Facundo: Civilization and Barbarism (original Spanish title:
Facundo: Civilización y Barbarie) is a book written in 1845 by
Domingo Faustino SarmientoDomingo Faustino Sarmiento was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a wide range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy and history...
, a writer and journalist who became the seventh
presidentThe President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
of
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. It is a cornerstone of
Latin American literatureLatin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
: a work of creative non-fiction that helped to define the parameters for thinking about the region's development, modernization, power, and culture. Subtitled Civilization and Barbarism, Facundo contrasts
civilizationCivilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
and
barbarismBarbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
as seen in early nineteenth-century Argentina. Literary critic
Roberto González EchevarríaRoberto González Echevarría is a Cuban-born critic of Latin American literature and culture. He is currently the Sterling Professor of Hispanic and Comparative Literature at Yale University....
calls the work "the most important book written by a Latin American in any discipline or genre".
Facundo describes the life of
Juan Facundo QuirogaJuan Facundo Quiroga was an Argentine caudillo who supported federalism at the time when the country was still in formation.-Early years:...
, a
gauchoGaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
who had terrorized provincial Argentina in the 1820s and 1830s. Kathleen Ross, one of Facundos English translators, points out that the author also published Facundo to "denounce the tyranny of the Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas".
Juan Manuel de RosasJuan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
ruled Argentina from 1829 to 1832 and again from 1835 to 1852; it was because of Rosas that Sarmiento was in exile in Chile, where he wrote the book. Sarmiento sees Rosas as heir to Facundo: both are
caudilloCaudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
s and representatives of a barbarism that derives from the nature of the Argentine countryside. As Ross explains, Sarmiento's book is therefore engaged in describing the "Argentine national character, explaining the effects of Argentina's geographical conditions on personality, the 'barbaric' nature of the countryside versus the 'civilizing' influence of the city, and the great future awaiting Argentina when it opened its doors wide to European immigration".
Throughout the text, Sarmiento explores the
dichotomyA dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts, meaning it is a procedure in which a whole is divided into two parts...
between civilization and barbarism. As Kimberly Ball observes, "civilization is identified with northern Europe, North America, cities, Unitarians, Paz, and Rivadavia", while "barbarism is identified with Latin America, Spain, Asia, the Middle East, the countryside, Federalists, Facundo, and Rosas". It is in the way that Facundo articulates this opposition that Sarmiento's book has had such a profound influence. In the words of González Echevarría: "in proposing the dialectic between civilization and barbarism as the central conflict in Latin American culture Facundo gave shape to a polemic that began in the colonial period and continues to the present day".
The first edition of Facundo was published in instalments in 1845. Sarmiento removed the last two chapters of the second edition (1851), but restored them in the 1874 edition, deciding that they were important to the book's development.
The first translation into English, by Mary Mann, was published in 1868. A modern and complete translation by Kathleen Ross appeared in 2003 from the
University of California PressUniversity of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
.
Background
While exiled in Chile, Sarmiento wrote Facundo in 1845 as an attack on
Juan Manuel de RosasJuan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
, the Argentine dictator at the time. The book was a critical analysis of Argentine culture as he saw it, represented in men such as Rosas and the regional leader
Juan Facundo QuirogaJuan Facundo Quiroga was an Argentine caudillo who supported federalism at the time when the country was still in formation.-Early years:...
, a warlord from
La RiojaLa Rioja is the capital city of the Argentine province of La Rioja, located on the east of the province. The city has a population of almost 150,000 as per the ....
. For Sarmiento, Rosas and Quiroga were
caudilloCaudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
s—strongmen who did not submit to the law. However, if Facundo's portrait is linked to the wild nature of the countryside, Rosas is depicted as an opportunist who exploits the situation to perpetuate himself in power.
Sarmiento's book is a critique and also a symptom of Argentina's cultural conflicts. In 1810, the country had gained independence from the
Spanish EmpireThe Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
, but Sarmiento complains that Argentina had yet to cohere as a unified entity. The country's chief political division saw the
UnitaristsUnitarianists or Unitarians were the proponents of the concept of a Unitary state in Buenos Aires during the civil wars which shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in 1816. They were opposed to the Argentine Federalists, who wanted a federation of independent provinces...
