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This selection of documents includes the prologue to the book Les démocraties latines d’Amérique by Francisco García Calderón (1883–1953)—the writer, diplomat, and son of the provisional president of Peru—as well as a “Préface” by Raymond Poincaré (1860–1934). A member of the Académie française, Poincaré wrote the preface in December 1911, only one month prior to his appointment as prime minister of France and two years prior to his assuming the country’s presidency (1913–20). Poincaré endorses Calderón’s recommendations to limit the Latin American policies of excessive borrowing and cautions against the categorical European dismissal of all of these nascent “democracies” as financially unsound. Additionally, the Frenchman naively rebuts García Calderón’s predictions regarding France’s imminent confrontation with Germany and the Slavs just as World War I (1914–18) was about to explode. Ironically, Poincaré served as president of France during the entire conflict. García Calderón—who had moved his family from Peru to Paris in 1906—wrote Les démocraties latines d’Amérique [(Paris: Ernest Flammarion Editeur, Bibliothèque de Philosophie scientifique, 1912)] in French and published it the same year as La creación de un continente. This title became his most widely read book, inciting discussion throughout the continent. García Calderón insisted on a “Latin consciousness,” and his writing is fueled by skepticism. His speculations on the “negative” supremacy of Anglo-America were realized with the advent of World War I. Although Les démocraties latines d’Amérique was subsequently published in Spanish [see, for example, Las democracias latinas de América (Caracas: Biblioteca Ayacucho, 1979)], the translations published in this volume are from the original French edition [(1912), 1–7].
THIS IS A BOOK THAT ALL FRENCH PEOPLE SHOULD READ and think about because it concerns the future of the way Latin people are perceived. Written by a young career diplomat from Peru, who is extremely familiar with our [French] language, it nonetheless retains certain colorful traces of his native language. Mr. García-Calderón’s work loses nothing from the picturesque originality of its style. It is, moreover, brimming with vitality and generously endowed with thoughtful insights on a variety of subjects—history, politics, social and economic sciences; Mr. Calderón is at home with them all and discusses them competently and unpretentiously. The full scope of the evolution of the South American republics is presented here for the reader’s edification in this book that is now available to the French public and the rest of Europe.
Mr. Calderón, who studied under the finest contemporary historians, began his research into the past by examining the patterns of future development in the Latin [American] republics. Supported by scholarly and balanced research, he shows how the Spaniard of the heroic centuries was transformed by interracial breeding and climate and gradually evolved into the South American Criollo. The author traces the distant traits of the Iberian race, now modified by time and diluted by miscegenation. He reviews, in just a few pages, the heroic period when Spanish individualism was apparent in the bold adventures of the Conquistadors and in the cruel mysticism of the Inquisition.
Then came the colonial period, with its increasing disappointments, abuses, and blunders: the domination of an oppressive theocracy, the overwhelming monopolies, the insolence of privileged castes, and the unworthiness of agents in the Iberian Peninsula. Gradually, a thirst for independence spread throughout the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Their revolt was not entirely directed against the crushing burden of economic and fiscal tyranny; they also rose up against the harshness of a system of political and moral guardianship that allowed them no political freedom. A severe and widespread crisis ensued. Liberty was ultimately won in three phases. First, the colonies, wishing to remain loyal, sought reforms from the metropolitan state. Then, they dreamed of having European kings. Finally, the Republican ideal materialized, evolved, and asserted its authority.
There was a time of predecessors, then a time of liberators, and Mr. Calderón tells the tragic history with profound gratitude. He takes a clear-eyed look at the Revolution and detects its deeper causes: the excesses of Spanish absolutism; the influence of the Encyclopédie and the 1789 doctrines; the example set by North America; British investment and the diplomatic intervention of [Prime Minister George] Canning; an explosive combination of diverse and conflicting forces that created a new, sad, shattered world, inhospitable to social life.
Mr. Calderón presents a few vignettes of this reborn America, showing us a full gallery of paintings created with spirited brushstrokes. We thus see Paraguay during the long dictatorship of its first “caudillo”; a gloomy Dr. [José Gaspar Rodríguez de] Francia with his authoritarian traditions and warlike instincts; Uruguay portrayed in terms of its intense local conditions; Ecuador is represented by the very influential traits of [Gabriel] García-Moreno; Peruvian life appears enthralled by the prosperous, powerful embargo of both don Ramón Castilla and Manuel Prado, which included unrestrained speculation, the wild enthusiasm for saltpeter and guano, the abuse of loans, war and anarchy, as well as the current attempt at economic reconstruction and national restoration; Bolivia is shown through the cold and cunningly ambitious prism of [Andrés de] Santa-Cruz; Venezuela is represented by the rough, daring realism of [José Antonio] Páez or by the despotic empiricism of [Antonio] Guzmán Blanco, a politician with no doctrine who is hungry for power, yet is a patriot with a paternal streak. According to Mr. Calderón, one might almost confuse the history of these republics with the biography of their “caudillos,” powerful men who, at any given moment personify the needs, virtues, and vices of their countries.
