National Union (in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
: ''Unión Nacional'') was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. It was originally called the Radical Party (''Partido Radical'') by one of its founders
Manuel González Prada
Jose Manuel de los Reyes González de Prada y Ulloa (Lima, January 5, 1844 – Lima, July 22, 1918) was a Peruvian politician and anarchist, literary critic and director of the National Library of Peru. He is well remembered as a social cr ...
, though the name seemed too confrontational to many in the party and thus it became known as the National Union. The party grew out of the
Literary Circle
A literary circle is a small group of students who gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth.
Famous or noteworthy examples include:
* The Socrates School
* The Bloomsbury Group
* The Dymock Poets
* The Algonquin Roundtable
* The ...
and morphed into a political party in 1891. Support for the party was limited due to its basis on literature; many Peruvians were illiterate.
Political views
The party's main structure supported
federalism
Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...
, ''
indigenismo
''Indigenismo'' () is a political ideology in several Latin American countries which emphasizes the relationship between the nation state and indigenous nations and indigenous peoples. In some contemporary uses, it refers to the pursuit of great ...
'' and opposition to the existing
oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
comprising the military and
Civilista Party
The Civilista Party ( es, Partido Civil, PC) was a political party in Peru.
History
Founded as a countermeasure against the growing power of the military in Peru during the first half of the Republic, the party's sole purpose was to establish a ...
.
One of the central reasons it formed was to create a party of ideas, avoiding the cult of personality that guided the more traditional parties. The party also called for greater
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 ...
an
immigration to Peru. Such a stance seems to be a paradox because many of its members defended Peru's
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 ...
speaking citizens. The only way to understand this paradox is to remember that the National Union was partly founded on the ideals of liberalism and that the
Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
was the language of commerce.
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
* Manuel González Prada, "The Parties and the National Union". In ''Free Pages and Hard Times: Anarchist Musings''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, 143-164.
Political parties established in 1891
Defunct political parties in Peru