José de la Riva-Agüero y Osma, 6th Marquess of Montealegre de Aulestia and 5th of Casa-Dávila (26 February 1885 – 25 October 1944) was a Peruvian historian, writer and politician who served as

Prime Minister of Peru The president of the Council of Ministers of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente del Consejo de Ministros del Perú), informally called Premier (form of address) or Prime Minister, is the head of the cabinet as the most senior member of the Council ...

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and

Mayor of Lima The following is a list of Lima's mayors through the 20th and 21st centuries. '' Alcaldes ordinarios'' of the first and the second vote Mayors of Lima See also * Timeline of Lima {{Peru lists Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded ...

Early years

Riva-Agüero was born 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, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, the only child of José Carlos de la Riva-Agüero y Riglos and María de los Dolores de Osma y Sancho-Dávila, 5th Marquise of Montealegre de Aulestia. He was a grandson of José de la Riva-Agüero y Looz and a

patrilineal descendant Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

of José de la Riva-Agüero y Sánchez-Boquete, first

President of Peru The president of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente del Perú), officially called the president of the Republic of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente de la República del Perú), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is th ...

, and the Princess Caroline-Arnoldine de Looz-Corswarem. He was educated at Recoleta Sacred Heart School and

University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos ( es, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, link=no, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It is considered the most important, recognized and representative educ ...

, where he read philosophy, human sciences and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. While at San Marcos, he gained a reputation for academic excellence and

political activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

, and was part of the so-called Generation of 900. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree and a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

degree in human sciences in 1905 and 1910, respectively, and a Bachelor of Arts in law in 1911. Riva-Agüero wrote his senior thesis on "History in Peru" (''La Historia en el Perú''), the earliest work of historiography to be written in Latin America. Eventually, he became a lecturer of history of Peru at San Marcos in 1910. In 1911, he published an article defending the issuance of an

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

law for the

political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

involving in the 1909

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

attempt against the Augusto Leguía's regime. The Leguía's

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, Juan de Dios Salazar, ordered his arrest, which immediately provoked bitter university

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

and

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...

that resulted in violent political repression by the

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Mini ...

. This event was the first confrontation between university students and

police forces The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

in the

history of Peru The history of Peru spans 10 millennia, extending back through several stages of cultural development along the country's desert coastline and in the Andes mountains. Peru's coast was home to the Norte Chico civilization, the oldest civilization ...

. A few days after his imprisonment, he was released due to political pressure and the Minister resigned from his office. After a long journey through

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where he did

research Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

in several archives and gave lectures in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, Riva-Agüero co-founded the moderate Democratic National Party in 1915 and supported the presidential candidature of the Civilista José Pardo y Barreda in the April 1915 election.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...

'', 1990, p. 324 Immediately after Leguía's 1919 coup against Pardo, he wrote a manifesto and went into voluntary exile in

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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. During his first years in exile Riva-Agüero lived in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, then he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and later to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where spent the most part of the eleven years of the Leguía's Government. When his mother died in 1926, he succeeded her as Marquis of Montealegre de Aulestia and was legally adopted by her maternal aunt Rosa Julia, 4th Marquise of Casa-Dávila, who later inherited him the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

and a large fortune. In exile, Riva-Agüero abandoned his moderate views and came into contact with the works of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

rightist authors such as Jacques Bainville and

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-par ...

and soon became a disciple of their ideas.

Public office

Riva-Agüero returned to Peru in August 1930 when a military coup led by Commander

Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro (August 12, 1889 – April 30, 1933) was a high-ranking Peruvian army officer who served as the 41st President of Peru, from 1931 to 1933 as well as Interim President of Peru, officially as the President of the Pro ...

overthrew the Leguía's regime. In June 1931, he was elected as Director of the Institute of History at University of San Marcos, but resigned after just one month due to differences with the student government. Although he initially refused to take up any seat in the 1931 Constituent Assembly or otherwise participate in the Sánchez Cerro's interim '' junta'', he supported the Commander's presidential candidature in the 1931 general election. In May that same year, he had been appointed

by the Samanez Ocampo's

provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

. As Mayor, he especially patronize cultural activities, but also had to deal with the 1931 telephone strike. After the Sánchez Cerro's assassination in 1933, the Assembly proclaimed

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Óscar R. Benavides Óscar Raymundo Benavides Larrea (March 15, 1876 – July 2, 1945) was a Peruvian field marshal, diplomat, and politician who served as the 38th (1914 – 1915, by a coup d'etat) and 42nd (1933 – 1939) President of Peru. Early life He was ...

President of the Republic. In November 1933, Benavides appointed Riva-Agüero

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

and

. He appointed Commander A. Henriod to head the Ministry of Interior and advocated a policy of repression against the leftist APRA and the Communist Party.

Fascism

After his spell as Prime Minister Riva-Agüero moved further to the

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...

. He launched his own hard-line Catholic ''Acción Patriótica'' movement after the model of ''

Action Française Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

'' and before long he had changed the name of this group to the Peruvian Fascist Brotherhood. He personally declared his support for Italian fascism and

Falangism Falangism ( es, falangismo) was the political ideology of two political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS) and afterwards the Fal ...

although it has been argued that politically he was more of a very elitist Catholic rightist who also supported

Hispanidad ''Hispanidad'' (, en, Hispanicity,) is a Spanish term alluding to the group of people, countries, and communities that share the Spanish language and Hispanic culture. The term can have various, different implications and meanings depending on ...

