Caudillos y constituciones: Peru, 1821-1845 (review)

Aljovín presents a well-documented and challenging study of a complicated period in modern Peruvian history. The author not only discusses different sets of political ideas about the early independence period; he also asks questions about the relationship between constitutionalism and the problem of legitimate political rule. He impressively deals with all social groups that influenced Peruvian politics during this period and introduces us to the mechanisms that rule the political arena. A central argument is that caudillos of the era were not simply dictators who cleverly took advantage of political instability and chaos to secure political power by military means in order to defend their own interests. Instead, Aljovín identifies a relation between caudillos and the political constitutions that they pretended to defend or demanded to modify. Caudillos did not ignore political constitutions but rather presented themselves as political rescuers in times of crisis whose political actions aimed at defending constitutional rights. Thus, violence was an important element of the political game that was not separated from the political system at large. According to the author, the origin of modern Peruvian republicanism and political culture lies in this historical environment of tense debates over forms of political 599representation and constitutional legitimacy on the one hand, and political violence and illegitimate rule on the other.

Although Aljovín acknowledges important continuities between the colonial and republican periods (including corporatism and sociopolitical hierarchies), he begins his study in 1821, stressing that independence was a significant rupture in Peruvian political history. The creation of a republican political order and its consequences (new forms of participation, new political discourses, and so on) changed the rules of politics profoundly, even though many aspects of society remained colonial. This period of conflict between caudillismo and constitutions (or constitutionalism) ended in the mid-1840s, when the emerging guano boom drastically changed almost all aspects of Peruvian political life.

The theoretical approach of the study is clear: Aljovín follows the path of the new political history by focusing on political ideas and events without forgetting about the social context of political actions. The structure of the book reflects this position. After a more historiographic first chapter, Aljovín deals with the issue of political language and ideology and discussions about republicanism, sovereignty, and Peru's early constitutions. The following two chapters are dedicated to the political culture and social structure of Peruvian society of the day.

I was particularly impressed by chapters 2 and 6, where Aljovín demonstrates the interplay between caudillos and constitutions. In my view, these chapters show best why Aljovín was right in choosing this period. His central argument—that the modern Peruvian nation has its roots in these difficult decades and that certain long-term patterns of political behavior were introduced at this time—may become the subject of some dispute, but it is solidly and convincingly presented.

This very stimulating study deserves to be read by anybody interested in modern political history. It is a major contribution to modern Peruvian history and to research on caudillismo, and it will certainly encourage many colleagues to take another look at the history of other Latin American countries during the early independence period.