Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31876/er.v5i39.802
The first republican university in Latin America and social
rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
La primera universidad republicana de América Latina y los derechos sociales:
análisis desde la obra de Bolívar y Sánchez Carrión
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados*, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía**, Migdonio Nicolás
Esquivel Grados***.
Received: January 09, 2021.
Approved: July 01, 2021.
Abstract
The emancipation of South American countries was aimed at
achieving freedom and dignity for peoples oppressed for three
centuries and vindicating their rights. In this sense, the article is the
result of a study whose objective was to analyze the social rights in
the thought and work of the Liberator Simón Bolívar and his general
minister José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, as well as their
transcendence in time. Social rights are those that are aligned with
human dignity and linked to the achievement of substantial objectives
such as access to work, health, education, justice, among others.
Documentary analysis shows that these rights were originally
consigned in 1824 by the Liberator and his minister at the time of
founding the first republican University in the final phase of the
emancipation of Peru and South America, but were gradually
legalized in the social constitutionalism of many countries during the
twentieth century, which notes its importance in the line of achieving
human dignity. Social rights had as precursors the aforementioned
heroes of freedom, defenders of human dignity and visionaries who
were ahead of their time.
Keywords:
Social rights, freedom, dignity
Doctor in Education. Universidad Nacional
José Faustino Sánchez Carrión.
Arequipa, Peru,
jesquivel@unjfsc.edu.pe,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4591-9921
Doctor in Education. Universidad Privada
Norbert Wiener, Graduate School,
Arequipa, Peru,
valia.venegas@uwiener.edu.pe,
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3032-8720
Master in Education, mention in Research
and Teaching. Catholic University of
Trujillo Benedicto XVI. Arequipa, Peru,
m.esquivel@uct.edu.pe,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1685-3994
Cite this:
Esquivel, J., Venegas, V., Esquivel, M.
(2021). The first republican university in
Latin America and social rights: an
analysis from the work of Bolivar and
Sanchez Carrion. Espirales. Revista
Multidisciplinaria de investigación
científica, 5(39), 36-54
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
38
Introduction
The 19th century marked a period of accentuation of the struggle for independence in
Latin America, a period marked by a series of political and social changes. Spain was
diminished by the socioeconomic crisis, the invasion of the Napoleonic armies, the
deterioration of the absolutist monarchical model and the progressive generalized
discontent in the colonies. In an effort to remedy these ills, the Constitution of Cadiz of
1812 emerged, whose purpose was to introduce progressive reforms to preserve the
model and the submission of the colonies to the power of the metropolis, which ended
in a categorical failure because of the growing yearning of the peoples to achieve their
freedom and the advantageousness of certain reforms stipulated in that Magna Carta.
Aspects of the Cadiz Charter, such as the annulment of the Inquisition and the freedom
of the press, accelerated the American independence movement. In the case of Peru,
the separatist current gained more strength as the reproach to the old monarchic
regime became more frequent and the liberal postulates that were propagated in
different media such as the Mercurio Peruano gained followers among men and women
of the different social strata. And the bet for a republican model was achieved from
media such as Correo Mercantil, La abeja republicana and El tribuno de la República
peruana, from where José Faustino Sánchez Carrión had a strong influence.
Like the emancipation of the various colonies in the Americas, the peoples had to regain
their dignity and acquire their rights. The urgent task after breaking the chains of
Resumen
La emancipación de los países suramericanos estaba orientada a
lograr la libertad y la dignidad de los pueblos oprimidos durante tres
siglos y reivindicar sus derechos. En tal sentido, el artículo es fruto de
un estudio cuyo objetivo fue analizar los derechos sociales en el
pensamiento, la obra del Libertador Simón Bolívar y de su ministro
general José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, así como su trascendencia en
el tiempo. Los derechos sociales son aquellos que están alineados
con la dignidad humana y coligados al logro de objetivos sustanciales
como el acceso al trabajo, la salud, educación, justicia, entre otros.
Del análisis documental se observa que estos derechos fueron
consignados primigeniamente en 1824 por el Libertador y su ministro
al momento de fundar la primera Universidad republicana en la fase
final de la emancipación del Perú y América del Sur, pero
gradualmente se legalizaron en el constitucionalismo social de
muchos países durante el siglo XX, lo que hace notar su
trascendencia en la línea de alcanzar la dignidad humana. Los
derechos sociales tuvieron como precursores a los citados héroes de
la libertad, defensores de la dignidad humana y visionarios que se
adelantaron a su época.
Palabras clave:
Derechos sociales, libertad, dignidad
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía, Migdonio Nicolás Esquivel Grados
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
39
opprobrium was to achieve social justice through the protection of rights, especially
those of the most vulnerable people, overcoming the inequality inherited from
colonialism. In this sense, the role played by Bolivar and Sanchez Carrion in the final
stretch of the libertarian feat had much to do with social vindication, the dignity of the
people and the proposal of social rights, which over the years have been the subject of
constitutionalization in Peru, Latin America and the world, as well as addressed in
supranational regulations of the United Nations (UN). In this sense, both leaders of the
Peruvian and South American emancipation have become precursors of social rights in
Peru, America and the world.
