José Carlos Mariátegui La Chira (June 14, 1894 - April 16, 1930) was a
Peruvian
Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
,
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
, politician and
Marxist–Leninist
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...
philosopher.
A prolific author despite his early death, El Amauta (from
Quechua
Quechua may refer to:
*Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru
*Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language
**So ...
:
hamawt'a, "teacher", a name by which he is also known in his country) is considered one of the greatest scholars of Latin American reality, being the synthesis of his thought the
7 essays of interpretation of the Peruvian reality (1928), a reference work for the intelligentsia of the continent.
He was the founder of the Peruvian Socialist Party in 1928 (which, after his death, would be renamed the
Peruvian Communist Party
The Peruvian Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Peruano, abbr. PCP) is a communist party in Peru that was founded in 1928 by José Carlos Mariátegui, under the name Peruvian Socialist Party (, PSP). The party changed its name in 1930. In ...
), a political force that, according to its founding act, would have
Marxism-Leninism as its axial tool, and of the
General Confederation of Workers of Peru, in 1929.
For the
sociologist and
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
Michael Löwy
Michael Löwy (born 6 May 1938) is a French-Brazilian Marxist sociologist and philosopher. He is emeritus research director in social sciences at the CNRS (French National Center of Scientific Research) and lectures at the ''École des ha ...
, Mariátegui is "undoubtedly the most vigorous and original Marxist thinker that
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
has ever known". Along the same lines,
José Pablo Feinmann
José Pablo Feinmann (29 March 1943 – 17 December 2021) was an Argentine philosopher, writer, playwright, and television host. He also penned several screenplays for domestic film production and international coproductions.
Born to Abraham a ...
, Argentine philosopher and cultural critic, declares him the "greatest philosopher Latin American Marxist".
Biography
Childhood and youth
Mariátegui was born in
Moquegua
Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Pr ...
in 1894. His parents were María Amalia La Chira Ballejos and Francisco Javier Mariátegui Requejo. Among his ancestors was the illustrious liberal thinker Francisco Javier Mariátegui y Tellería. He had two brothers: Guillermina and Julio César Mariátegui.
In 1899 he moved with his mother and his brothers to
Huacho
Huacho () is a city in Peru, capital of the Huaura Province and capital of the Lima Region. Also is the most populated city of the Lima Region and Norte Chico. It is located 223 feet (68 metres) above sea level and 148 km north of the city of ...
and in 1902, after an accident at school, he was admitted to the Maison de Santé clinic in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
. His convalescence was long and he was left with
ankylosis
Ankylosis is a stiffness of a joint due to abnormal adhesion and rigidity of the bones of the joint, which may be the result of injury or disease. The rigidity may be complete or partial and may be due to inflammation of the tendinous or muscular ...
in his left leg that would accompany him for the rest of his life. Having been disabled for the recreations typical of his age, he has frequented reading and reflection ever since.
Then, in 1907, his father Francisco Javier Mariátegui died in the port of Callao.
In 1909, he joined the newspaper La Prensa to perform auxiliary tasks, first as a rejones (folder) and then as a
linotypist's assistant. Despite not having completed his school studies, he was trained in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
and began to work as a columnist, first in La Prensa (1914-1916) and then in the newspaper El Tiempo (1916-1919), at the same time that he collaborated in the magazines Mundo Limeño, Lulú, El Turf and Colónida. Using the pseudonym Juan Croniqueur, he ridiculed Lima's frivolity and exhibited a vast self-taught culture, which brought him closer to the avant-garde intellectual and artistic nuclei. He became friends with the writer
Abraham Valdelomar
Pedro Abraham Valdelomar Pinto (April 27, 1888 - November 3, 1919) was a Peruvian narrator, poet, journalist, essayist and dramatist; he is considered the founder of the avant-garde in Peru, although more for his dandy-like public poses and his f ...
with whom he formed a dilettante duo whose duels of wit were reproduced by themselves in their chronicles. Around that time (later called contemptuously by himself as his "stone age") he enthusiastically cultivated
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
but never published his announced collection of poems titled Sadness.
