Books - Facundo

	Books - Facundo

Facundo (subtitled Civilization and Barbarism) is a book written by Argentinian Domingo Sarmiento in 1845. It was written partly in protest against the regime of Juan Manuel de Rosas, who ruled Argentina from 1835 to 1852.

In the book, the author explores the issue of civilization versus the cruder aspects of a caudillo culture of brutality and absolute power. Caudillo is a word denoting word designating "a politico-military leader at the head of an authoritative power". Caudillos are seen as the opposite of education, high culture, and civil stability. Caudillos introduce instability and chaos, which destroy societies through their blatant disregard for humanity and societal progress. In the book, Sarmiento portrays the rise of Juan Facundo Quiroga, an archetypical Argentine caudillo, his controversial rule, and his downfall. Civilization is represented by the metropolitan society of Buenos Aires.

Juan Facundo is wild and untamed in Argentina, in opposition to true progress through the common enlightenment of society. The book implies that the only way to truly achieve progress and a better world is through the taming of such leaders and a common education allowing the common man to philosophically recognize and oppose such exploitation.

Although immediately applicable to the Argentinian contemporary day, it is also applicable to the wider social questions facing Latin America as a whole during the mid-19th century. As caudillos took control and set up authoritarian governments, questions of what is best for the progress of society were largely ignored by the ruling elite for the more immediate goal of exploiting the masses.

Facundo, as a critique of both de Rosas and caudillos at large, introduced an opposition message that promoted an alternative that was more beneficial to society at large. This included education and honest officials who understood enlightenment ideas of European and Classical origin.

Sources

Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino, 1811-1888. Facundo : civilization and barbarism, the first complete English translation, Berkeley : University of California Press, c2003. (ISBN 0520081595, paper ISBN 0520239806)

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