In the context of the bicentennial of the Independence of Peru, the social rights that
were originally enunciated by the eminent Liberator and his self-sacrificing Minister
General in "the most difficult circumstances of the Republic" gain importance. In this
sense, it is imperative to analyze these rights in the thought and work of both characters,
from the founding of the first University of free America, and to glimpse their
transcendence in time.
Materials and methods
The article is the result of a theoretical documentary study based on an intentional
literature review, emphasizing the genesis of social rights and their development in the
historical spectrum. The analysis of the information provided a panoramic view of the
meaning of this type of rights since their consideration in 1824 by the Liberator Simón
Bolívar and his minister José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, which will increase the existing
theoretical corpus on these rights during the nineteenth century and their
constitutionalization in the twentieth century.
Regarding documentary research, Alfonso (1994) considers that it is a systematic
process of searching, collecting, organizing, analyzing and interpreting information
related to a certain subject. Like other types of research, it allows the construction of
knowledge. In this type of research, the following procedure was considered: Selection
of the topic. In this stage, we proceeded with the exploration and gathering of sources
on the topic of study, for which we resorted to reading and the respective file.
Statement of the problem. At this stage, we tried to answer the questions: how, when,
where and why did the phenomenon occur? The answers were the product of a broad
knowledge of the subject, as a result of the review of various sources that have the
respective information. This information was gathered from primary sources: articles and
books.
Development of the process and results. In this stage, results were found as a result of
the interpretation and analysis of the information. A draft was written in which the
research findings were presented. At the conclusion of the draft, the summary and table
of contents were prepared. In the final draft, the results and reflections reached in the
research process were specified.
Results
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
40
José Martí, quoted by Gutiérrez (2005), presents a beautiful story about the image of
Simón Bolívar:
They say that a traveler arrived one day in Caracas at dusk, and without shaking
off the dust of the road, he did not ask where to eat or sleep, but how to go to
where the statue of Bolivar was. And they say that the traveler, alone with the tall
and fragrant trees of the square, cried in front of the statue, which seemed to
move, like a father when a child approaches him. The traveler did well, because
all Americans should love Bolivar like a father. Bolivar, and all those who fought
like him for America to belong to the American man.... Bolivar did not defend with
so much fire the right of men to govern themselves, as the right of America to be
free. The envious exaggerated his defects. Bolivar died of grief of the heart, rather
than of bodily ailments, in the house of a Spaniard in Santa Marta. He died poor,
and left a family of towns.
This illustrative narration that sprang from the pen of a genius, synthesizes essential
ideas around the image of the singular continental hero: his glorious emancipating work
of the South American colonies and his existential drama, hated by a few, but glorified
by multitudes. On the former, what better than the judgments of Rodó (1972): "Great
in thought, great in action, great in misfortune, great to magnify the impure part that
fits in the soul of the great and great to bear in abandonment and death, the tragic
atonement of greatness" (p. 11). 11); while, on the second, near to die in 1830, the
famous Bolivar left a record of the bad actions: "I have been a victim of my persecutors,
who have led me to the doors of the grave. I forgive them". (Álvarez, 1988, p. 378)
It is worrying some aspects of what was expressed by Martí, Rodó and Bolívar himself;
but the analysis and judgment should be oriented to highlight the greatness of the
thought and work of this illustrious leader, on a par with the thought and work of Dr.
José Faustino Sánchez Carrión. Because to follow in the footsteps of these two notable
figures is to exalt their emancipating work that dignified the people and revealed social
rights for the first time.
To exalt the emancipating work of Simón Bolívar is also to see in retrospect the previous
moments of his libertarian feat. It is to glimpse the good disciple, who before his master
Simon Rodriguez swore an oath for the emancipation of America in Monte Sacro, Italy,
quoted in 2004 by Bacacorzo, president of the Bolivarian Society in Peru:
I swear before you; I swear by the God of my fathers; I swear by them; I swear by
my honor and I swear by my country, that I will give no rest to my arm, nor repose
to my soul, until I have broken the chains that oppress us by the will of the Spanish
power! (quoted by Campos, 1986, p. 42)
This oath, which marked the beginning of the end of the monarchy in many American
countries, marked a new era in the life of the young Simón, as he became fully involved
in political and military action after his return to Caracas. After liberating Venezuela, the
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía, Migdonio Nicolás Esquivel Grados
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
41
victorious general traveled with his army through the plains and climbed the Pisba moor
to Tunja on his way to Gran Colombia and also liberated it. He then moved on to
Ecuador and crowned the victory in the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822. The
victorious Caracas military man, for the independent peoples, was no longer the
general, he was by justice the Liberator.
When the Liberator was in Guayaquil he received the visit of another titan of continental
freedom, José de San Martín. As a result of the meeting that took place on July 26 and
27, 1822, the Protector of Peru left for the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, leaving
the task unfinished and the model of monarchic government that he tried to install in
the land of the Incas by the hand of his collaborator Bernardo Monteagudo; although
he had already proclaimed the solemn Independence of Peru on July 28, 1821.
Faced with the political chaos and the occupation of Lima by the royalists, on June 18,
1823, the Congress met the following day in Callao and agreed to move to Trujillo. It is
in these circumstances that the image of the parliamentarian and main supporter of the
republican model, Dr. José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, rises. He proposed to Congress
to create "a military power with all the necessary faculties to save the Homeland" and
on the same day of such proposal, the Parliament commissioned him together with the
poet José Joaquín Olmedo to officially invite the Liberator of the North to come to Peru
"authorizing the commissioners to confer to Bolívar the political and military power with
the name of Generalissimo of Peru" (Benvenuto, 1930, p. 87). The national
representation had the conviction that the savior of three nations was the right one to
seal the libertarian work of southern America.
