Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality (Spanish: Siete Ensayos de Interpretación de la Realidad Peruana, also known as Los 7 Ensayos or the Seven Essays), published in 1928, is the most famous written work of the Peruvian socialist writer José Carlos Mariátegui and considered his magnum opus. It was published in Lima, in 1928, and is credited with establishing its author as one of the most widespread Marxist voices in Latin America. It is a work that has been reissued dozens of times, in addition to being translated into Russian, French, English, Italian, Portuguese and Hungarian.
Background As a framework for the author's book, Mariátegui used a series of articles he had published periodically in magazines such as Mundial and Amauta. In this book, Mariátegui proposed to apply the principles of historical materialism to attempt a complete re-evaluation of the Peruvian reality. In the prologue, he advises that he is not an impartial and objective critic, but that his judgments are informed by his ideals, sentiments, and passions. The essays cover diverse subjects: the economic evolution, the problem of the Indian, the problem of the land, the public instruction, the religious factor, regionalism vs. centralism, and a "process" or prosecution of the national literature. Additionally, the author thought to include an essay on the political and ideological evolution of Peru, but as the number of its pages seemed excessive, he planned to develop this subject in a separate book. He was also aware of his limitations, as he makes it clear that none of his essays were finished and that he would return to those topics. However, his untimely death two years later put an end to these plans. Beyond the successes or failures of the author in his goal of contributing to the socialist critique of the problems of Peru, this book had the merit of encouraging new work on the interpretation of the Peruvian reality and start the search for different conceptions that diverge from the traditional understanding.
Content Framework of the economic development in Peru Mariátegui studies the economic evolution of Peru applying historical materialism, although not in a rigorous way. In summary, he affirms that the economic development of the Inca Empire, of a socialist type, was interrupted by the Spanish conquest. The Spaniards imposed a feudal economic structure that enforced slavery. This feudalism extends to the Republic, with the Latin American social issue gamonalismo while slavery is abolished. Gamonalismo or "bossism" (caciquismo or "large landowner") refers to the exploitation of indigenous communities by landowners of European descent. The national bourgeoisie (capitalist class) emerged during the period of guano and nitrate (nineteenth century) and began to strengthen at the beginning of the twentieth century, but without supplanting the landlord class or latifundia (semi-feudal). According to Mariátegui, in his time the three economies coexisted in Peru: the feudal, the bourgeois and some residues of the indigenous communist economy in the Sierra.
The colonial economy Mariátegui praises the economic development of the Inca Empire, which he describes as "socialist" and "collectivist"; especially when highlighting the collective work that guaranteed the material well-being of the empire's entire population. This significant economic development was "split" (interrupted) by the Spanish conquest. The Spaniards destroyed the machinery of Inca production; then they embedded their political and economic structures. The socialist economy of the Incas was replaced by another feudal one. The Spaniards did not seek to develop a solid economy but solely aimed to exploit natural resources. The fundamental activity of the Spaniards was the exploitation of the gold and silver mines. When there was not enough labor for the work of the haciendas or "villages" of the coast, they resorted to the importation of black slaves; this is how they formed not only a feudal society but also a slave society. According to Mariátegui, the colonial economic structure remained as the historical basis of the Peruvian economy.
The economic bases of the republic The second stage of the Peruvian economy is founded from another political and military event: Independence. This originates from the same policy of the Spanish Crown, which impeded the free economic development of the colonies. The Creole bourgeoisie, although still embryonic, began to adopt the revolutionary ideas of the European bourgeoisie and promoted independence to ensure its prosperity. Independence is then decided by the needs of capitalist development; in this sense, the United Kingdom, known as the birthplace of the free trade economy, played a fundamental role in supporting the developing American nations. The struggle for independence brought together the various Latin American nations, but once it was achieved, each one took its own path. The nations benefiting most from free trade, along with the rest of the world, were those located on the Atlantic side, specifically, Argentina and Brazil, which attracted immigrants and European capitals, which allowed those countries to strengthen bourgeois and liberal democracy; while Peru, due to its geographical position, did not receive that dynamic flow of immigration and limited itself to receiving Chinese immigrants, who went on to work in the haciendas or "villages" under the feudal, quasi-slave model. However, Peru needed "the machines, the methods and the ideas of the Europeans, of the Westerners".
