SPAN312

End of Facundo

Hard for me to read latin american literature in English and finding it interesting is quite a good feeling. But if this is my space, my blog, and my personal opinion about what emotions I can have with this book, then I want to say the truth, saying that I don’t find how can this book possibly be one of the greatest literature of Latin American??? Is it also part of the ironic elements in the style of the book?
As I was reading the chapters, and as the end came closer my senses were getting me straight to confusion.

“I believe that Rosas made manifest is the crass ignorance in which Europe exists regarding European interests in America, and the true means of making those interests prosper without diminishing American independence” (Sarmiento, pp228)

The problem in almost all Latin American governments and in much cases is true is that we try to imitate Constitutions, governments, laws, education, and economic systems from those of Europe or North America and that’s what lead us to be under developing countries and having spaces for totalitarian governments whose intentions to control and unified the opinions are in consequence of feeling uncomfortable with the way foreigners want to established their economic, cultural, and political systems.

Im not saying that I am in favor of the Dictatorships in Latin America that occurred and damage the progress of these region, or that they exist due to reasonable aspects but it is true that we do no had in the past democratic governments because we didn’t seek for our own rules, based on our traditions, on our people, (not trying to bring Europeans), this Eurocentric vision is what in fact

Im sure that Sarmiento knows the power that words can have and we know he is a well educated man who seeks for a free Argentine Republic, but why he has so much admiration to Europe thoughts?? Wasn´t it barbaric from the Spaniards the way the conquer and exploit America? Does Sarmiento knew about the Aztec empire massacre? And wasn´t that barbaric?? Where does France and England were when the knew about the atrocities the Spanish were doing? Didn´t they turn their backs to the American?

Maybe that´s why nowadays the argentinian see in a superior way the other latin American citizen because they have never felt that feeling. Weird when one of the precursor of a Panamerican country was Marti. “El premio de los certámenes no ha de ser para la mejor oda, sino para el mejor estudio de los factores del país en que se vive. .. Conocer el país y gobernarlo conforme al conocimiento, es el único modo de librarlo de las tiranías” (MARTI: 1891).

Barbaric and Civilization, the dichotomy between gaucho-ciudadano, Rivadavia-llanos, America-Europe, sword-pen, but power for both.