Conservative Thought in Twentieth Century Latin America: The Ideas of Laureano Gomez

by James D. Henderson

Overview

Laureano Gómez was president of Colombia in the early 1950s until overthrown by a military coup. He was also, for some fifty years, the leading exponent of Latin American conservatism, a political philosophy with roots in both nineteenth–century politics and religion. Focusing on Gómez, and other prominent conservative politicians, Henderson traces the evolution of Latin American conservatism and demonstrates the scope of its influence throughout the continent.

While much has been written about particular Marxist movements and right–wing regimes in contemporary Latin America, little attention has been devoted, in recent years, to the more moderate political institutions and individuals which dominate twentieth–century Latin America. This first account of Latin American conservatism should be of interest to all students of the history and politics of the region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780896801486
Publisher:	Ohio University Press
Publication date:	10/15/1988
Series:	Ohio RIS Latin America Series , #13
Edition description:	1
Pages:	229
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	1510L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgements	xi
	Introduction	1
I.	The Nineteenth Century Background of Latin American Conservatism	5
	Origins of Political Conservatism in Latin America	5
	Nineteenth Century Colombian Conservatism: "Historicals" and "Nationalists"	8
	The Turn-of-the-Century Division in Conservative Ranks	11
II.	Laureano Gomez of Colombia	17
	Man of Polemic and Paradox	17
	Gomez of Colombia and the Conservative Assault on Liberalism	21
	His Philosophy Summarized	24
III.	Roman Catholic Underpinnings of Gomez's Thought	29
	The Early Years, His Jesuit Mentors	29
	Roman Catholic Sources of Gomez's Ideas	35
IV.	Liberal and Positivist Elements	55
	Liberalism in the Thought of Laureano Gomez	53
	The Positivist Gomez	63
V.	Romantic and Nationalist Elements	69
	The Romantic Gomez	69
	The Nationalist Gomez	77
VI.	The Attack on Liberalism	81
	Gomez versus the Colombian Liberal Party, 1932-1946	81
	A Conservative Ideologist Interprets History	88
VII.	Between World Wars: Latin American Conservatism Embattled	105
	Dilemmas of the Non-Fascist Right	105
	Growing Division in Conservative Ranks: The Chilean Case	107
	Gomez Answers the Fascist Challenge	110
	Gomez versus Philosophic Liberalism	114
	The "Enemy Within": Masons, Jews, Communists	118
VIII.	"Liberal/Progressive" and "Traditionalist" Conservatives: Conflict at Mid-Century	125
	The Split in Latin American Conservatism Viewed Empirically	125
	"Traditional" Conservatism Ascendant in Colombia	131
	Metaphysical Imaginings and Visions of Harmony: The Abortive Constitutional Reform of 1953	136
IX.	The Last Years of Laureano Gomez	151
	Antideterminism and Its Consequences	151
	Gomez, His Ideas, and His Uncertain Place in Colombian History	157
X.	Latin American Conservatism Since the 1960s	163
	From the 1960s to the Present	163
	Conclusion	167
	Notes	169
	Bibliography	197
	Index	207