Continental divide
A century ago, the Pan-American road promised a new era of fraternity between the two continents. Did it succeed?- by Shawn MillerRead on Aeon.
In 1928, Leônidas Borges de Oliveira, a Brazilian army officer, set out to drive from Rio de Janeiro to Washington, DC, inspired by the idea of a Pan-American Highway—a continuous road linking the Americas. His journey began on Brazil’s new highway connecting Rio to São Paulo, a 300-mile stretch of alternating gravel and asphalt. Oliveira’s trip was part of a broader movement in the 1920s and 1930s, when the idea of a hemispheric road gained traction. The US Department of Commerce, led by former auto executives, promoted the concept as a Highway of Friendship, aiming to strengthen cultural and economic ties between North and South America. Oliveira’s drive was celebrated in Brazil, where his nation’s 1891 constitution guaranteed citizens the right to move freely without legal restrictions. He saw the highway and the automobile as tools to make this freedom a reality on a continental scale.
Oliveira’s expedition faced immense challenges. The proposed Pan-American Highway was not a single paved road but a patchwork of segments, some barely passable or non-existent. Previous attempts by other drivers had failed, often ending in death due to treacherous terrain. Oliveira’s journey took nearly a decade, covering 17,769 miles, as he encountered impassable roads, steep climbs, and dense forests. Where the road ended, he and his team disassembled their Model T vehicles, packed the parts onto mules, and carried them on foot until the terrain allowed reassembly. Despite his meticulous records—including a 500-page logbook, photographs with local officials, and maps gifted to governments—US engineers dismissed his claims as impossible. They argued that the route he described had not yet been surveyed or built, and Oliveira’s nationality and ancestry may have contributed to his lack of credibility.
The Pan-American Highway was envisioned as more than a tourist route; it was intended to connect every capital city in the Americas, from Ottawa to Santiago, and eventually extend to every province and coastline. The goal was to facilitate trade, resource extraction, and cultural exchange while softening national borders. By 1966, the US integrated its interstate highway system into the Pan-American Highway network. Progress was rapid in some regions: the US paved a road from Canada to Mexico by 1915, Peru built a highway into the Amazon Basin by 1917, and Venezuela completed a route over the Andes by 1925. However, the most critical link, through Central America, lagged behind. The US-built highway only reached Panama City in 1962, and beyond the Panama Canal, the road abruptly stopped at the Darién Gap, a 66-mile stretch of swamps, forests, and mountains between Panama and Colombia that remains unroaded to this day.
The Darién Gap, spanning approximately 66 miles, is the only break in the Pan-American Highway and has become a deliberate political choice. Since around 1980, no progress has been made to build a road through it. The gap serves as a natural barrier, but its permanence is attributed to political decisions. Panamanian officials, US diplomats, and environmentalists have embraced it as a permanent fixture, with Panama refusing to build a road they fear would facilitate Colombian immigration. This reflects a broader trend: while the highway made travel between borders easier, it often hardened borders themselves. The road’s arrival led to the construction of walls, fences, and stricter immigration controls, contradicting the original ideal of open hemispheric movement. Even today, two-thirds of North Americans surveyed mistakenly believe the Pan-American Highway is fully complete, highlighting a persistent misconception about its unfinished status.
Oliveira’s expedition ended in disappointment. Despite meeting President Franklin Roosevelt and addressing audiences at the Pan-American Union building, he was not believed. His claims were dismissed by US engineers who had not surveyed the route, and his nationality and likely African and Indigenous ancestry may have played a role in his rejection. He returned to Brazil disillusioned and rarely spoke of his journey again, spending the rest of his life in the lower ranks of the consular service. Similarly, the Pan-American Highway project sputtered out in frustration. The idealism of the 1920s and 1930s gave way to practical and political challenges, leaving the highway incomplete. The Darién Gap remains a symbol of these unmet aspirations, a physical and political divide in a project meant to unite two continents.
