Jose Manuel de los Reyes González de Prada y Ulloa (Lima, 5 January 1844 – Lima, 22 July 1918) was a

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian politician and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

and director of the National Library of Peru. The first writer to criticize the

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

within Peru, he is well remembered as a social critic who helped develop

vian intellectual thought in the early twentieth century, as well as the academic style known as modernismo. He was born into the aristocratic class. He was close in spirit to Clorinda Matto de Turner whose first novel, ''Torn from the Nest'' approached political

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 greater social and p ...

, and to Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera, who like González Prada, practiced a

positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...

sui generis.

Early life

González Prada was born on 5 January 1844, in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

to a wealthy, conservative,

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

Spanish family. His father was the judge and politician Francisco González de Prada Marrón y Lombrera, who served as Member of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima and Mayor of Lima. His mother was María Josefa Álvarez de Ulloa y Rodríguez de la Rosa. His grandfather was an important administrative figure in the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

. Due to the political exile of his father, the family temporarily settled down in Valpariso, where he started his education at an English school. During his youth, González Prada would remove the "de" portion of his name in repudiation of his family's aristocratic background. Upon returning to Peru, his father was elected Mayor of Lima in 1857 and he continued his studies at the Seminary of Santo Toribio. Prada abandoned Santo Toribio and enrolled the liberal San Carlos Convictorium, where he studied law and letters. He would go on to live much of his life in Lima, living in a city full of Spanish traditions and

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

, though he would become estranged from much of his family.

Biography

Travel in south, solitude

For a period of time, González Prada traveled through Southern Peru, especially near

Cerro de Pasco Cerro de Pasco is a city in central Peru, located at the top of the Andean Mountains. It is the capital of both the Pasco Province and the Department of Pasco, and an important mining center of silver, copper, zinc and lead. At an elevation of ...

, where he met with peasants and some of the

indigenous peoples of Peru The Indigenous peoples of Peru or Indigenous Peruvians comprise a large number of ethnic groups who inhabit territory in present-day Peru. Indigenous cultures developed here for thousands of years before the arrival of the Spanish in 1532. In 2 ...

, developing an opposition to ''centralismo'' in Lima. Following the death of his father in 1863, González Prada would live in the Tutumo

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

of his family until 1869. During this period of solitude, he would experiment with a chemistry lab, developing a profitable starch compound, became a more improved poet and received political literature from Europe that would influence him.

War of the Pacific

In 1879, he would release ''Cuartos de hora'' just prior to Chile's invasion of Peru, attacking the ruling class and Catholic Church. During Peru's impending defeat by

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

, González Prada would stay in his home for three years, refusing to look at the foreign invaders occupying Peru. The conflict proved to him that Peru was a failure under the economic oligarchy and that large reforms were necessary to improve the nation. He would identify businessmen, clergy, military leaders and politicians as the upper class, saying that their wealth and power was gained through

crony capitalism Crony capitalism, sometimes also called simply cronyism, is a pejorative term used in political discourse to describe a situation in which businesses profit from a close relationship with state power, either through an anti-competitive regul ...

. González Prada saw the political elites in two fashions; the civilian elite who stole public funds through

special interest group A special interest group (SIG) is a community within a larger organization with a shared interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular f ...

s and the militaristic

caudillos A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it is often used interchangeably with " mil ...

who plundered state coffers blatantly. To enforce this system, he said that the elites utilized

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

through the police and military. Culturally, he said the elites were foreign to the majority of Peruvians since they adopted Spanish customs and continued colonial practices, including

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

, continuing inequality and poor development in rural areas.

Literary Circle

He was an original partner in the Lima Literary Club and he participated in the foundation of the Peruvian Literary Circle, a vehicle to propose a literature based on science and the future. The Literary Circle saw themselves as

freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or ...

and that they were destined to change Peru, reaching out to González Prada, who immediately reoriented the groups direction. During his first address to the group at the Ateneo, he would criticize those who looked to the past, stating "Our liberty will be useless if we limit ourselves in torm to the exaggerated purism of Madrid, or if in substance we submit ourselves to the Syllabus of Rome. Let us rid ourselves of the tendency that induces us to prefer the foliage of words to the fruit of ideas." In 1886, he became the head of the Literary Circle, stating: During Fiestas Patrias on 28 July 1888, González Prada's Speech at the Politeama, read by an Ecuadorian orator due to the writer's

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

, received thunderous applause by the audience, with

President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...

Andrés Avelino Cáceres, who was in attendance, saying "l did not know whether to arrest him or embrace him". The publication of the speech was unsuccessfully censored by the Cáceres government. His most famous book, ''Free Pages'', caused a public outcry that brought González Prada dangerously close to

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. His mother, a devout Catholic, died in 1888 and his criticism became more vitriolic afterwards. He said the Church "preached the sermon on the mount and practiced the morals of Judas." In fact González Prada was part of a group of social reformers that included Ricardo Palma, Juana Manuela Gorriti, Clorinda Matto de Turner and Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera. These important authors were concerned with the enduring influence of

Spanish colonialism The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

in Peru. González Prada was perhaps the most radical of them all. The most radical work he published during his lifetime was ''Hours of Battle'', translated as ''Hard Times''.