Regarding the commissioned patriot, Chamané (1990) refers: "The forge of
independence turned José Faustino Sánchez Carrión into the most determined
promoter of a new model of State, which concentrates the nation in a single identity,
that unknown institution was: the Republic" (p. 180). His proclamations in favor of
freedom were signed by the hero as the "Solitario de Sayán", whom Raúl Porras
Barrenechea named "Tribuno de la República Peruana" (Tribune of the Peruvian
Republic) in honor of his strong defense of the republican system against the monarchic
plan.
The Liberator, who at that time was in the old domains of the Guayas cacique, received
the commissioners on June 19, 1823. The management of both emissaries was a success
and marked a milestone in the destinies of men and peoples. On that date, Bolivar and
Sanchez Carrion's intimate friendship germinated and both embarked on a long journey
that ended with the laurel of the triumph achieved in the Pampa de Quinua, Ayacucho,
on December 9, 1824. Only the ailments of the hero, which took him to his early grave
on June 2, 1825, separated him from his dear friend and champion of freedom. But a
short period of less than two years was enough for both geniuses to consolidate
freedom, dignify the people and build the foundations of the nascent Peruvian Republic.
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
42
On the maritime voyage of Bolívar and the Tribuno to Lima, his fellow countryman
Galarreta (2011) mentions:
During the steam trip from Guayaquil to Callao in 1823, Simón Bolívar had the
opportunity to discover and appreciate in Sánchez Carrión, his traveling
companion, not only the solid, organic and very broad culture of the illustrious
huamachuquino, but also the strong doctrinaire structure of his thought and the
exceptional qualities of a revolutionary strategist and statesman with an accurate
and operative sense of reality and a far-sighted and projective historical vision.
This is evidenced in Bolivar's resolution naming him sole general minister. (p. 30)
The Liberator and Sanchez Carrion arrived at the port of Callao on September 1st, 1823.
Already in Lima, the Congress of the Republic named him "supreme authority" and
commissioned him to defeat the royalist army. Bolivar decided to travel to liberated
territories in the north of Peru. In Pativilca, with meridian luminescence and without any
kind of meanness, he confessed to his teacher Simón Rodríguez: "You formed my heart
for freedom, for justice, for what is great, for what is beautiful. I have followed the path
that you showed me.... You cannot imagine how deeply the lessons you have given me
have been engraved in my heart". This shows that, in the formation of Bolivar's liberal
thought, the educational work of Simon Rodriguez had more impact than that of Andres
Bello.
Bolivar chose to settle in the northern city of Trujillo, the first departmental capital
that proclaimed its independence in 1920. It was considered as the strategic place
to organize the patriot army and became the new capital of Peru. In this city he
created, due to the demands of the war, the position of general minister of the
Business of the Republic of Peru, in which he gathered the three ministries
established in article 82 of the first Political Constitution of 1823. So much so that
by decree of March 26, 1824, issued in Trujillo, he appoints Sanchez Carrion as
sole minister. This designation reveals the degree of trust and explicit recognition
of the talent and principles of Dr. Sánchez Carrión. Both top government officials,
one military and the other civilian, carried out an itinerant administration. Together
with the Army and the Liberator, "he trotted on a mule as an improvised soldier,
thinking of the freedom of his homeland" (Villavicencio, 1955). (Villavicencio,
1955, p. 198).
Bolivar's recognition of his minister and immediate collaborator is evidenced in the
letter to Santander of February 23, 1825, in which Bolivar referred to him: "Mr. (Sanchez)
Carrion has talent, probity and boundless patriotism" and Valdiviezo (1989), about
Sanchez Carrion emphasizes: "None of our heroes ever exercised greater influence in
the Republic, he was its creator and therefore he left a lasting mark, thanks to the fact
that he was a politician of vocation" (p. 7). Then, formally, the consolidation of
independence fell on the shoulders of two titans, responsible for military, political and
administrative power. It was time to organize the army and organize the State. When he
had a consolidated army, Bolivar left Trujillo and climbed the inhospitable Andean
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía, Migdonio Nicolás Esquivel Grados
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
43
mountains to Huamachuco, the hometown of the republican Sanchez Carrion. The idea
was to acclimatize the soldiers in the northern Andes to then go after the royalist army
that was in the southern Andes, with the certainty that the final battle of the triumph
would be fought among the pampas, cliffs and ravines of the rugged Andean
geography. While the minister was still dispatching from Trujillo he made the Superior
Court of Justice of this city work, because as a lawyer he knew that a free people should
have access to the precious good of justice.
In Huamachuco the Army was reinforced and they marched to the south to the
encounter of the royalist side, following the route of horseshoe roads between
plains, summits and snowy. The first encounter took place in the Pampa de Junin
on August 6, 1824 with a patriot victory. Further south, in the Pampa de la Quinua
in Ayacucho, American independence was sealed on December 9 of the same
year. Basadre (1981) highlights Bolivar's leadership: "Without the Liberator, the
decisive triumph of the patriots would not have been possible" (p. 22). Meanwhile,
Robles (2004) highlights the contribution of Sánchez Carrión: "Certainly, Bolívar's
participation was decisive in the final campaign, but without the organizational
support of Sánchez Carrión, the triumphs of Junín and Ayacucho, as well as the
government actions of the time, would not have achieved the success they had or
perhaps would not have occurred" (p. 51).
