Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre
Encyclopedia
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (22 February 1895 – 2 August 1979) was a Peru
vian political leader who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance
(APRA) political movement.
. In 1913, he enrolled in the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo to study literature, where he met and forged a solid friendship with the Peruvian poet César Vallejo
. He then enrolled in the National University of San Marcos
in Lima
.
He was instrumental in bringing the ideas of the Argentine University Reform movement (La Reforma) to San Marcos, and administrative reforms were instituted in 1919. Part of the reform movement was university extension programs, through which the university students hoped to reach the working classes.
To that end, Haya de la Torre founded the Universidades Populares Gonzalez Prada, night schools for workers, which according to some historians formed the foundation for the Partido Aprista Peruano.
As a young man Haya also taught at the Colegio Anglo-Peruano (now Colegio San Andres), a school operated by the Free Church of Scotland in Lima. He was deeply influenced by the headmaster of the school, John A. Mackay
, a Free Church missionary.
In 1923 Haya de la Torre was exiled by the government of Augusto B. Leguía.
On 7 May 1924, while in Mexico City
, Haya de la Torre founded the APRA and the pan-Latin American movement known as Aprismo. He returned to Peru in 1931 to run for President.
That year, he was imprisoned for 15 months and his party was outlawed until 1934 and then also from 1935 to 1945. In 1945, José Luis Bustamante y Rivero became president with APRA's support. Then, in 1948, some party dissidents revolted in Callao
and APRA was again outlawed.
In November of that year, Manuel Odría seized power and forced Haya de la Torre to seek asylum in the Colombia
n embassy in Lima where he remained for five years. The International Court of Justice at the Hague considered his case. Haya de la Torre was able to return to Peru in 1954 and his party was again legalized in 1956.
However, he continued to live mostly abroad until 1962. He ran for president again, obtaining victory by a slim margin but not enough to be constitutionally elected. Then, a military junta
annulled the elections. There were new elections in 1963, but Haya was defeated in the vote.
His party remained popular. In 1979 he became president of the constitutional assembly
, which drafted a new constitution
. On July 12, on his death bed, he signed the new constitution.
n (or, to use his preferred term, Indo-American) solutions to Latin American problems. He called upon the region to reject both U.S.
imperialism
and Soviet
communism
.
He favored universal democracy
, equal rights and respect for indigenous populations, and socialist economic policies such as agrarian reform
, based on the concept of communal land ownership, and state control of industry.
Haya de la Torre advocated the overthrow of the land-owning oligarchies that had ruled Peru since colonial days, replacing them with an idealistic socialist elite. However, in exchange for attaining legal status for the party, he made opportunistic ideological swings to the right, and by the 1950s it had jettisoned most of its progressive, socialist ideals.
In addition, Haya de la Torre's single-handed dominance APRA resulted in pronounced sectarian and hierarchical traits, resulted in an exodus of some of APRA's most talented young leaders to the Marxist
left.
Haya de la Torre clearly liked the company of young men. André Coyné, a well-respected French literary critic who happened to be both a good friend of Haya's and the loyal lover and supporter
of the Peruvian expatriate poet César Moro
, states that Haya
sometimes went to "bares de muchachos" (literally "young men's bars") with him,
but that he doesn't know whether Haya "ejercía" (i.e., practiced homosexuality)
.
In the end, Haya has never been found to have had any sexual partners, whether male or female. His supporters have sometimes claimed he had female lovers, but this has never been confirmed.
Haya's first and middle given names are Víctor Raúl. Combined, it is a popular boys' name among APRA members or sympathizers.
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian political leader who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance
American Popular Revolutionary Alliance
The Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana is a centre-left Peruvian political party.At the legislative elections held on 9 April 2006, the party won 22.6% of the popular vote and 36 out of 120 seats in the Congress of the Republic...
(APRA) political movement.
Life
Haya de la Torre was born in the northern Peruvian city of TrujilloTrujillo, Peru
Trujillo, in northwestern Peru, is the capital of the La Libertad Region, and the third largest city in Peru. The urban area has 811,979 inhabitants and is an economic hub in northern Peru...
. In 1913, he enrolled in the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo to study literature, where he met and forged a solid friendship with the Peruvian poet César Vallejo
César Vallejo
César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza was a Peruvian poet. Although he published only three books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators of the 20th century in any language. Thomas Merton called him "the greatest universal poet since Dante"...
. He then enrolled in the National University of San Marcos
National University of San Marcos
The National University of San Marcos is the most important and respected higher-education institution in Peru. Its main campus, the University City, is located in Lima...
in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
.