National Union

In political life, González Prada was initially a member of the Civilista Party, but left to found with his friends, a radical party known as the National Union, a party of "propaganda and attack." The Literary Circle was transformed into National Union in 1891. González Prada was named as a presidential candidate, but had to flee to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

following

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

. He would spend seven years in Europe, visiting France and Spain, finally returning to Peru in May 1898. Upon his return, he called for

social revolution Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more than just the political system ...

and the "greatest liberty" be brought through social reform. He stood as his party's Presidential Candidate in the Presidential election of 1899 and came in third with 0.95% of the vote, with aristocrat Eduardo López de Romaña receiving 97% of the vote. Following the presidential election, he was asked to work for the newly formed government. In 1902, González Prada would leave National Union and instead chose to write for working-class newspapers. He began writing for ''Los Parias'', a Peruvian anarchist newspaper, in 1904. He also took up the post of director of the National Library of Peru on Abancay Avenue and helped to improve and reorganise the library to one of international stature.

Later life

His books ''Minúsculas'' (1901) and ''Exóticas'' (1911) are often considered as ''modernista'' although his work transcends the scope of that movement. Some critics have suggested that his poetry is ''pre-proletarian''. ''Baladas peruanas'' (1935), perhaps his best book, is a vindication of the Indian. His metrical and rhythmical innovations and experiments are remarkable in Spanish-American poetry. ''Horas de lucha'' (1908) is a good example of his prose. Until his death, González Prada dedicated himself to educating university students and workers, holding ''Luz y Amor'' (Light and Love) discussion groups and sharing his writings with them. González Prada died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

on 22 July 1918 and was buried in the Cementerio Presbítero Matías Maestro as a Peruvian patriot. His writings on

Anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

, '' Anarquía'', was posthumously released in 1936.

Political views

Upon returning to Peru from Europe in 1898, Gonzalez Prada would support

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

, believing it provided more liberty compared to

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

, which had prevented reform in Peru. He had similar anarchist thoughts as

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, ; ; 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to ca ...

and Bakunin. An atheist, a follower of Darwin, Spencer, and Comte, Manuel González Prada was a powerful

polemicist Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...

whose targets were the Catholic Church, the Spanish tradition, and, generally, any form of conservatism. He would describe anarchism as "a new Christianity ... without Christ" and that it would provide "unlimited freedom and the greatest well-being for the individual with the abolition of the state and private property". Gonzalez Prada did not see the crisis facing Peru as a

class conflict In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

, saying that one class achieving power over the other would only mimic actual

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. When giving the "''El intelectual y el obrero''" address to the anarchist group Federación de Obreros Panaderos during a

International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also called Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of Wage labour, labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every yea ...

event in 1905, he would make the cautioning statement that "revolutions come from above, but are made operative from below ... every revolution once successful tends to become a government of force, every victorious revolutionary degenerates into a conservative". After seeing the failures of nationalism, his strong

moral values Morality () is the categorization of intentions, decisions and actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduc ...

and after embracing anarchism, Gonzalez Prada concluded:

Legacy

The legacy of González Prada would not be recognized until later into the 20th century, influencing progressive movements within Peru. His writings would also influence ''

'' due to his criticism of the pervasive Spanish culture amongst the Peruvian elite. Linguistics scholar Bohdan Plaskacz would describe González Prada "as one of the greatest essayists of Latin America, champion of the rights of Peruvian Indians and spiritual father of the socialist movement of the following generation". Peruvian intellectuals influenced by González Prada include

José Carlos Mariátegui José Carlos Mariátegui La Chira (; June 14, 1894 – April 16, 1930) was a Peruvian writer, sociologist, historian, journalist, politician, and Marxist philosopher. A prolific author despite his early death, El Amauta (from Quechua: ham ...

and Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre. Víctor Andrés Belaúnde was influenced by González Prada's description of a superficial elite class. His intellectual and stylistic footprint can be found in the writing of Clorinda Matto de Turner, Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera, José Santos Chocano, Aurora Cáceres,

César Vallejo César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza (March 16, 1892 – April 15, 1938) was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. Although he published only two books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators ...

and

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

. Following a curriculum change in the 1960s for the studies of the Peruvian Armed Forces, military students were taught the writings of González Prada and became disillusioned with the political elite, with officers ultimately overthrowing the government of Fernando Belaúnde in

1968 Peruvian coup d'état Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

due to concerns of inequality. Thomas Ward, director of the Latin American and Latino Studies at

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early (educator), John Early and eight other members of the Society of Je ...