In 1918 his interests turned to social problems. Together with the journalist
César Falcón and Félix del Valle, he founded the magazine Nuestra Época, from which he criticized militarism and traditional politics but from which only two issues came out. In 1919, and also in collaboration with
Falcón
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, he founded the newspaper La Razón, from where he supported the university reform and the workers' struggles. This newspaper did not have a long life either and was closed by the government of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Augusto B. Leguía
Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (February 19, 1863 – February 6, 1932) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930, the latter term known as ''El Oncenio de Leguía'' (Leguía's E ...
, officially for having expressed contempt for the members of parliament, although it was most likely due to the growing popular demands that it encouraged from its pages.
Trip to Europe and socialist training
Together with
César Falcón, they traveled to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
thanks to a scholarship that was given to them by the
Leguía government as a covert form of deportation. They passed through New York, coinciding with a strike of workers on the docks of the port, and in the Germany of the
Spartacist revolution, to later reach the port of
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
in November and from there to Paris. On the other hand, the researcher Sylvers Malcolm He has specified that both traveled as "overseas propagandists" of the then Leguía government; that both belonged to the Foreign Relations sector and that they were paid positions and not scholarships as was believed for a time.6 Mariátegui was assigned to the Peruvian Consulate in Rome and Falcón to the Peruvian Consulate in Madrid. All this appears corroborated in a letter from Mariategui to Victoria Ferrer, dated January 24, 1920.
During this trip, his eldest daughter, Gloria María Mariátegui Ferrer, was born from his relationship with Victoria Ferrer González.
In Europe, to say of himself, was where he did the best learning of him. He linked up with leading writers, studied languages, inquired about new intellectual and artistic concerns, and attended international conferences and meetings.
José Carlos Mariátegui together with his 4 children (1929). In
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
he married Anna Chiappe and was present during the occupation of the factories in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, as well as at the XVII National Congress of the Italian Socialist Party in Livorno, where the historic split took place and the
Italian Communist Party (PCI) was formed. He was part of PSI study circles and took on
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
as a method of study, when
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
was about to take power. According to his analysis, the victory of
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
is the price that a country must pay for the contradictions of the left.
He leaves Italy and travels through Europe hoping to be able to return to Peru. He visits Paris, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Prague and Berlin. During this tour he studies the revolutionary movements that convulsed the European continent after the war.
Return to Peru
On March 17, 1923, the said returned to
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, accompanied by his wife and his firstborn. At the invitation of Haya de la Torre, who was the founder and rector, he gave lectures at the Universidad Popular González Prada on the world crisis resulting from the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He was put in charge of the direction of Claridad magazine when its founder,
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (February 22, 1895 – August 2, 1979) was a Peruvian politician, philosopher, and author who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political movement, the oldest currently existing political p ...
, the future leader of
APRA, was expelled to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
as an exile. He called for the realization of the United Front of Workers. At the end of that same year he announced the publication of "Vanguardia: Revista Semanal de Renovación Ideológica", co-directed with Félix del Valle, a project that would not be carried out but would later become the magazine Amauta.
In 1924, due to his old injury, he had to have his leg amputated. But he did not stop his creative activity because of that, continuing it confined to a wheelchair. He spent a period of rest in Miraflores to move on June 1, 1925 to what would be his most symbolic residence on Washington Street, left, No. 544, today known as the José Carlos Mariátegui House Museum. In October 1925, he founded the Editorial Minerva together with his brother Julius Caesar, which published his works and those of other Peruvian authors, beginning with his first compilation book of essays: The contemporary scene, on world politics. In 1926 he founded the magazine Amauta (wise or teacher in
Quechua
Quechua may refer to:
*Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru
*Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language
**So ...
), which united a broad generation of intellectuals around a new appreciation of national life and gave impetus to the
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
movement in art and literature. Likewise, he collaborated assiduously in the Lima weekly magazines Variedades and
Mundial.
