The action of the congress in that sense was limited, though fruitful in other aspects; it declared independence on July 9, 1816. Deliberations regarding the form of government proved harder. In it struggled liberal thinkers compromised with a republican government, and those in favor of a constitutional monarchy. Among the latter was José de San Martín, who proposed to establish a descendant of the Incas in the national throne. The monarchic followers claimed it impossible to erect a republic without historically developed institutions, and that it would form an unstable and weak government, while its opponents pointed to the lack of inherited prejudices as one of the main reasons to attempt a democratic government.