, would say of González Prada: Besides being a philosopher and a significant political agitator, González Prada is important as the first Latin American author to write in a style known as modernismo (modernista in Spanish, different from Anglo-American

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

) poet in Peru, anticipating some of the literary innovations that

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (18 January 1867 – 6 February 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as '' modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

would shortly bring to the entire Hispanic world. He also introduced new devices such as the triolet, rondel and Malayan pantun which revitalized Spanish verse. Besides his poetry, he cultivated the essay, and most recently Isabelle Tauzin Castellanos has published some of his hitherto unknown fiction.

Works

Essays

* ''Discurso en el Politeama'' (1888) * ''Pájinas libres'' (París, 1894) * ''Nuestros indios'' (Lima, 1904), incorporado en la segunda edición de ''Horas de lucha''. * ''Horas de lucha'' (Lima, 1908) * ''Bajo el oprobio'' (posthumous, París, 1933) * ''Anarquía'' (posthumous, Santiago de Chile, 1936) * ''Nuevas páginas libres'' (posthumous, París, 1936) * ''Figuras y figurones'' (posthumous, París, 1938) * ''Propaganda y ataque'' (posthumous, Buenos Aires: Ediciones Imán, 1939) * ''Prosa menuda'' (posthumous, Buenos Aires, 1941) * ''El tonel de Diógenes'' (posthumous, México, D.F.: Tezontle, 1945)

Poetry

* ''Al amor'' (Perú,1901) * ''Minúsculas'' (Lima, 1901) * ''Presbiterianas'' (Lima, 1909) * ''Exóticas'' (Lima, 1911) * ''Trozos de vida'' (posthumous, París, 1933) * ''Baladas peruanas'' (posthumous, Santiago de Chile, 1935) * ''Grafitos'' (posthumous, París, 1937) * ''Libertarias'' (posthumous, París, 1938) * ''Baladas'' (posthumous, París, 1939) * ''Adoración'' (posthumous, Lima, 1946) * ''Poemas desconocidos'' (posthumous, Lima, 1973) * ''Letrillas'' (posthumous, Lima, 1975) * ''Cantos del otro siglo'' (posthumous, Lima, UNMSM, 1979)

References

* González Prada, Manuel, ''Free Pages and Hard Times: Anarchist Musings''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. (hardcover) and (paperback). * González Prada, Manuel, "The Slaves of the Church". Trans. Cathleen Carris. ''PMLA'' 128.3 (May 2013): 765-777.

Secondary bibliography

* Rufino Blanco Fombona, ''Grandes escritores de América'', Madrid, 1917. * Eugenio Chang-Rodríguez, ''La literatura política: De González Prada, Mariátegui y Haya de la Torre'', Mexico, 1957, esp. pp. 51–125. * John A. Crow, "The Epic of Latin America," Fourth Edition, pp. 636–639. * Joël Delhom, "Ambiguités de la question raciale dans les essais de Manuel González Prada", en ''Les noirs et le discours identitaire latinoaméricain'', Perpignan, 1997: 13-39. * Efraín Kristal, ''Una visión urbana de los Andes: génesis y desarrollo del indigenismo en el Perú, 1848-1930'', Lima, 1991. * Robert G. Mead, Jr., ''Perspectivas interamericanas: literatura y libertad'', New York, 1967, esp. pp. 103–184. * Eduardo Muratta Bunsen, "El pensamiento filosofico de don Manuel González Prada," en ''Filosofía y sociedad en el Perú'', Lima, 2003: 128-143. * Luis Alberto Sánchez, ''Nuestras vidas son los ríos…historia y leyenda de los González Prada'', Lima, 1977. * Isabelle Tauzin-Castellanos, ed., ''Manuel González Prada: escritor de dos mundos'', Lima, 2006. * Marcel Velázquez Castro, ''Las máscaras de la representación: el sujeto esclavista y las rutas del racismo en el Perú (1775-1895)'', Lima, 2005, esp. pp. 249–264. * Thomas Ward, ''La anarquía inmanentista de Manuel González Prada''. New York, 1998. * Thomas Ward, “González Prada: soñador indigenista de la nación”, en su ''Resistencia cultural: La nación en el ensayo de las Américas'', Lima, 2004: 160-177. * Thomas Ward, “Manuel González Prada vs. Rigoberta Menchú: When ''Indigenismo'' meets Indigenous Thought.” ''Hispania'' 95.3 (September 2012): 400-423. * Thomas Ward, ed, ''El porvenir nos debe una Victoria. La insólita modernidad de Manuel González Prada''. Lima, 2010.

External links

*
Manuel González Prada page
Daily Bleed's Anarchist Encyclopedia (English)
''Times of Struggle''
An ongoing translation project of ''Horas de lucha''
''El porvenir nos debe una victoria''
a new website dedicated to Manuel González Prada replacing "Ensayos y poesía"
His most important collections of essays and poetry
archived from "Ensayos y poesía", Manuel González Prada {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Prada, Manuel 1844 births 1918 deaths Politicians from Lima Peruvian people of Spanish descent Modernismo Peruvian essayists Peruvian male poets Peruvian anarchists National Union (Peru) politicians * Male essayists