He was instrumental in bringing the ideas of the Argentine University Reform movement (La Reforma) to San Marcos, and administrative reforms were instituted in 1919. Part of the reform movement was university extension programs, through which the university students hoped to reach the working classes.
To that end, Haya de la Torre founded the Universidades Populares Gonzalez Prada, night schools for workers, which according to some historians formed the foundation for the Partido Aprista Peruano.
As a young man Haya also taught at the Colegio Anglo-Peruano (now Colegio San Andres), a school operated by the Free Church of Scotland in Lima. He was deeply influenced by the headmaster of the school, John A. Mackay
John A. Mackay
John A. Mackay was a Presbyterian theologian, missionary, and educator. He was a strong advocate of the Ecumenical Movement and World Christianity.-Early life and education:...
, a Free Church missionary.
In 1923 Haya de la Torre was exiled by the government of Augusto B. Leguía.
On 7 May 1924, while in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Haya de la Torre founded the APRA and the pan-Latin American movement known as Aprismo. He returned to Peru in 1931 to run for President.
That year, he was imprisoned for 15 months and his party was outlawed until 1934 and then also from 1935 to 1945. In 1945, José Luis Bustamante y Rivero became president with APRA's support. Then, in 1948, some party dissidents revolted in Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
and APRA was again outlawed.
In November of that year, Manuel Odría seized power and forced Haya de la Torre to seek asylum in the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n embassy in Lima where he remained for five years. The International Court of Justice at the Hague considered his case. Haya de la Torre was able to return to Peru in 1954 and his party was again legalized in 1956.
However, he continued to live mostly abroad until 1962. He ran for president again, obtaining victory by a slim margin but not enough to be constitutionally elected. Then, a military junta
Military junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
annulled the elections. There were new elections in 1963, but Haya was defeated in the vote.
His party remained popular. In 1979 he became president of the constitutional assembly
Constitutional Assembly
The Constitutional Assembly was a body elected in 1955 to draw up a permanent constitution for the Republic of Indonesia. It sat between November 10, 1956 and July 2, 1959...
, which drafted a new constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
. On July 12, on his death bed, he signed the new constitution.
Ideas
Haya de la Torre advocated a system of Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n (or, to use his preferred term, Indo-American) solutions to Latin American problems. He called upon the region to reject both U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.
He favored universal democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, equal rights and respect for indigenous populations, and socialist economic policies such as agrarian reform
Agrarian reform
Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land reform measures. Agrarian reform can include credit measures,...
, based on the concept of communal land ownership, and state control of industry.
Haya de la Torre advocated the overthrow of the land-owning oligarchies that had ruled Peru since colonial days, replacing them with an idealistic socialist elite. However, in exchange for attaining legal status for the party, he made opportunistic ideological swings to the right, and by the 1950s it had jettisoned most of its progressive, socialist ideals.
In addition, Haya de la Torre's single-handed dominance APRA resulted in pronounced sectarian and hierarchical traits, resulted in an exodus of some of APRA's most talented young leaders to the Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
left.
Personal life
The lack of love interests in Haya de la Torre's life was sometimes remarked upon. Haya de la Torre once stated to APRA members: El APRA es mi mujer y ustedes son mis hijos ("The Apra is my wife and you [the members] are my children"). However, rumours of homosexuality were scattered around the country during and after his life by his political enemies, generally in a crudely homophobic fashion.Haya de la Torre clearly liked the company of young men. André Coyné, a well-respected French literary critic who happened to be both a good friend of Haya's and the loyal lover and supporter
of the Peruvian expatriate poet César Moro
César Moro
César Moro is the pseudonym of Alfredo Quíspez Asín a Peruvian born poet and painter. He travelled to Paris in 1925 and most of his poetic works are written in French.-External links:* *...
, states that Haya
sometimes went to "bares de muchachos" (literally "young men's bars") with him,
but that he doesn't know whether Haya "ejercía" (i.e., practiced homosexuality)
.
In the end, Haya has never been found to have had any sexual partners, whether male or female. His supporters have sometimes claimed he had female lovers, but this has never been confirmed.
Haya's first and middle given names are Víctor Raúl. Combined, it is a popular boys' name among APRA members or sympathizers.
Quotation
External links
See also
- Asylum (Colombia/Peru)Asylum (Colombia/Peru)In the Asylum Case , judgement 20 November 1950 , the International Court of Justice recognised that Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice encompassed local custom as well as general custom, in much the same way as it encompasses bilateral and multilateral treaties....
- Politics of PeruPolitics of PeruPolitics of the Republic of Peru takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Peru is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
- List of Presidents of Peru