(or Unitarians, with whom Sarmiento sided), who favored centralization, counterposed against the Federalists, who believed that the regions should maintain a good measure of
autonomyAutonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
. This division was in part a split between the city and the countryside. Then as now,
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
was the country’s largest and wealthiest city as a result of its access to river trade routes and the South Atlantic. Buenos Aires was exposed not only to trade but to fresh ideas and European culture. These economic and cultural differences caused tension between Buenos Aires and the land-locked regions of the country. Despite his Unitarian sympathies, Sarmiento himself came from the provinces, a native of the Western town of San Juan.
Argentine civil war
Argentina's divisions led to a civil war that began in 1826 when centralist
Bernardino RivadaviaBernardino de la Trinidad Gónzalez Rivadavia y Rivadavia was the first president of Argentina, from February 8, 1826 to July 7, 1827 . He was a politician of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Argentina today...
was elected president. Supporters of decentralized government challenged the Unitarist Party, leading to the outbreak of violence. Federalists Juan Facundo Quiroga and
Manuel DorregoManuel Dorrego was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was governor of Buenos Aires in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828....
wanted more autonomy for the provinces and were inclined to reject European culture. The Unitarists defended Rivadavia’s presidency, as it created educational opportunities for rural inhabitants through a European-staffed university program. However, under Rivadavia's rule, the salaries of common laborers were subjected to government wage ceilings, and the
gauchoGaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
s ("cattle-wrangling horsemen of the pampas") were either imprisoned or forced to work without pay.
A series of governors were installed and replaced beginning in 1828 with the appointment of Federalist
Manuel DorregoManuel Dorrego was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was governor of Buenos Aires in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828....
as the governor of Buenos Aires. However, Dorrego's government was very soon overthrown and replaced by that of Unitarist
Juan LavalleJuan Galo de Lavalle was an Argentine military and political figure.-Biography:Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José de La Vallée y Cortés, general accountant of rents and tobacco for the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.In 1799, the family moved to...
. Lavalle's rule ended when he was defeated by a militia of gauchos led by Rosas. By the end of 1829, the legislature had appointed Rosas as governor of Buenos Aires. Under Rosas's rule, many intellectuals fled either to Chile, as did Sarmiento, or to Uruguay, as Sarmiento himself notes.
Juan Manuel de Rosas
According to Latin American historian
John LynchJohn Lynch is Emeritus Professor of Latin American History at the University of London. He spent most of his academic career at University College, and then from 1974 to 1987 as Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies...
, Juan Manuel de Rosas was "a landowner, a rural caudillo, and the dictator of
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
from 1829 to 1852". He was born into a wealthy family of high social status, but Rosas's strict upbringing had a deep psychological influence on him. Sarmiento asserts that because of Rosas's mother, "the spectacle of authority and servitude must have left lasting impressions on him". Shortly after reaching puberty, Rosas was sent to an
estanciaEstância is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Sergipe. Its population was 62,218 and its area is 642 km². The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Estância....
and stayed there for about thirty years. In time, he learned how to manage the ranch and he established an authoritarian government in the area. While in power, Rosas incarcerated residents for unspecified reasons, acts which Sarmiento argues were similar to Rosas's treatment of cattle. Sarmiento argues that this was one method of making his citizens like the "tamest, most orderly cattle known".
Juan Manuel de Rosas's first term as governor lasted only three years. His rule, assisted by Juan Facundo Quiroga and
Estanislao LópezEstanislao López was a governor and caudillo of the , between 1818 and 1838, a hero of provincial federalism and an ally of Juan Manuel de Rosas during the Argentine Civil War.-Biography:...
, was respected and he was praised for his ability to maintain harmony between Buenos Aires and the rural areas. The country fell into disorder after Rosas's resignation in 1832, and in 1835 he was once again called to lead the country. He ruled the country not as he did during his first term as governor, but as a dictator, forcing all citizens to support his Federalist regime. According to Nicolas Shumway, Rosas "forced the citizens to wear the red Federalist insignia, and his picture appeared in all public places... Rosas's enemies, real and imagined, were increasingly imprisoned, tortured, murdered, or driven into exile by the mazorca, a band of spies and thugs supervised personally by Rosas. Publication were censored, and porteño newspapers became tedious apologizers for the regime".
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
In Facundo, Sarmiento is both the narrator and a main character. The book contains autobiographical elements from Sarmiento’s life, and he comments on the entire Argentine circumstance. He also expresses and analyzes his own opinion and chronicles some historic events. Within the book's dichotomy between civilization and barbarism, Sarmiento's character represents civilization, steeped as he is in European and North American ideas; he stands for education and development, as opposed to Rosas and Facundo, who symbolize barbarism.