Following Simón Bolívar’s epic feat—recounted here by Mr. Calderón with enthusiastic gratitude—a restless period of military anarchy began. South America was torn to pieces by the “caudillos,” whose ambition divided the continent into a number of different states. But the spirit of these newborn nations, drenched in the blood of the battlefield, managed, in spite of their artificial divisions, to nurture a sense of national consciousness. This was a time of war and revolution. South Americans lived in great danger, just as Florentines did during the Renaissance and the French in the time of the Terror. Nevertheless, under military rule wealth was developed, order was established, interests were guaranteed, and life became more gentle and monotonous, ushering in the era of industry, rising fortunes, and peace. It seems to me that Mr. Calderón feels a little sad at having arrived too late in a world that is already too old. What he refers to as the twilight of “caudillismo” appears to make him nostalgic for times gone by. All these tyrants—for that is what they were—whose regimes prospered on the backs of the Negroes and the Mestizos, contributed to the destruction of both oligarchies and racial differences. They thus founded democracies that Mr. Calderón’s liberal spirit is unable to view without some measure of kindness. They are lacking in terms of solidarity; they are incompetent, inorganic, and incapable of coordinating human endeavors. Like medieval republics, they are unsettled and consumed by family rivalries and rampant hatred between opposing factions. Beneath the bright veneer of French ideas, they harbor chaotic conflicts between Europeans and Indians, Asians, and Africans.
All that notwithstanding, Mr. Calderón can see in these turbulent countries the reassuring signs of a potent energy that he is confident will soon be well-directed by Latin disciplines. Following the scholarly approach to learning during colonial times, he traces the intellectual evolution of the South American people through the fog of political ideology until they reach a pale imitation of European philosophical thought. Despite the racial diversity to be found throughout the Southern continent, Mr. Calderón is convinced that the long-term secular influence of Roman law, a common religion, and French thought has given these young republics a Latin perspective that is both intangible and sacred. He therefore expresses his very reasonable and well-thought-out wish that the South American people will manage to correct and perfect themselves without breaking with their own traditions or being subjected to foreign influences.
He reviews the threats posed by Germany, North America, and Japan. Mr. Calderón does not underestimate the former, and condemns the pace of German commercial activity, especially in the southern provinces of Brazil. He believes, however, that the Teutonic trait will become diluted through intermarriage and will gradually blend into the general population. He is, on the other hand, extremely concerned about the North American threat; not that he doesn’t acknowledge the marvelous qualities of the Anglo-Saxon race; he is not indifferent to the prestige of the Great Republic, nor does he dismiss the way in which it has served the autonomy of the Americas. But he feels the increasingly oppressive burden of a once-beneficial protection and anxiously wonders: “quis custodiet custodem?” [who will guard the guardian?] He is also not oblivious to the way in which the Monroe Doctrine has changed as it has drifted imperceptibly from a defensive strategy to one of intervention and then conquest. This metamorphosis has given him much to ponder. Whatever exalted heights the Yankee civilization may have attained, it is not the Latin civilization, and Mr. Calderón knows that one should never be sacrificed for the other. He begs South America to defend itself from the threat of Saxon hegemony, to be enriched by European influences, to foster French and Italian immigration, and to purify its race by the infusion of new blood.
Mr. Calderón views the Japanese, as he does the Germans, as tireless emissaries of imperialist ideas. According to him, German antagonism is no less a threat than the one posed by Japan or the United States. Japanese workers, who are stubbornly averse to assimilation, have flooded the Chilean, Peruvian, and Brazilian shipyards. But it is the power of this valiant Asian race that really frightens Mr. Calderón. He fears that Japan will soon extend its dominion throughout the whole Pacific region and that the united strength of all the Americas may not be enough to withstand that fearsome force.
From beginning to end, this book is one long rallying cry, an appeal to the Latin American Republics. I am convinced that Mr. Calderón is deeply saddened by the widespread collapse of the South American countries. The problem of unity, however—one that is frequently discussed at regional talks and conferences—seems unfathomable to him. In the absence of any better arrangement, he would be satisfied with intellectual alliances and commercial and customs agreements that would help the various republics to enjoy closer relations, to get to know each other better and, at some point in the future, to coordinate their regional defense efforts.
It is not up to me to judge the political advice that Mr. Calderón offers his countrymen.
I am especially not in a position to comment on his opinions concerning the presidential system prevailing in South American republics and their constitutional procedures, all of which are quite different from those of our French Parliamentary system.
I would just say that Mr. Calderón is right to warn the American countries against that scourge that we know something about here in France, one that can be extremely dangerous in young societies with no long-standing traditions or well-established institutions. I am referring to the gradual invasion of a parasitic bureaucracy that thrives by living off the healthy segments of the nation, steadily gnawing at its strongest, most vibrant elements.
