Congress had entire confidence in Bolivar. It approved all the steps he had
taken and gave him powers to execute other measures seemingly necessary to
the life of the Republic. It also issued a communication providing for a
general convention in the city of Ocana on the 2nd of March, 1828. This
convention was the last hope for the reestablishment of the Republic.
Bolivar recommended that, in the election of representatives, the people
select honorable men, possessed of intense patriotism and devotion to the
independence, union and freedom of Colombia. He sent a request to Guayaquil
not to leave the Union, and he had the satisfaction of learning that a
counter revolution had put an end to the work of secession in that section
of the country. Other minor movements were soon defeated and an alarm over
a reported Spanish invasion subsided.
The convention took place in Ocana, and after the work of preparation it
formally inaugurated its work on April 9th. Among its members were some of
Bolivar's most bitter enemies, some of his closest friends and a group
of so-called independents who were ready to swing to either side. The
convention proved a field of discord and of disgraceful disputes. Bolivar
experienced keen anguish at the thought of the inevitable results of the
meeting of that ill-advised group of men, and feared that it would lead
to anarchy. He sent a message in which he exhorted the convention to save
Colombia from ruin and to give it security and tranquility.
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