He was imprisoned in 1927 during a trial against
communists
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
accused of conspiring against the Leguía government, but was later given house arrest. In 1928 he broke politically with
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (February 22, 1895 – August 2, 1979) was a Peruvian politician, philosopher, and author who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political movement, the oldest currently existing political p ...
with whom he had collaborated between 1926 and 1928: a stage within which APRA was still only an alliance. "The discrepancies arise for reasons above all of political tactics rather than ideology." On October 7, 1928, he founded the Peruvian Socialist Party, becoming its general secretary a year later. During the same year, he founded the Marxist magazine Labor and published his monumental
7 essays on Interpretation of Peruvian Reality. In 1929 he founded the
General Confederation of Workers of Peru.
Mariátegui's political project was put to the test in the Latin American Trade Union Congress in
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
(May 1929) and the Latin American Communist Conference (June of the same year). They were attended by the Peruvian Socialist Party with five delegates who carry Mariátegui's approach:
Hugo Pesce, Julio Portocarrero, José Bracamonte (pilot of the National Merchant Marine, founder of the Federation of Crewmen of Peru), Juan Peves (peasant leader of Ica, founder of the Federation of Yanacones) and Carlos Saldías (textile leader). These approaches were questioned by the political bureau of the International in South America, generating a distance between the approaches of the
Communist International
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...
and the positions of Mariátegui. Ultimately, Mariátegui "did not agree to subordinate himself to the communist hierarchy."
In February 1930, Eudocio Ravines was appointed General Secretary of the Socialist Party of Peru, replacing Mariátegui who was preparing a trip to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, where he could treat his illness and participate in the General Council of the Anti-Imperialist League. He also planned to give his magazine Amauta a continental spread by moving its headquarters from
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
to the capital of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Last days and Death
At the end of March 1930, Mariátegui was admitted to an emergency hospital accompanied by his friends, among whom Diego San Román Zeballos (creator of the magazine El Poeta Hereje) stood out. He died on April 16, almost on the eve of his long-awaited trip to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. On May 20, the leadership of the Peruvian Socialist Party, with Eudocio Ravines as general secretary and Jean Braham Fuentes Cruz as general president, changed the name of the Socialist Party of Peru to the
Peruvian Communist Party
The Peruvian Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Peruano, abbr. PCP) is a communist party in Peru that was founded in 1928 by José Carlos Mariátegui, under the name Peruvian Socialist Party (, PSP). The party changed its name in 1930. In ...
.
Mariátegui died on 16 April 1930, in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
of complications from his earlier affliction.
He was buried in the
Presbítero Maestro Cemetery with a massive funeral procession and in 1955, commemorating the 25th anniversary of his death, he was transferred to a new mausoleum in the same cemetery (a granite mound by the Spanish sculptor Eduardo Gastelu Macho). .
Thought
Vision of Peru
The
Conquest
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
not only split the history of Peru, but also split the economy. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, there was an indigenous communal economy that was quite solid. Material well-being existed thanks to the collectivist organization of
Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
society. This organization had enervated the individual impulse and at the same time had developed the habit of obedience to social duty.
The Conquest established a
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
economy. They did not seek to develop a solid economy but only the
exploitation of natural resources
The exploitation of natural resources is the use of natural resources for economic growth, sometimes with a negative connotation of accompanying environmental degradation. It started to emerge on an industrial scale in the 19th century as the ex ...
. In other words, the Spaniards were not formed as a colonizing force (like the English in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
), but rather constituted themselves as a small court, a bureaucracy. This system ended up determining the republican economy.
The economic policy of the
Spanish Crown
, coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg
, coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain
, image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg
, incumbent = Felipe VI
, incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
prevented the emergence of a bourgeoisie in the colonies. These saw independence necessary to ensure their development. Independence is then decided by the needs of capitalist development, in that sense,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
played a fundamental role in supporting the nascent American nations.
For Mariátegui, the gamonal inevitably invalidates any law or ordinance protecting the indigenous or peasant. Against the authority of the landowner sustained by environment and habit, the written law is powerless. The mayor or the municipal president, council or city council, the judge, the corregidor, the inspector, the commissioner, the collector, the police and the army are enfeudados to the great property. «The law cannot prevail against the gamonales. The official who persists in imposing it would be abandoned and sacrificed by the central power, near which the influences of gamonalism are always omnipotent, acting directly or through parliament, both ways with the same efficiency.