In conclusion, and at the risk of being somewhat indiscreet, may I endorse the strict list of requirements that Mr. Calderón proposes against the policies of excessive borrowing? The unchecked squandering of resources and subsequent indebtedness of some nations has given South American republics in general a reputation in Europe for being financially unsound, and this has hurt the reputation of certain wiser and thriftier countries in the area.
Since South American republics are obliged to rely on European gold, they would be wise to be alarmed by budgets that are overdrawn and chaotic.
I doubt we will ever reach the sad moment that Mr. Calderón imagines, when Latin populations will be chased out of the Old World by Germans and Slavs and forced to seek shelter along the shore of the blue sea where their cradle is floating. Nor will the time come when the French are obliged to think that the capital of classic culture might be transferred from Paris to Buenos Aires, as it once moved from Rome to Paris. But, rather than wasting time contemplating such alarming predictions, we should feast our eyes on prospects of a far more imminent and encouraging nature—such as the possibility that South America— duly fulfilled and fully engaged in pursuing its American ideal, as Mr. Calderón has suggested—becomes more and more receptive to our literature, to our art, to our trade, and our capital. The great Latin family can only gain in material prosperity and moral authority.
There are two Americas. One is in the North, the “Overseas” as [Paul] Bourget calls it; a powerful industrial republic, a vast land of raw energy and “strenuous life.” The other is in the South, consisting of twenty languid nations riddled with social inequalities, rife with anarchy and complicated by their Mestizo populations. The dazzling United States, with its imperialism and its wealth, tends to overshadow its southern neighbors, and those troubled Latin countries are already either looked down on or overlooked entirely. America therefore seems to be a name that refers solely to the great imperial democracy.
Among those American nations, however, some are prospering and have made considerable improvements in their local conditions, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Uruguay, none of which is in any danger of being confused with Central American countries, or with Haiti or Paraguay. French writers and politicians such as Anatole France, [Georges] Clemenceau, and [Jean] Jaurès—on their visits to Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay—found well-established Latin cultures, commendable efforts to ensure internal peace, and extraordinary wealth. They all agreed that the economic resources and optimistic attitude they encountered bode well for the future of these young countries.
Several of these countries have just celebrated their first centennial, having gained their independence during the early years of the nineteenth century. 1810 is thus the beginning of a new era in the region—the year when these autonomous republics rose up from the rubble of Spanish colonization. It is high time to take a closer look at the evolution and progress of these nations, if we prefer not to accept the United States as the sole and undisputed source of all civilization and enterprise in the Americas.
Our goal is to burnish the image of these republics; that is the purpose of this book. We explore the history of these countries to discover the reasons for their lower standards and to find insights into their future.
We begin by looking at the people who discovered, conquered, and colonized the Americas. We examine the character of the Spanish and the Portuguese people—in other words, the Iberians, who are half African and half European. Following the conquest, new settlements were established and governed firmly by Spain and Portugal. These overseas theocracies are jealously forbidden to engage in trade of any kind with other European countries. In Anglo-Saxon America, British and Dutch immigrants want to keep the Natives at a distance, attacking and forcing them to move westward, but in South America, conqueror and conquered live side by side. The Mestizos have become so numerous that they are taking over; they want power and detest the arrogant, domineering Spanish and Portuguese. When war breaks out between Iberians and Americans— it is a civil war. Once again, nations are coalescing swiftly, with no tradition of government or established social classes.
These countries are controlled by caudillos, the military leaders, so in this region, barbaric conditions and the recurring anarchy create fertile ground for dictators. Certain representative people of this period are mentioned here; but we have glossed over the monotonous chronology of events in some countries—such as Brazil and Chile—where authoritative governments are in power [to control social intermingling]. A new form of industrial regime is appearing in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, where political life becomes more difficult and caudillos begin to lose their grip on power. (Books I and II)
A review of local intellectual activity also reveals the power of ideology in these new democracies. They imitate the French Revolution and are influenced by the ideas of [Jean-Jacques] Rouseau, Romanticism, and the doctrines of individualism. The Americas are Spanish and Portuguese because of their origins and traditions, but they are also French because of their culture. (Book III)
Our goal here has been to identify the influence of the Latin spirit in the development of these nations; to discuss the threats they face, whether from the United States, Germany, or Japan; and to examine the defects and virtues of that spirit. (Book IV) We subsequently review the problems of Latin America and the future of the region. (Book V)
The conclusion to be drawn from this book is that political life in the Iberian-American countries is still confusing, but some of them have found refuge from a depressing legacy. Overseas, liberty and democracy are on the rise. In future conflicts, support from the Americas will be very helpful to the great Mediterranean countries in their fight for Latin supremacy.