Sarmiento was an educator, a civilized man who was a militant adherent to the Unitarist movement. During the Argentine civil war he fought against Facundo several times, and while in Spain he became a member of the Literary Society of Professors. Exiled to Chile by Rosas when he started to write Facundo, Sarmiento would later return as a politician. He was a member of the
SenateThe Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
after Rosas's fall and president of Argentina for six years (1868–1874). During his presidency, Sarmiento concentrated on migration, sciences, and culture. His ideas were based on European civilization; for him, the development of a country was rooted in education. To this end, he founded Argentina's military and naval colleges.
Synopsis
After a lengthy introduction, Facundos fifteen chapters divide broadly into three sections: chapters one to four outline Argentine geography, anthropology, and history; chapters five to fourteen recount the life of Juan Facundo Quiroga; and the concluding chapter expounds Sarmiento's vision of a future for Argentina under a Unitarist government. In Sarmiento's words, the reason why he chose to provide Argentine context and use Facundo Quiroga to condemn Rosas's dictatorship is that "in Facundo Quiroga I do not only see simply a caudillo, but rather a manifestation of Argentine life as it has been made by colonization and the peculiarities of the land".
Argentine context
Facundo begins with a geographical description of Argentina, from the
AndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
in the west to the eastern Atlantic coast, where two main river systems converge at the boundary between Argentina and
UruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. This river estuary, called the Rio de Plata, is the location of
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, the capital. Through his discussion of Argentina's geography, Sarmiento demonstrates Buenos Aires' advantages; the river systems were communications arteries which, by enabling trade, helped the city to achieve civilization. Buenos Aires failed to spread civilization to the rural areas and as a result, much of the rest of Argentina was doomed to barbarism. Sarmiento also argues that the pampas, Argentina’s wide and empty plains, provided "no place for people to escape and hide for defense and this prohibits civilization in most parts of Argentina". Despite the barriers to civilization caused by Argentina’s geography, Sarmiento argues that many of the country's problems were caused by gauchos like Juan Manuel de Rosas, who were barbaric, uneducated, ignorant, and arrogant; their character prevented Argentine society's progress toward civilization. Sarmiento then describes the four main types of gaucho and these characterizations aid in understanding Argentine leaders, such as Juan Manuel de Rosas. Sarmiento argues that without an understanding of these Argentine character types, "it is impossible to understand our political personages, or the primordial, American character of the bloody struggle that tears apart the Argentine Republic".
Sarmiento then moves on to the Argentine peasants, who are "independent of all need, free of all subjection, with no idea of government". The peasants gather at taverns, where they spend their time drinking and gambling. They display their eagerness to prove their physical strength with horsemanship and knife fights. Rarely these displays led to deaths, and Sarmiento notes that Rosas's residence was sometimes used as a refuge on such occasions, before he became politically powerful.
According to Sarmiento, these elements are crucial to an understanding of the
Argentine RevolutionThe Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
, in which Argentina gained independence from Spain. Although Argentina’s war of independence was prompted by the influence of European ideas, Buenos Aires was the only city that could achieve civilization. Rural people participated in the war to demonstrate their physical strengths rather than because they wanted to civilize the country. In the end, the revolution was a failure because the barbaric instincts of the rural population led to the loss and dishonor of the civilized city—Buenos Aires.
Life of Juan Facundo Quiroga
The second section of Facundo explores the life of its titular character, Juan Facundo Quiroga—the "Tiger of the Plains". Despite being born into a wealthy family, Facundo received only a basic education in reading and writing. He loved gambling, being called el jugador (the player)—in fact, Sarmiento describes his gambling as "an ardent passion burning in his belly". As a youth Facundo was antisocial and rebellious, refusing to mix with other children, and these traits became more pronounced as he matured. Sarmiento describes an incident in which Facundo killed a man, writing that this type of behaviour "marked his passage through the world". Sarmiento gives a physical description of the man he considers to personify the caudillo: "[he had a] short and well built stature; his broad shoulders supported, on a short neck, a well-formed head covered with very thick, black and curly hair", with "eyes ... full of fire".
Facundo's relations with his family eventually broke down, and, taking on the life of a
gauchoGaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
, he joined the
caudilloCaudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
s in the province of
Entre RíosDepartments form the second level of administrative division in the provinces of Argentina. There are no departments in the city of Buenos Aires, which has so far been divided into neighbourhoods as its administrative divisions, but is to be divided now into communes by a recently passed local act...