Indeed, the greatest efforts to consolidate the emancipation and the Republic came
from the Liberator and his general minister. On the subject, Villarán (1999) states that:
Bolivar professed a sincere, indestructible republicanism, at a time when the most
educated politicians, the old nobles, the proprietary classes, the most
conspicuous members of the military caste and almost all the great leaders of the
revolution in Buenos Aires, Chile, Peru and Colombia were monarchists. Bolivar,
almost alone, maintained firm, against the will, against the interest and prejudice
of all, the unwavering opposition to being king and to others being king in the
countries liberated by him. (pp. 68, 69)
Now, it is necessary to relive a historic date for the new Hispanic America: May 10, 1824.
On that distant day, after holding a Council of War at the General Headquarters in
Huamachuco and before mounting his nag to head for the southern Andes, the
Liberator signed the decree founding the first Republican University of Free America
and his illustrious minister countersigned it. This glorious act for Peruvian and American
university education was a reward for the patriotism, commitment and brilliant action of
the people of Trujillo and the north in the cause of independence.
The transcendence of the founding decree of the University, "by the fiery ray of Bolivar's
sword and by the redeeming light of intelligence, symbolized in the fiery patriotism of
Sanchez Carrion" (Centurion, 1981, p. 17), in the framework of the article, is in the tenor
of the first of its three recitals, which are set forth below:
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
44
• That, according to art. 184 of the Political Constitution of the Republic, there
must be Universities in the Departmental capitals, as one of the most effective
means ofpromoting public instruction, on which the support and security of
social rights depend to a great extent;
• That, nevertheless, of the population of the Department of Trujillo, there is not
for all teaching, more than that which can be acquired at the cost of much time
and sleeplessness, in the Seminary of its Capital;
• That, the provinces of the aforementioned department deserve much from the
homeland, for their loyalty to the cause and for their multiplied and important
services to the liberating army in the most difficult circumstances of the Republic.
(Denegri, 1975, pp. 184, 185).
As can be seen in the first recital, the Liberator and his minister governed in accordance
with the Constitution of 1823, which in its article 184° provided that there should be
universities in the department capitals. Therefore, the foundation of the University of
Trujillo was, on the one hand, the result of the law and, on the other hand, thanks to the
patriotic support of the people of Trujillo to the Liberator Army in the most difficult
moments, as highlighted in the third recital. But the fact that is important to underline
in the first recital refers to the transcendent role of the University: "to promote public
instruction, on which the support and security of social rights depend to a great extent".
The freedom of the people was a priority in the agenda of Bolivar and Sanchez Carrion
and should be developed smoothly to turn it into a perpetual good. It was urgent to
settle historical debts, especially with vulnerable segments of the population, such as
blacks and Indians. Thus, regarding the freedom of slaves, on July 21, 1816, Bolivar
signed a decree in the barracks of Carúpano, which in its third article states: "The new
citizen who refuses to take up arms to fulfill the sacred duty of defending his freedom,
will be subject to servitude, not only he, but also his children under fourteen years of
age, his wife and his elderly parents". Years later, on March 11, 1818, in Villa de Cura,
he signed another decree, which in its second article alludes: "Once slavery is abolished
in Venezuela, all men who were previously slaves will present themselves to the service
to defend their freedom". These measures are tangible evidence of vindication to the
oppressed who longed for their freedom and dignity.
Another milestone in the liberation of slaves was marked by José Faustino Sánchez
Carrión, when on April 23, 1824 he manumitted in Trujillo his slave brought from Lima;
however, in republican Peru it took three decades for President Ramón Castilla to
decree the abolition of slaves on December 3, 1854 and President Abraham Lincoln
decreed on January 1, 1863 the end of slavery and equal rights and privileges for all
settlers in the United States of North America.
The respect for the human dignity of the Indians was evidenced in the work of the hero
Sanchez Carrion in his parliamentary work, as he advocated for their dignity and rights.
The vindication of this vulnerable segment of the population was expressed in the Letter
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía, Migdonio Nicolás Esquivel Grados
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
45
to the Indians of the interior provinces of October 10, 1822, when the hero endorsed it
as deputy secretary of the Congress together with other constituents, who stated:
Noble children of the sun, beloved brothers, to you virtuous Indians, we address
the word, and do not be astonished that we call you brothers; we are indeed,
descendants of the same parents; we form a single family and with the soil that
belongs to us, we have also recovered our dignity and our rights. (Tamayo and
Pacheco, 1974, pp. 94-95)
On April 8, 1824, Bolivar and Sanchez Carrion signed a decree affirming agricultural
property, Article 3 of which states: "The lands called community lands will be divided
according to ordinance among all the Indians who do not enjoy any other kind of
land..." (Valdiviezo, 1989, p. 55). (Valdiviezo, 1989, p. 55). This decree was an express
recognition of the dignity of the native settlers of deep Peru, the protection of a race
from the exploitation to which it had fallen victim, whose lands were one day taken from
their ancestors by usurpers from the Iberian Peninsula. The message of both guides was
very clear: freedom had no basis if it did not mean the vindication of the dignity of races
and peoples.
