El problema del indio es el problema del Perú: a intelectualidade peruana diante da questão indígena (1880-1930)

Abstract

The reflection on the problem of the indian in republican Peru from the years 1880 to 1930 is the guiding thread and the central axis of this Doctoral Thesis in History. In this work, we seek to prove the hypothesis that, between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, discussions about the process of building the Peruvian national identity took into account the indigenous issue. The methodology we use to validate and substantiate this study was based on the analysis of historical sources produced in the context mentioned above, especially the writings of Manuel González Prada and José Carlos Mariátegui. In this research, we had three main objectives: 1) In the first chapter, our purpose was to think about how the intellectuals of the second half of the 19th century positioned themselves in relation to the theme of whether or not the indians were part of the nation. 2) In the second chapter our goal was to consider how the hispanic movement and the indigenous movement thought about the place of the indian in peruvian society at the beginning of the 20th century. 3) In the final chapter, our intention was to reflect on how the inclusion of the indigenous population to peruvian nationality would take place from a Marxist perspective. We found, throughout this thesis, that the problem of the indian was a very controversial topic and debated by a good part of Peru's intellectual elite. However, we realized that the inclusion of indigenous women and men as citizens of the Peruvian State was a task that was unfinished in the historical scenario addressed by this research. Finally, we demonstrate that the indigenous problem was closely linked to the discourses produced between 1880 and 1930 that were concerned with answering questions such as: “who are we?”; “Who is part of the nation?”; “What is the authentic face of Peruvian identity and culture?”. This work pretends to give its dose of contribution and enrich the field of study inserted in the area of Latin American History