It is important to clarify the solidarity and commitment to which the regional gamonalismo and the central regime have gradually reached: "for all the defects, for all the vices of the central regime, the gamonalismo is responsible and supportive." The gamonal is a piece in the structure of the centralized administration: he is the local head of one of the political parties with national influence and is the fundamental link in the chain of one of the many clients of the political system. The central power rewards the gamonal by allowing him to enjoy innumerable contracts and alcabalas and currently, by leaving in his hands the royalties produced by the exploitation of natural resources by multinationals and innumerable contracts to complement them. Under these conditions, any decentralization ends with the essential result of an increase in the power of gamonalism.
Guano
Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
and saltpeter played a fundamental role in the development of the Peruvian economy. These products quickly increased the wealth of the State, since industrial Europe needed these resources to maintain its agricultural productivity, products that Peru had a monopoly on. This wealth was squandered by the Peruvian State. But it allowed the appearance of commercial and banking capital. A capitalist class began to be constituted, whose origin was found in the old Peruvian aristocracy. These products also allowed the consolidation of the power of the coast, since until then, mining had shaped the Peruvian economy an Andean character. In short, guano and saltpeter allowed the transformation of the Peruvian economy from a feudal system to a capitalist system.
The new nations sought to develop trade.
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
sold its natural resources and bought manufactured products from Europe, generating a system that mainly benefited the European nations. This system allowed development only to the Atlantic countries, since the distances were enormous for the countries that were on the Pacific coast, as in the case of Peru. Peru, on the other hand, began to trade with
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, but did not achieve the same development as the Atlantic countries.
In addition, with the
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...
, Peru lost guano and saltpeter. But this war also meant the paralysis of all national production and trade, as well as the loss of foreign credit. Power temporarily fell into the hands of the military, but the Lima bourgeoisie soon regained its function. The
Grace Contract was proposed as a measure to get out of the crisis. This contract consolidated the British predominance in Peru, by granting the railways in concession for a period of 66 years.
Marxism
Mariátegui, since his return from
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, ascribes himself to
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
, in the Leninist version of the
Third International
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...
, finding remarkable similarities with the thought of
Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , , ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a ...
, especially with regard to the importance of the cultural superstructure not as a mere «reflection» , but from the assessment of its revolutionary potentialities to generate counter-hegemony. Fruit of this notion will be his theoretical magazine Amauta and the revolutionary organ Labor, which will be closed by the Leguía regime. A tireless critic of the
reformism
Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement.
Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...
of the
Second International
The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued th ...
and of
social democracy
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
, Mariátegui is considered the first Marxist in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, by emphasizing the role of the indigenous masses as the authentic «proletariat» of the continent and proclaiming the need for a socialist revolution, influenced by the radical syndicalism of
Georges Sorel
Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and p ...
.
Fascism
For his part, he showed how
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
was not an "exception" in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
or a "cataclysm", but an international phenomenon "possible within the logic of History", of the development of monopolies in
imperialism
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
and its need to defeat the struggle of the proletariat. Mariátegui saw fascism as a response by big capital to a profound social crisis, as an expression that the ruling class no longer feels sufficiently defended by its democratic institutions, for which it blames all the ills of the country before the masses, to the parliamentary system. And he bets on the revolutionary struggle, he unleashes the cult of violence and against the new order of the fascist state, conceived as a vertical authoritarian structure of
corporations
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
. Mariátegui glimpsed how the triumph of fascism was inevitably destined to exasperate the European and world crisis.
Influence
In different ways, organizations like
Shining Path
The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the gro ...
, and the
Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement ( es, Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru, abbreviated MRTA) was a Peruvian Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group which started in the early 1980s. Their self-declared g ...
, and the
Peruvian Communist Party
The Peruvian Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Peruano, abbr. PCP) is a communist party in Peru that was founded in 1928 by José Carlos Mariátegui, under the name Peruvian Socialist Party (, PSP). The party changed its name in 1930. In ...
all look towards Mariátegui and his writings.