Although the Peruvian Independence Revolution was led by Creoles, enlightened
Indians, such as Túpac Amaru II, successor of the last rebel Inca Túpac Amaru I, or Mateo
García Pumacahua, a military officer directly descended from the Inca Huayna Cápac,
also played an important role in this feat. Regarding the vindication of the Indians as a
precious fruit of emancipation, Mariátegui (1977) refers: "The liberal program of the
Revolution logically included the redemption of the Indian, an automatic consequence
of its egalitarian postulates. Thus, among the first acts of the Republic, there were
several laws and decrees favorable to the Indians. The distribution of land, the abolition
of free labor, etc., were ordered". (p. 46)
But freedom has no meaning in a society of ignorant people either, because only if a
people is educated can it be free. Therefore, ensuring the freedom of the continent
implied offering education to the people, since independence did not depend only on
the expulsion of the viceroys of Peru and America. The distinguished soldier from
Caracas had firm convictions regarding the role of education, which are reflected in his
famous thoughts: "the health of a Republic depends on the morals that citizens acquire
through education in their childhood" (Alvarez del Real, 1988, p. 266). He also asserted
that the "true foundation of happiness is education" (ibidem, p. 260).
Simón Bolívar's ideas on popular education were endorsed by his minister and close
collaborator Sánchez Carrión and recognized by the University of San Marcos. They
were then translated into the foundation of educational institutions in many towns with
the purpose of training the new individuals of the new continent. "For the Liberator
Bolivar, the most powerful instrument of liberation was in the educational reform that
made his victories profitable, gave them a transcendent and constructive sense.
Because its purpose was to form a new Hispano-American man" (Valcárcel, 1974, p.
129). But it was also necessary to have teachers to educate, for which they issued a
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
46
decree on January 31, 1825 that provided for the founding of Normal Schools in each
departmental capital; however, when the Liberator left Peru, the decree was not
applied. Only after half a century the formation in Lima began timidly in the Normal
School for Women in 1876 and in the Normal School for Men in 1905. And the thinking
elite defending social rights had to be trained at the University founded in Trujillo.
Health is also a social right par excellence, so the fruit of Bolivar's governmental work
was the foundation of hospitals to attend to the health of the people. In the second part
of his government, Bolivar reinforced the work he had done with Sanchez Carrion with
other ministers. And since health was a priority issue in his governmental mission, the
Liberator chose the renowned physician Hipólito Unanue as minister "first in the Ministry
of Finance and later in the Ministries of Government and Foreign Affairs, becoming vice
president of the Government Council in charge of the command during the absence of
the Liberator (April 10, 1825 to January 5, 1826)". (Pamo, 2009)
Being a lawyer, Sanchez Carrion could not be indifferent to the problem of justice. He
convinced the Liberator and they both instituted the tutelary bodies for the
administration of justice: the Superior Court of Justice of Trujillo on March 26, 1824, the
Supreme Court of Justice on December 10, 1824 and a few days later the Superior
Court of Justice of Lima, on December 22. In this way, both characters sought to ensure
the administration of justice for all, a bastion of a country that must live in democracy.
In this line of thought, it is worth mentioning the judgment of the historian Raúl Porras
Barrenechea about the Solitario de Sayán, who finds in this hero "the purest legacy of
our democratic doctrine" (quoted by Estremadoyro, 1990, p. 375).
In order to guarantee the proper administration of justice, on May 31, 1824, a decree
was issued to sanction judges and public employees who prevaricated, as can be seen
in the first articles of the operative part:
Article I. Judges who knowingly judge against the law, out of affection or disaffection
for any of the litigants or other persons, are guilty of malfeasance.
Article II. Any magistrate or judge who commits this offense shall be deprived of his
employment and disqualified from holding any office; and shall pay to the aggrieved
party all costs and damages. If the prevarication was in a criminal case, he shall also
suffer the same penalty that was unjustly imposed on the defendant. (Castro and
Dulanto, 2001, p. 127).
Such was the strictness of the decree that had as its objective that in the Courts
of Justice the judges impart upright justice, without distinction of social,
economic, etc. condition. Justice should be equal for all: natives, Indians, Creoles,
poor, wealthy, etc. This decree was the product of equanimous, just and visionary
minds, like those of Bolivar and Sanchez Carrion. Already in 1915, Bolivar had
stated that "Justice is the queen of republican virtues, and with it equality and
liberty are sustained". (Álvarez, 1988, p. 36).
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía, Migdonio Nicolás Esquivel Grados
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
47
The scrupulous and austere management of the treasury in order to direct resources to
the emancipation campaign, education, health and justice of the people was
characteristic of the Liberator and his minister. The resources were necessary for the
strengthening of the army; the foundation and operation of schools, colleges, hospitals
and Courts of Justice; that is why, in their eagerness to preserve the ethics of the public
official and avoid rascalities, they published on January 2, 1824 a moralizing decree that
in its first recital refers: "That one of the main causes of the disasters in which the
Republic has been involved has been the scandalous squandering of its funds, by some
officials who have intervened in them" and in the first resolutive article refers: "Any
public official, who is convinced in summary trial, of having embezzled or taken for
himself from the public funds of ten pesos above, is subject to capital punishment"
(Denegri, 1975, p. 142). It was a policy of zero tolerance to bad public officials, which is
required in these times of scandalous corruption in the governments of Peru and many
countries of Latin America and the whole world.
