In Valencia, General José Antonio Páez and allies launched La Cosiata, a movement that challenged the authority of Gran Colombia’s central government in Bogotá. It started as a demand to revise the 1821 Constitution of Cúcuta and grew into a broader push for Venezuelan autonomy. This marked the opening phase of a political break that would help end Gran Colombia’s unity.
Simón Bolívar intervened to calm the crisis and issued a general amnesty for those involved in La Cosiata. Páez accepted Bolívar’s authority, and Bolívar confirmed Páez as the top civil-and-military authority in Venezuela, strengthening Páez’s local power. The compromise reduced immediate conflict but left the underlying dispute—central control versus regional autonomy—unresolved.
Delegates met at the Convention of Ocaña to try to reform the Constitution of Cúcuta and settle disputes over how Gran Colombia should be governed. The convention reflected deep divisions between centralists and federalists, including tensions tied to Venezuela’s autonomy movement. Its failure helped push leaders toward extra-constitutional solutions rather than compromise.
After the Ocaña Convention collapsed, Bolívar took extraordinary powers in an effort to keep Gran Colombia together. For many regional leaders, including in Venezuela, this confirmed fears of overly centralized rule. The move widened political opposition and made separation seem more likely than reform within the union.
Páez issued a formal decree from Caracas to “reorganize” the government, a key step in building a separate Venezuelan executive authority. This action signaled that Venezuela was moving beyond protest and toward constructing its own institutions. It also positioned Páez as the central figure in the transition from provincial leadership inside Gran Colombia to national leadership outside it.
Bolívar resigned the presidency amid political fragmentation and growing regional resistance. His resignation removed the main figure trying to hold Gran Colombia together through personal authority. For Páez and Venezuelan autonomists, this made it easier to argue that a separate Venezuelan government was now the practical solution.
A Venezuelan constituent congress began meeting in Valencia to decide Venezuela’s political future as ties with Bogotá continued to weaken. Convening this body gave the autonomy movement a legal and institutional path toward separation. It also provided a forum to draft a constitution for a new Venezuelan state.
Leaders in the Southern District declared independence, forming the State of Ecuador. This showed that Venezuela’s break was part of a wider unraveling of Gran Colombia, not an isolated dispute. As more regions left, the political and military foundations of the union weakened further.
The Constituent Congress approved the 1830 Constitution, formally defining Venezuela as an independent state with a republican system and a national framework of government. The constitution helped shift Venezuela from a separation movement to a functioning constitutional republic. Páez, as the dominant military and political leader, became central to implementing this new order.
The new constitution entered into force, making the break with Gran Colombia operational in law and administration. With constitutional rules in place, Venezuela could organize elections and regular government offices rather than rely mainly on wartime command structures. This was a key transition from autonomy campaigning to durable state governance under Páez’s leadership.
Before closing, the Valencia congress decided that Venezuela would separate from Gran Colombia. This decision turned a multi-year autonomy struggle into a clear act of state-building. It also set the stage for a national constitution and a recognized executive authority centered on Páez.
Páez was sworn in as Venezuela’s constitutional president, turning his autonomy movement leadership into formal executive authority under the new constitution. His inauguration symbolized the consolidation of Venezuela’s separation into a stable national government. By 1831, Páez’s campaigns had helped complete Venezuela’s shift from a Gran Colombian department to an independent republic led by its own institutions.
José Antonio Páez's campaigns for Venezuelan autonomy and leadership (1826–1831)