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The Amphictyonic Congress of Panama, held between 22 June and 15 July 1826, is remembered as the first failed attempt at Latin American integration. That formula does not explain why a project without legal force remains a reference in debates on regional integration. This essay examines what its institutional failure consisted of, what it left in the doctrinal sphere, and why both Bolivarianism and Pan-Americanism have claimed its memory. The study applies a historical-critical method that triangulates three levels: the content of the approved instruments, the diplomatic decisions that conditioned their ratification, and the later uses of the event. The analysis draws on a documentary compilation and on historiographical studies published in academic journals. The results show that what was approved departed from the Bolivarian project in the permanence of the assembly, the strength of arbitration, and the treatment of boundaries, and that the failure resulted from the convergence of fragmented state decisions, structural constraints, and external pressures. The essay concludes that the legacy of the Congress is doctrinal and symbolic rather than normative, and that its lack of legal force explains why it could be claimed by opposing traditions. The anticipation of later institutions must be distinguished from an influence that the sources examined do not demonstrate.