The introduction of social rights marked a historical milestone that emerged with the
first republican University as a result of the concern for the dignity of the peoples,
marginalized social groups and the indigenous race that for centuries suffered
plundering of which they had been victims during colonialism. The defense of these
rights turned the Liberator and his unique minister into genuine precursors of this type
of rights in Peru, America and the whole world, an action typical of statesmen and
visionaries that constitutes an accurate indicator of an advanced vindicating thought of
men and peoples oppressed for centuries.
"Once the war was over, Bolivar also saw the time had come to accelerate social reform"
(Perez, 1986, p. 12) with the help of his collaborators, Sanchez Carrion being the most
prominent. Thus, to redeem a people oppressed for three centuries, that in 1824
"practically two thirds of the population were Indians" (Roel, 1996, p. 13), decrees were
issued to favor them, such as freeing them from taxes, promoting education, providing
justice, combating corruption, among others. The road to the realization of social rights
was underway; however, when their promoters left the government, they were forgotten
for almost a century to achieve legal status.
The expression "social rights" was a novel contribution that was not contemplated in
the Peruvian Constitution of 1823 or in international norms. At present, economic, social
and cultural rights are abbreviated as social rights, which "achieved their legal and
political recognition in the twentieth century" (Vicente, 2006, p. 13). However, it should
be borne in mind that social rights should be conceived on a par with human rights.
In this sense, it is important to remember that the legal history of human rights
begins in the modern age, with the recognition of the rule of law and the individual
human rights that serve as its support and foundation, while recognizing the
foundational support of the idea of human dignity, from the first reflections on the
morality of humanity in the Western world.
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
48
The first formulations of the rule of law correspond to the liberal rule of law and
the recognition of individual rights and freedoms, which appear as rights of the
citizen, that is, guaranteed only to those persons who had the status of citizens.
(ibidem, p. 13)
Precisely, the topic of social rights was a novel contribution that emerged from the
genius of Simón Bolívar and José Faustino Sánchez Carrión in the twenties of the 19th
century, a contribution that crystallized in the various Constitutions a century later. But
what message did both leaders give when they included the category of social rights in
the founding decree of the first republican University? It was a message of deep
humanitarian content that emerged from the genius of two social reformers, political
ideologists, strategists, statesmen and intellectuals of the widest spectrum.
In line with the protection of rights proposed by Bolivar and Sanchez Carrion, after more
than sixty years, on May 15, 1891, Pope Leo XIII published his encyclical letter Rerum
Novarum, a response of the Church to those who sullied the dignity of workers and
practiced labor exploitation; that is, with this document that explained the deplorable
situation of workers and defended their rights, the so-called Social Doctrine of the
Catholic Church began. But before the Catholic Church, a response to the serious
problem of labor exploitation was published in 1848 in the famous Manifesto of the
Communist Party by Marx and Engels. Both authors present a historical vision and point
out that the political and cultural changes that produced bourgeois society arose from
the disintegration of feudal society, which meant the positioning of the bourgeoisie as
the dominant class, owner of the means of production and responsible for the abuses
of the workers. Likewise, the authors state that the proletariat is the new revolutionary
class that will put an end to the bourgeois system, in order to immediately set in motion
the new relations of production. This was the categorical answer from the other side of
those who implemented the exploitation of the workers as a natural form of action and
enrichment.
The so-called "social question" or "social problem" was nothing other than the
reference to the misery of the working class due to the unjust treatment it received from
the owners of the means of production who were mercilessly enriching themselves. As
indicated by López-Rodríguez (1997), the Leonian encyclical "directly confronted the
so-called "social question"", and in commemorating the centenary of the encyclical,
the Archbishop of Lima Vargas (1991), stated that "it has been a particularly intense
century. Humanity has seen remarkable advances and has seen how unimaginable
heights have been reached in the development of science and technology. But it has
also contemplated, not without consternation, how the dignity of the human person has
been lowered and his life has been trampled upon to unsuspected limits" (p. 5).
Likewise, the cardinal points out, "I want to raise my voice, keeping in mind the example
of Leo XIII, to defend above all the human dignity of the weak and abandoned" (pp. 8,
9). The aforementioned archbishop, later a cardinal, from the point of view of the
Catholic Church, points out that human dignity is being progressively lowered, which
occurred before the appearance of the aforementioned papal encyclical. This shows
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía, Migdonio Nicolás Esquivel Grados
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
49
that, from the point of view of the Church, there is a deterioration of social rights, in
spite of having achieved more and more space in the theoretical juridical sphere.
With the arrival of the twentieth century, social rights were only recently emphasized in
the legal framework of several countries, such as the Constitution of the United States
of Mexico of 1917 and the Constitution of Peru of 1920 (Orbegoso, 2016); they were
also considered in the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited Peoples
incorporated into the Constitution of the Russian Federative Socialist Soviet Republic
(1918), the Weimar Constitution of Germany (1919), the Constitution of the Spanish
Republic (1931), the Constitution of Ireland (1937), among others. Social rights were not
part of the agenda of successive military governments and scarce presence of civilian
governments in the 19th century. During this time, from being a colony of Spain, Peru
became a "colony of foreigners administered by Peruvian civil servants" as stated in
1900 by Dr. Villarán (cited by Roel, 1996, p. 21). Thus, what progress was made in the
golden years of the Republic, in time became a setback for the rights of the Indians and
the exploited.