. His killing of two Spaniards after a jailbreak saw him acclaimed as a hero among the gauchos, and on relocating to
La RiojaLa Rioja is the capital city of the Argentine province of La Rioja, located on the east of the province. The city has a population of almost 150,000 as per the ....
, Facundo was appointed to a leadership position in the Llanos Militia. He built his reputation and won his comrades' respect through his fierce battlefield performances, but hated and tried to destroy those who differed from him by being civilized and well-educated.
In 1825, when Unitarist
Bernardino RivadaviaBernardino de la Trinidad Gónzalez Rivadavia y Rivadavia was the first president of Argentina, from February 8, 1826 to July 7, 1827 . He was a politician of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Argentina today...
became the governor of the Buenos Aires province, he held a meeting with representatives from all provinces in Argentina. Facundo was present as the governor of La Rioja. Rivadavia was soon overthrown, and
Manuel DorregoManuel Dorrego was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was governor of Buenos Aires in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828....
became the new governor. A Federalist, Sarmiento contends that Dorrego was interested neither in social progress nor in ending barbaric behaviour in Argentina by improving the level of civilization and education of its rural inhabitants. In the turmoil that characterized Argentine politics at the time, Dorrego was assassinated by Unitarists and Facundo was defeated by Unitarist General
José María PazBrigadier General José María Paz y Haedo was an Argentine military figure, notable in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil War.-Childhood:...
. Facundo escaped to Buenos Aires and joined the Federalist government of Juan Manuel de Rosas. During the ensuing civil war between the two ideologies, Facundo conquered the provinces of
San LuisSan Luis is a province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country . Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and San Juan.-History:...
,
CordobaCórdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...
and
MendozaThe Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
.
On return to his San Juan home, which Sarmiento says Facundo governed "solely with his terrifying name", he realized that his government lacked support from Rosas. He went to Buenos Aires to confront Rosas, who sent him on another political mission. On his way back, Facundo was shot and killed at
Barranca YacoBarranca de Yaco or Barranca Yaco is a geographical feature along the ancient camino real of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located between Villa Tulumba and Sinsacate, in the province of Córdoba, Argentina.The place is famous because General Juan Facundo Quiroga, Governor and...
, Córdoba. According to Sarmiento, the murder was plotted by Rosas: "An impartial history still awaits facts and revelations, in order to point its finger at the instigator of the assassins".
Consequences of Facundo's death
In the book's final chapters, Sarmiento explores the consequences of Facundo's death for the history and politics of the Argentine Republic. He further analyzes Rosas's government and personality, commenting on dictatorship, tyranny, the role of popular support, and the use of force to maintain order. Sarmiento criticizes Rosas by using the words of the dictator, making sarcastic remarks about Rosas's actions, and describing the "terror" established during the dictatorship, the contradictions of the government, and the situation in the provinces that were ruled by Facundo. Sarmiento writes, "The red ribbon is a materialization of the terror that accompanies you everywhere, in the streets, in the bosom of the family; it must be thought about when dressing, when undressing, and ideas are always engraved upon us by association".
Finally, Sarmiento examines the legacy of Rosas's government by attacking the dictator and widening the civilization–barbarism dichotomy. By setting France against Argentina—representing civilization and barbarism respectively—Sarmiento contrasts culture and savagery:
France's blockade had lasted for two years, and the 'American' government, inspired by 'American' spirit, was facing off with France, European principles, European pretensions. The social results of the French blockade, however, had been fruitful for the Argentine Republic, and served to demonstrate in all their nakedness the current state of mind and the new elements of struggle, which were to ignite a fierce war that can end only with the fall of that monstrous government.
Genre and style
Spanish critic and philosopher
Miguel de UnamunoMiguel de Unamuno y Jugo was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright and philosopher.-Biography:...
comments of the book, "I never took Facundo by Sarmiento as a historical work, nor do I think it can be very valued in that regard. I always thought of it as a literary work, as a historical novel". However, Facundo cannot be classified as a novel or a specific
genreGenre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of literature. According to González Echevarría, the book is at once an "essay, biography, autobiography, novel, epic, memoir, confession, political pamphlet, diatribe, scientific treatise, [and] travelogue". Sarmiento's style and his exploration of the life of Facundo unify the three distinct parts of his work. Even the first section, describing Argentina's geography, follows this pattern, since Sarmiento contends that Facundo is a natural product of this environment.
