José Carlos Mariátegui
 |
| Jose Carlos Mariategui |
Peruvian political essayist
Written By:
José
Carlos Mariátegui, (born June 14, 1894, Moquegua,
Peru—died April 16, 1930, Lima), political leader and essayist who was the
first Peruvian intellectual to apply the Marxist
model of historical materialism to Peruvian problems.
The Leguía dictatorship in Peru
(1919–30) sought to rid itself of one of its most ardent critics by sending the hitherto
self-educated Mariátegui to study in Italy
in 1919. While there, he established strong ideological ties with some of the
leading socialist thinkers of the time, among
them Henri Barbusse, Antonio Gramsci, and Maxim Gorky. He returned to Lima
in 1923 and became a strong supporter of Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torres’ Alianza
Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA). After a dispute with Luis Alberto Sánchez, a leading
Aprista, he left the Alliance to establish the Peruvian Socialist Party in
1928; its name was changed to the Peruvian
Communist Party in 1930. Though paralyzed and confined to a
wheelchair, Mariátegui also founded Amauta (1926–30), a Marxist
cultural and literary journal that published avant-garde writing.
In essays in La escena contemporánea (1925; “The Contemporary Scene”),
Mariátegui attacked fascism and defined the
responsibilities of the intellectual in countries where social oppression
reigns. César Vallejo, Peru’s greatest poet was
deeply influenced by him.
José Carlos MariáteguiJosé Carlos Mariátegui.Courtesy José Carlos Mariátegui Archive, Lima,
Peru (http://www.mariategui.org/) (CC BY 2.0)
Mariátegui’s masterpiece is the collection of
essays Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (1928; Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality).
While emphasizing the
economic aspects of Marxism, Mariátegui nonetheless does
not repudiate the value of religion and myth
in his treatment of the Indians. His views on literature,
signaling the importance of indigenous themes and language
while adhering to avant-garde artistic tendencies, provided the means to
reevaluate Peruvian culture. His Obras completas
(“Complete Works”) were published in 1959.
 |
| Founderder Peruvian Socialist Party |
With affection,
Ruben
No comments:
Post a Comment