Kartashkin (1984) reports that economic, social and cultural rights have achieved
increasingly transcendental places in the legal systems and political aspirations of many
countries, as well as the attention of various international organizations, such as the
United Nations. Thus, while constitutions and legislative acts in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries primarily considered civil and political rights, economic and social
rights were seen as a by-product of the development of those rights.
In the aftermath of World War II, the history of human rights marks a transcendent
milestone: the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document adopted by
the UN General Assembly in its Resolution 217 A (III) of December 10, 1948 in Paris.
Throughout the universe, this remarkable document had an express constitutional
recognition of civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.
The latter three, which are stipulated in articles 22 to 27, are spelled out in detail in the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, whose provisions are
designed to establish binding obligations among the member states that subscribe to
the Covenant, which is not necessarily the case with the Universal Declaration.
The UN Assembly decided on the adoption of two separate conventions adopted in
1966: one relating to civil and political rights, and the other to economic, social and
cultural rights, a duality motivated by the different nature of the measures to be taken
to achieve their fulfillment, and not to symbolize differences between these blocks of
rights. It should be noted that both conventions explicitly recognize that the ideal of
free people can only be achieved when they are guaranteed the enjoyment of all rights,
economic, social and cultural as well as civil and political. Thus, from a historical
perspective, the measures adopted by the supranational Assembly are late compared
to the proposals made in 1824 by Simón Bolívar and Sánchez Carrión, which clearly
indicates how far ahead of their time they were in terms of social rights, associated with
the freedom and dignity of peoples.
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
50
In the history of Peru, it was in 1920 that for the first time social rights, enunciated in
1824 by Bolivar and Sanchez Carrion, were included in the Political Constitution in its
Title IV called social guarantees. The consecration of these rights, as indicated by
Orbegoso (2016), were the result of the influence of the Mexican Constitution of 1917.
But it should also be noted the influence of the arduous days of workers' struggle in
Peru for the eight hours of work, which was won on January 15, 1919, the student
struggles for university reform led by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, rather than the ideals
of the liberators, which were forgotten in their true dimension by successive
governments for a long period of almost a century. Generally, it has been the people's
struggles that have wrested their demands from power and from treacherous and
abusive governments.
In Peruvian history, decades after the achievements in the 1920 Constitution, the
inventory of social rights appeared shining in the 1979 Political Constitution, which was
the result of a Constituent Assembly presided by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre; but this
time it was strongly influenced by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the various
international treaties on human rights, such as the UN Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights adopted on December 16, 1966 and entered into force on January
3, 1976. And it was with the Constitution of 1993 that the Constitutional Court began
to develop its content. This important supreme Court, in its file No. 2945-2003-AA/TC
(Legal Ground 10), clearly refers that social rights are those "tuitive powers aimed at
favoring those human groups with accidental characteristics differentiated in relation to
others by cultural factors, or who are disadvantaged for economic-social reasons, that
is, with a depreciated position or location in their standards of living, not in accordance
with human dignity." (Orbegoso, 2016)
The independence of Peru, like that of other South American countries, could not have
the meaning it deserved if the new State and institutions did not sponsor the social
rights of the most vulnerable people, who were a bulwark in the Liberation Army. Bolivar
and Sanchez Carrion worked along these lines; however, it took nearly a century for the
rights that were raised in 1824 to be manifested. How much effort it cost the
aforementioned protagonists to attend to the libertarian feat and stipulate early the
social rights of historically marginalized groups, such as indigenous people, peasants,
workers, among others; but in Peru and the world the legalization of these rights has
been late, which means a delayed response to the respect for human dignity, which is
presumed to be one of the main pillars of the social and democratic rule of law.
Conclusions
Simón Bolívar and José Faustino Sánchez Carrión were forerunners and standard
bearers of social rights in Peru, the republican America and the world, because both
formulated them explicitly in the first recital of the decree of foundation of the University
of Trujillo on May 10, 1824 in the difficult hour of the libertarian deed; because they
exhorted that of the formation provided in this Higher House of Studies will depend on
the support and security of these rights. The University was the reward for the
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía, Migdonio Nicolás Esquivel Grados
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
51
achievement of freedom, to the outstanding effort of the inhabitants of the department
of Trujillo (now La Libertad), located in the north of the Peruvian territory.
The Liberator and his general minister made the greatest efforts to recognize the social
rights proposed in 1824. Therefore, at the same time that independence was sealed,
they founded schools and colleges, decreed the training of teachers to eradicate
illiteracy, ordered the manumission of slaves, decreed the distribution of land to the
indigenous people, founded guardian institutions for the administration of justice,
among other measures in favor of the people, constituted by two thirds of Indians.
However, the constitutional recognition of social rights was ignored for a long time,
since it was not until the arrival of the 20th century that they were adopted in the
Mexican Charter of 1917 and later by Latin American social constitutionalism.