. Stanley G. Payne, ''A History of Fascism 1914-1945'', 2001, p. 343 Initially Riva-Agüero gained a strong following for his new endeavour but before long his newfound

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

, combined with his increasingly odd personal behaviour, began to lose him his credibility. He became strongly anti-Semitic and soon took to praising

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, losing him some support. Meanwhile, he started insisting that followers called him the Marquis of Aulestia, a title that had been in the family but had long since fell into disuse and which had little currency in a republic such as Peru, and his generally arrogant demeanour cost him more support. His persona was further damaged when he even took to occasional bouts of public

transvestism Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...

at functions. He finally drifted into obscurity in 1942 when Peru officially became one of the Allies although he continued to write articles in defence of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

until his death.

Works

* 1905 - ''Carácter de la literatura del Perú independiente'' (''Character of the Literature in Independent Peru'') * 1909 - ''Polémica histórica: el señor González de la Rosa y las obras de Valera y Garcilaso'' (''Historic controversy. González de la Rosa and the works of Valera and Garcilaso'') * 1909 - ''Garcilaso y el padre Varela'' (''Garcilaso and Father Varela'') * 1910 - ''History in Peru'' (''La historia en el Perú'') * 1911 - ''The Concept of Law'' (''Concepto del Derecho'') * 1916 - ''Elogio del Inca Garcilaso de la Vega'' (''Elegy for Inca Garciliso de la Vega'') * 1919 - ''Un cantor de Santa Rosa: el conde de la Granja'' (''A Cantor to Santa Rosa: the Count de la Granja'') * 1921 - ''El Perú histórico y artístico'' (''Historic and Artistic Peru'') * 1922 - ''Correspondencia de la Audiencia de Lima (1549-1564)'' ''Correspondece of the Audiencia de Lima (1549-1564)'' * 1930 - ''Los franciscanos en el Perú y las misiones de Occopa '' (''Franciscans in Peru and the missions in Occopa'') * 1932 - ''Añoranzas'' (''Longing'') * 1932 - ''Goethe: homenaje de Lima en el primer centenario de su muerte'' (''Goethe: A Tribute on the centenary of his death'') * 1932 - ''El problema diplomático del sur: relaciones con Bolivia y Chile'' (''The Southern Diplomatic Affair. Relations with Bolivia and Chile'') * 1932 - ''Discurso del Colegio Recoleta'' (''Speech at Recoleta School'') * 1935 - ''Discursos académicos'' (''Academic Speeches'') * 1935 - ''El primer alcalde de Lima, Nicolás de Ribra el Viejo y su posteridad'' (''The First Alcalde of Lima: Nicolás de Ribera el Viejo and his Legacy'') * 1936 - ''Nuevos datos sobre el padre Hojeda: La Cristiada, sus inspiraciones eucarísticas'' (''New Facts about Father Hojeda. La Cristiada, her eucharistic inspirations'') * 1937 - ''Civilización peruana; época prehispánica'' (''Peruvian civilization. Pre-Hispanic era'') * 1937 - ''Dos estudios sobre Italia contemporánea'' (''Two Studies on Contemporary Italy'') * 1937 - ''Lope de Vega'' * 1937 - ''Cuzco preincaico: los Ayllus de los incas'' (''Pre-Inca Cusco. The Ayllus of the Incas'') * 1937 - ''Origen, desarrollo e influencia del fascismo'' (''The Origins, Development and Influence of Fascism'') * 1937-1938 - ''Por la verdad, la tradición y la patria'' (''For Truth, Tradition and Fatherland'') * 1938 - ''D'Anunzzio'' * 1941 - ''Goldoni y su influencia en España'' (''Goldoni in Spain'') * 1944 - ''Anthology'' (''Antología'') * 1944 - ''Estudios sobre literatura francesa'' (''Studies on French Literature'') * 1944 - ''El obispo Sarasola'' (''Bishop Sarasola'') * 1954 - ''Descripción anónima del Perú y Lima a principios del siglo XVII'' (''Anonymous work on Peru and Lima in the Early Eighteenth Century'') * 1954 - ''Diego Mexía de Fernangil: poeta sevillano del siglo XVI, avecindado en el Perú y la segunda parte de su "Parnaso antártico"'' (''Diego Mexía de Fernangil. Sevilian Poet of the Sixteenth century, settled in Peru and the second part of his ' Antarctic Parnassus) * 1955 - ''Paisajes peruanos'' (''Peruvian Landscapes'') * 1960 - ''Afirmación del Perú'' (''Consolitation of Peru'') * 1962 - ''Obras completas'' (''Complete Works'') * 1963 - ''El deán Valdiivia y la Confederación Perú-Boliviana'' (''Dean Valdivia and the Peru-Bolivia Confederation'')

References

External links

Biografía de Riva Agüero en artehistoria.com

Instituto Riva-Agüero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riva-Agüero y Osma, José de la 1885 births 1944 deaths Riva Agüero family

Jose Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya * Jose the Galilea ...

Politicians from Lima Peruvian fascists 20th-century Peruvian historians Historians of Peru Peruvian male writers Peruvian Ministers of Justice Peruvian Ministers of Education Prime Ministers of Peru Male-to-female cross-dressers National University of San Marcos alumni Democratic National Party (Peru) politicians 20th-century male writers