Mariátegui's ideas have recently seen a major revival due to the rise of leftist governments all over South America, in particular in Bolivia, where in 2005
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to co ...
became that country's first-ever indigenous president since the Conquest 500 years earlier (second in Latin America following Mexico's Benito Juárez). The rise of popular indigenous movements in Ecuador and Peru have also sparked a renewed interest in Mariátegui's writings concerning the role of indigenous peoples in a Latin American revolution. The ruling party in Peru from 2011 to 2016, the
Peruvian Nationalist Party
Peruvian Nationalist Party (Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista Peruano;'' PNP) is a center-left to left-wing political party in Peru.
History
The Nationalist Party had as its antecedent the Peruvian Nationalist Movement. The party was originally ...
, claims Mariátegui as one of its ideological founders.
Works
During his lifetime, Mariátegui published only two books (The Contemporary Scene and the
Seven Interpretation Essays on Peruvian Reality), leaving two more unfinished and unpublished (The Morning Soul and Defense of Marxism published in 1950 and 1955, respectively, although much of them had already been published in the press). All these works, added to the abundant journalistic production compiled from him (among articles, conferences, essays and a short novel), have been edited by his heirs (his wife and his children), until reaching 20 volumes. . It should be noted, however, that among these volumes there are two biographies of the author (one by María Wiesse and the other by Armando Bazán), a summary of the content of the Amauta magazine, produced by Alberto Tauro del Pino, and a poetic anthology of various authors inspired in the life and work of Mariátegui. If we talk about the "complete works" properly speaking, these only really add up to 16 volumes. Substantial work that was produced in a period of 7 years (1923-1930).
* ''The Heroic and Creative Meaning of Socialism'' José Carlos Mariátegui. Selected Essays. – Edited and Translated by Michael Pearlman. 1996 Humanities Press, New Jersey
* ''
Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality
''Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality'' (Spanish: ''Siete Ensayos de Interpretación de la Realidad Peruana'', also known as ''Los 7 Ensayos or the Seven Essays''), published in 1928, is the most famous written work of the Peruvian socia ...
'' by José Carlos Mariátegui. University of Texas Press. 1997.
Further reading
* Chang-Rodríguez, Eugenio. ''Poética e ideología en José Mariátegui''. 1983.
* De Castro, Juan E.
Bread and Beauty: The Cultural Politics of José Carlos Mariátegui'. Brill, 2020.
* Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. "Indigenous Resistance in the Americas and the Legacy of Mariátegui". ''Monthly Review'' vol. 61(4)2009.
*
Krauze, Enrique. "José Carlos Mariátegui: Indigenous Marxism" in ''Redeemers: Ideas and Power in Latin America''. Translated by Hank Heifetz and Natasha Wimmer. New York: HarperCollins 2011.
* Vanden, Harry E. ''National Marxism in Latin America: José Carlos Mariátegui's Thought and Politics''. 1986.
* Gonzalez, Mike. "In the Red Corner: The Marxism of José Carlos Mariátegui." Estados Unidos, Haymarket Books.2019
References
External links
*
José Carlos Mariátegui Online ArchiveJosé Carlos Mariátegui Memorial Museum, LimaJosé Carlos Mariátegui Film ArchiveJosé Carlos Mariátegui Complete Photo ArchiveJosé Carlos Mariátegui Main Internet PortalJosé Carlos Mariátegui Internet Archive(articles, biography, and pictures)
"José Carlos Mariátegui: Latin America’s forgotten Marxist"an introduction to Mariátegui's life and political views by
Mike Gonzalez
Michael Vela Gonzalez (born May 23, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Mil ...
from ''
International Socialism
Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...
'' 115 (summer 2007)
Indigenous Resistance in the Americas and the Legacy of Mariáteguiby Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, ''
Monthly Review
The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States.
History Establishment
Following ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariategui, Jose Carlos
1894 births
1930 deaths
Marxist journalists
Peruvian sociologists
Peruvian columnists
Marxist theorists
Mestizo writers
Stalinism
Anti-revisionists
Peruvian communists
Peruvian essayists
Peruvian philosophers
Peruvian male writers
Peruvian journalists
Male journalists
Male essayists
20th-century essayists
20th-century journalists
Peruvian people of Basque descent