The book is partly fictional, as well: Sarmiento draws on his imagination in addition to historical fact in describing Rosas. In Facundo, Sarmiento outlines his argument that Rosas's dictatorship is the main cause of Argentina's problems. The themes of barbarism and savagery that run through the book are, to Sarmiento, consequences of Rosas's dictatorial government. To make his case, Sarmiento often has recourse to strategies drawn from literature.
Civilization and barbarism
Facundo is not only a critique of Rosas's dictatorship, but a broader investigation into Argentine history and culture, which Sarmiento charts through the rise, controversial rule, and downfall of Juan Facundo Quiroga, an
archetypicalAn archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
Argentine caudillo. Sarmiento summarizes the book's message in the phrase "That is the point: to be or not to be savages". The dichotomy between civilization and barbarism is the book's central idea; Facundo Quiroga is portrayed as wild, untamed, and standing opposed to true progress through his rejection of European cultural ideals—found at that time in the metropolitan society of Buenos Aires.
The conflict between civilization and barbarism mirrors Latin America's difficulties in the post-Independence era. Literary critic Sorensen Goodrich argues that although Sarmiento was not the first to articulate this dichotomy, he forged it into a powerful and prominent theme that would impact Latin American literature. He explores the issue of civilization versus the cruder aspects of a caudillo culture of brutality and absolute power. Facundo set forth an oppositional message that promoted a more beneficial alternative for society at large. Although Sarmiento advocated various changes, such as honest officials who understood enlightenment ideas of European and Classical origin, for him education was the key.
Caudillos like Facundo Quiroga are seen, at the beginning of the book, as the antithesis of education, high culture, and civil stability; barbarism was like a never ending litany of social ills. They are the agents of instability and chaos, destroying societies through their blatant disregard for
humanityHuman Race refers to the Human species.Human race may also refer to:*The Human Race, 79th episode of YuYu Hakusho* Human Race Theatre Company of Dayton Ohio* Human Race Machine, a computer graphics device...
and social progress.
If Sarmiento viewed himself as civilized, Rosas was barbaric. Historian
David RockDavid Rock is a Latin Americanist historian, who specializes in the history of Argentina. He has been described as a "leading scholar in the field" of 19th century Argentine political history...
argues that "contemporary opponents reviled Rosas as a bloody tyrant and a symbol of barbarism". Sarmiento attacked Rosas through his book by promoting education and "civilized" status, whereas Rosas used political power and brute force to dispose of any kind of hindrance. In linking Europe with civilization, and civilization with education, Sarmiento conveyed an admiration of European culture and civilization which at the same time gave him a sense of dissatisfaction with his own culture, motivating him to drive it towards civilization.
Using the wilderness of the pampas to reinforce his social analysis, he characterizes those who were isolated and opposed to political dialogue as ignorant and anarchic—symbolized by Argentina's desolate physical geography. Conversely, Latin America was connected to barbarism, which Sarmiento used mainly to illustrate the way in which Argentina was disconnected from the numerous resources surrounding it, limiting the growth of the country.
American critic Doris Sommer sees a connection between Facundos ideology and Sarmiento's readings of
Fenimore CooperJames Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
. She links Sarmiento's remarks on modernization and culture to the American discourse of expansion and progress of the 19 century.
Writing and power
In the history of post-independence Latin America, dictatorships have been relatively common—examples range from Paraguay's
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia200px|right|thumb|José Gaspar Rodríguez de FranciaDr. José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco was the first leader of Paraguay following its independence from Spain...
in the nineteenth century to Chile's
Augusto PinochetAugusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
in the twentieth. In this context, Latin American literature has been distinguished by the protest novel, or
dictator novelThe dictator novel is a genre of Latin American literature that challenges the role of the dictator in Latin American society. The theme of caudillismo—the régime of a charismatic caudillo, a political strongman—is addressed by examining the relationships between power, dictatorship,...
; the main story is based around the dictator figure, his behaviour, characteristics and the situation of the people under his regime. Writers such as Sarmiento used the power of the written word in order to criticize government, using literature as a tool, an instance of resistance and as a weapon against repression.
Making use of the connection between writing and power was one of Sarmiento's strategies. For him, writing was intended to be a catalyst for action. While the gauchos fought with physical weapons, Sarmiento used his voice and language. Sorensen states that Sarmiento used "text as [a] weapon". Sarmiento was writing not only for Argentina but for a wider audience too, especially the United States and Europe; in his view, these regions were close to civilization; his purpose was to seduce his readers toward his own political viewpoint. In the numerous translations of Facundo, Sarmiento's association of writing with power and conquest is apparent.
