consist of Ecuador either as that would make sense also to a degree.

And it very well could have been part of the confederation!

As you read here, the Gran Colombia nation that consisted of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru broke up in 1831.

Another potential country that could still exist today!

So with this new confederation formed in 1836, Ecuador definitely could’ve joined.

Anyway, the confederation faced challenges.

Particularly, both Chile and Argentina saw the confederation as a threat and so they decided to act against the confederation militarily.

So both Chile and Argentina invaded the confederation but Argentina was quickly defeated in the conflict.

It was Chile, from my understanding, that did the heavy lifting at breaking up this confederation from continuing to exist.

Where Chile ultimately won, with the help of Peruvian dissidents, in the Battle of Yungay in 1839.

Damn it Chile – you break up a potentially good country and then you fuck Bolivia in the ass by taking their land to the ocean. Can’t you chill, Chile?

The Republic of Northern Mexico

In Mexico, some have called for a “Republic of Northern Mexico” that would consist of the following Mexican states: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.

As you can read here, apparently the movement has had some influence from the successionist movement in Catalonia of Spain.

Some of the reasons for the successionist call have to do with the “educational lag and poverty of the south, centralism excreted from the Valley of Mexico and the major contribution to Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product by the northern states.”

At any rate, it doesn’t seem to me that this successionist movement is having too much success these days but it’s a possibility like anything else in the long run.

After all, it wouldn’t be the first time Mexico lost its northern states!

Haha jaja haha jaja haha jaja….

A Secessionist Island from Colombia?

When talking about potential new countries that could emerge someday in Latin America, the idea of “Gran Colombia” coming back is such an obvious choice.

And we already mentioned obvious choices like Puerto Rico!

So let’s go back to something not as well known to everyone.

As you can read here, there have been people on the Colombian island of San Andres who have talked about a successionist movement.

These islands, administered by Colombia but claimed by Nicaragua apparently as you can read here, do not necessarily see themselves as part of broader Colombia or of Nicaragua.

Where you have folks who consider San Andres to be separate from either.

It’s own country!

As that article states, there is a movement called “Archipelago Movement for Ethnic Native Self-Determination” that declared independence in June of 2008 by “replacing Colombia’s flags.”

Of course, it’s not just the distance between the islands and Colombia that make some feel like they are their own country.

You also have linguistic differences (many people on the island speak English).

Cultural differences also exist with different music being played on the island.

And you apparently have religious differences with more protestant influence.

On top of all of that, some of the people on the island feel that their community is neglected and their concerns are not as well considered by folks back in Bogota.

For those reasons, among others maybe, you have some sentiment of succession existing among some of the populace on the islands apparently.

Final Thoughts

To be fair, there are WAY more examples that I could’ve brought up.

Succession movements in Santa Cruz of Bolivia.

The Gran Colombia project that ended.

The Republica de Entre Rios in Argentina.

And much more!

There have been countless succession movmenets in Latin American history and previous countries that used to exist but don’t anymore.

As I said, borders are always changing and efforts to change them in the present pop up every once in a blue moon.

In the long run, the current borders of Latin America are likely to change like in any part of the world.

Anyway, if you have any interesting examples to bring up or general comments, drop them below in the comment section.

And follow my Twitter here.

Thanks for reading!

Best regards,

Matt