How did the Congress of Angostura help establish Gran Colombia?

The Congress of Angostura, which convened in 1819 in present-day Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela, was instrumental in laying the foundation for the creation of Gran Colombia.12

During the congress, Simón Bolívar was named president and military dictator. He urged the assembled delegates to formally proclaim the establishment of a new state, leading to the creation of the Republic of Colombia—commonly known as Gran Colombia—which was intended to encompass the territories of New Granada (modern-day Colombia and Panama), Venezuela, and Ecuador.31

While the congress provided the political framework and legitimacy for this union, it was initially a "paper achievement" because much of the territory remained under Spanish control at the time. The congress served as a vital precursor to the Congress of Cúcuta in 1821, which definitively organized the republic as a centralized representative government.312