The social rights enunciated by Bolivar and Sanchez Carrion have transcended time,
being established in the Political Constitutions of various countries, such as the 1920
Political Constitution of Peru, motivated by the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and the
Peruvian social struggles to achieve the eight-hour workday of 1919; the Peruvian
Constitution of 1979, influenced by the Spanish Constitution of 1978; and the UN
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966. However, it was not until
the 1993 Constitution that the Peruvian Constitutional Court developed its content.
Therefore, the social rights that emerged with the Republic of the genius of two leaders,
fit with the permanent aspirations of the population for better living conditions and
respect for their dignity, in a country that provides equal opportunities and without
discrimination.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
References
Alfonso, I. (1994). Técnicas de investigación
bibliográfica. Contexto Ediciones.
Castro, L. and Dulanto, F. [eds.] (2001). José
Faustino Sánchez Carrión. En defensa de
la patria. Fondo Editorial del Congreso de
la República.
Álvarez, M. E. (1988). Thoughts of Bolivar.
América.
Bacacorzo, G. (July 23, 2004). Actualidad del
Pensamiento del Libertador Simón
Bolívar. Speech at the Ceremony
commemorating the 221st Anniversary of
the birth of the Liberator Simón Bolívar
and the Day of Andean Unity.
http://www.comunidadandina.org/Prensa
.aspx?id=2134&accion=detalle&cat=DI&t
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
52
itle=actualidad-del-pensamiento-del-
libertador-simon-bolivar
Basadre, J. (1981). Peruvians of the XIX
century. Rikchay Perú.
Benvenuto, N. (1930). José Faustino Sánchez
Carrión, hero of national independence.
Imprenta Americana.
Campos, J. (1986). Bolívar. Salvat.
Centurión, H. (1984). José Faustino Sánchez
Carrión. Minister of the Liberator. National
University of Trujillo.
Chamané, R. (1990). Las ideas y los hombres.
Thinkers of Peru. Editora Magisterial.
Denegri, F. [editor] (1975). Documentary
collection of the Independence of Peru,
volume XIV. Obra gubernativa y
epistolario de Bolívar, vol. 1°, Legislación
1823 - 1825. National Commission of the
Sesquicentennial of the Independence of
Peru.
Estremadoyro, C. (1990). Diccionario histórico
biográfico. Illustrious Peruvians. (3rd ed.).
Científica.
Galarreta, J. (2011). Sánchez Carrión. Passion
and course of freedom. Papel de Viento
Editores.
Gutiérrez, A. (2005). Simón Bolívar: an
approach to the Liberator's thought.
Araucaria. Revista Iberoamericana de
Filosofía, Política y Humanidades, 8(14).
https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/28
362/1/BolivarPen.pdf
Kartashkin, V. (1984). Economic, social and
cultural rights. In AA.VV. (Eds.). The
international dimensions of human rights
(168-172). Ediciones del Serbal and
Unesco.
López-Rodríguez, T. (1997). Leo XIII and the
social question (1891-1903).
https://dadun.unav.edu/bitstream/10171/
8970/1/1203867.pdf
José Theódulo Esquivel Grados, Valia Luz Venegas Mejía, Migdonio Nicolás Esquivel Grados
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
53
Mariátegui, J. C. (1977). 7 ensayos de
interpretación de la realidad peruana
(38th ed.). Empresa Editora Amauta.
Orbegoso, M. (2016). Social rights in Peru. The
influence of the Mexican Constitution of
1917. IUS. Journal of the Instituto de
Ciencias Jurídicas de Puebla AC, 10(38), 1-
22.
http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?scri
pt=sci_arttext&pid=S1870-
21472016000200003
Pamo, O. G. (2009). The medical heroes of
Peruvian independence. Acta Médica
Peruana, 26(1), 58-66.
http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?scrip
t=sci_arttext&pid=S1728-
59172009000100013
Pérez, M. (1986). El Legado histórico de Bolívar
(prologue). In J. Campos. Bolívar (pp. 9-
14). Salvat.
Robles, E. (January-December 2004).
Foundation and installation of the
National University of Trujillo. Norte, (10),
48-55.
Roel, V. (1996). La revolución científica y
tecnológica y la nueva reforma
universitaria. Lima: Herrera Editores.
Tamayo, A. and Pacheco, C. (1974).
Documentary Collection of the
Independence of Peru, volume I, vol. 9.
Comisión Nacional del Sesquicentenario
de la Independencia del Perú.
Valcárcel, C. D. (1974). Bolivar's educational
work and his reception in San Marcos.
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San
Marcos.
Valdiviezo, A. (1989). Medidas de Gobierno de
la Dictadura de Bolívar en el Norte del
Perú. Libertad.
Vargas, A. (1991). A hundred years after
"Rerum Novarum". Latina.
The first republican university in Latin America and social rights: an analysis from the work of Bolivar and Sanchez
Carrion
<
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación científica, Vol. 5, No. 39
October - December 2021. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 36-54
54
Vicente, T. (2006). La exigibilidad de los
derechos sociales. Tirant Lo Blanch.
Villarán, M. V. (1999). Essay on the
constitutional ideas of Bolívar. Bolívar,
Journal of the Andean Community of
Nations, 63-89.
Villavicencio, V. M. (1955). Sánchez Carrión.
Ministro General itinerante de Bolívar.
Junín.