Since his books often serve as vehicles for his political manifesto, Sarmiento's writings commonly mock governments, with Facundo being the most prominent example. He elevates his own status at the expense of the ruling elite, almost portraying himself as invincible due to the power of writing. Toward the end of 1840, Sarmiento was exiled for his political views. Covered with bruises received the day before from unruly soldiers, he wrote in French, "On ne tue point les idees" (misquoted from "on ne tire pas des coups de fusil aux idees", which means "ideas cannot be killed by guns"). The government decided to decipher the message, and on learning the translation, said, "So! What does this mean?". With the failure of his oppressors to understand his meaning, Sarmiento is able to illustrate their ineptitude. His words are presented as a "code" that needs to be "deciphered", and unlike Sarmiento those in power are barbaric and uneducated. Their bafflement not only demonstrates their general ignorance, but also, according to Sorensen, illustrates "the fundamental displacement which any cultural transplantation brings about", since Argentine rural inhabitants and Rosas's associates were unable to accept the civilized culture which Sarmiento believed would lead to progress in Argentina.
Legacy
For translator Kathleen Ross, Facundo is "one of the foundational works of Spanish American literary history". It has been enormously influential in setting out a "blueprint for modernization", with its practical message enhanced by a "tremendous beauty and passion". However, according to literary critic González Echevarría it is not only a powerful founding text but "the first Latin American classic, and the most important book written about Latin America by a Latin American in any discipline or genre". The book's political influence can be seen in Sarmiento’s eventual rise to power. He became president of Argentina in 1868 and was finally able to apply his theories to ensure that his nation achieved civilization. Although Sarmiento wrote several books, he viewed Facundo as authorizing his political views.
According to Sorensen, "early readers of Facundo were deeply influenced by the struggles that preceded and followed Rosas's Dictatorship, and their views sprang from their relationship to the strife for interpretive and political hegemony". González Echevarría notes that Facundo provided the impetus for other writers to examine dictatorship in Latin America, and contends that it is still read today because Sarmiento created "a voice for modern Latin American authors". The reason for this, according to González Echevarría, is that "Latin American authors struggle with its legacy, rewriting Facundo in their works even as they try to untangle themselves from its discourse". Subsequent
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, drew upon its ideas, and a knowledge of Facundo enhances the reader’s understanding of these later books.
One irony of the impact of Sarmiento's essay genre and fictional literature is that, according to González Echevarría, the gaucho has become "an object of nostalgia, a lost origin around which to build a national mythology". While Sarmiento was trying to eliminate the gaucho, he also transformed him into a "national symbol". González Echevarría further argues that Juan Facundo Quiroga also continues to exist, since he represents "our unresolved struggle between good and evil and our lives' inexorable drive toward death". According to translator Kathleen Ross, "Facundo continues to inspire controversy and debate because it contributes to national myths of modernization, anti-populism, and racist ideology".
Publication and translation history
The first edition of Facundo was published in instalments in 1845, in the literary supplement of the Chilean newspaper El Progreso. The second edition, also published in Chile (in 1851), contained significant alterations—Sarmiento removed the last two chapters on the advice of
Valentín Alsina*For the city, see Valentín Alsina, Buenos Aires.Valentín Alsina was an Argentine lawyer and politician.Alsina was born in Buenos Aires and studied law at the University of Córdoba. He occupied diverse posts in government, and had a successful civil career as an advocate and professor of law at...
, an exiled Argentinian lawyer and politician. However the missing sections reappeared in 1874 in a later edition, because Sarmiento saw them as crucial to the book's development.
Facundo was first translated in 1868, by Mary Mann, with the title Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants; or, Civilization and Barbarism. More recently, Kathleen Ross has undertaken a modern and complete translation, published in 2003 by the University of California Press. In Ross's "Translator's Introduction," she notes that Mann's nineteenth-century version of the text was influenced by Mann's friendship with Sarmiento and by the fact that he was at the time a candidate in the Argentine presidential election: "Mann wished to further her friend's cause abroad by presenting Sarmiento as an admirer and emulator of United States political and cultural institutions". Hence this translation cut much of what made Sarmiento's work distinctively part of the Hispanic tradition. Ross continues: "Mann's elimination of metaphor, the stylistic device perhaps most characteristic of Sarmiento's prose, is especially striking".
External links