The period of Guano and Saltpeter Another chapter in Peruvian economic history opens with the discovery of the wealth of guano and saltpeter. Guano, also known as the excrement of seabirds and bats, is used as fertilizer. Saltpeter, a component known as Potassium nitrate, is used to preserve meat. These easily exploited products quickly increased the wealth of the State, since industrial Europe needed these resources to maintain its agricultural productivity. The riches that came from the exploitation of these products were squandered by the Peruvian State, but they allowed the appearance of commercial and banking capital. It began to constitute a capitalist class, but whose origin was in the old Peruvian aristocracy. Another consequence was the consolidation of the economic power of the coast since until then, the mining had configured the Peruvian economy a mountain character. In short, guano and saltpeter allowed the slow transformation of the Peruvian economy from a feudal system to a capitalist system, although the dependence on foreign capital continued to be accentuated. These riches were lost after the War of the Pacific.
Characteristics of the current economy After the war with Chile, the post-war period opened with a period of the collapse of the productive forces. The currency was depreciated, and the foreign credit was canceled. The militarism born from defeat took power, but soon the old capitalist class that emerged in the days of guano and saltpeter resumed its place in the guidelines of national politics. To achieve economic resurgence, it was necessary to resort to the assistance of European investors. Due to the Grace Contract (1888) the railways were given to European bondholders as a pledge and guarantee of new investments in Peru. The operationalization of the railways in the central region activated large-scale mining in that region. Slowly, the Peruvian economy was recovering, with bases more solid than those of guano and saltpeter, but without losing its character as a colonial economy. In that line, the government of Nicolás de Piérola (1895–1899) was at the service of the interests of the plutocracy, according to Mariátegui's perception. Then, it lists the fundamental characteristics of the Peruvian economy of its time (towards 1928):
• The emergence of modern industry.
• The function of modern capital (emergence of banks).
• The shortening of distances and the increase in traffic between Peru, the United States, and Europe (opening of the Panama Canal).
• The gradual transition of European influence to American influence.
• The development of a capitalist class (bourgeoisie), which replaces the old aristocracy with viceregal surnames.
• The illusion of rubber
• The rise of Peruvian products in the world market, which generates a rapid growth of the national private fortune.
• The borrowing policy was distinct for its time (Oncenio de Leguía). The main creditors are the bankers of the United States.
Mariátegui concludes by pointing out that in his time three economies still coexisted in Peru: the feudal, the bourgeois, and the remaining part of the indigenous communist economy in the Sierra.
Agrarian economy and feudal "latifundismo" Despite the increase in mining activity since the late nineteenth century, Peru maintained its status as an agricultural country. The vast majority of the population was engaged in agriculture. The Indian, who made up four-fifths of that population, was traditionally a farmer. The agriculture of food products was concentrated in the mountains and supplied the national market. Agroindustrial crops destined for export (sugar cane and cotton) were concentrated on the coast and were under the control of the landowning class. This maintained a semi-feudal organization that stood as the heaviest obstacle to the development of the country. According to Mariátegui, the Creole owner, due to his Spanish heritage and training, could not fully develop a capitalist economy. The author's interest in the complete development of capitalism in Peru was due to the fact that, according to the communist ideology, this phase was necessary for the emergence of the socialist revolution.
The problem of the Indian His new approach Mariátegui conceived the problem of the Indian not as a racial, administrative, legal, educational or ecclesiastical issue, but as a substantial economic problem whose origin was in the unjust system of land ownership concentrated in a few hands (gamonalismo or latifundismo); as long as this form of property subsisted, any attempt to solve the Indian's problem would be unsuccessful. The gamonalismo was opposed successfully to all law or ordinance of indigenous protection. The hacendado, latifundista, or gamonal was practically a feudal lord. In front of him, the law was impotent. The Republic had prohibited free labor, but even so, free labor, and even forced labor, survived on the latifundio.
A brief historical review