San Martín vs Bolívar: should a liberator rule the freedom he wins?

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MARTÍN vs SIMÓN BOLÍVAR go head to head — and every jab is rooted in real history.

MARTÍN

I crossed the Andes to break Spain's chains, then walked away from power at Guayaquil - liberty is not mine to keep.

SIMÓN BOLÍVAR

And so freedom drifts leaderless into chaos; I would rather hold the reins than watch the republic dissolve into a thousand quarreling caudillos.

MARTÍN

You called yourself Liberator, then eyed a crown - the moment a soldier lingers, he becomes the tyrant he overthrew.

SIMÓN BOLÍVAR

You retired to exile in Europe, Don José; I stayed to plow the sea - and learned that men who free nations must sometimes carry them too.

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