Caudillos in Latin America: Santander & Páez
Caudillos are synonymous with Latin American government. Caudillos were populist rulers in Latin America that sought to overturn an elitist government. Often, caudillos are thought of as military dictators that forced their way into power while, in reality, they gained popularity among the masses by organizing military and political efforts against the few rich, influential people in Latin American countries at the time. This was very appealing to the rural and poverty-stricken majority of many Latin American countries at the time. I will attempt to compare and contrast between two popular caudillos- Francisco de Paula Santander of present-day Colombia and José Antonio Páez of Venezuela.
Santander was an early 19th century leader of New Granada- now Columbia- that fought alongside Simón Bolívar. During the struggle for independence of Latin America from Spain, the seemingly like minds of Santander and Bolívar grew more and more acquainted, and Santander was permitted to politically control regions of Latin America when Bolívar was unable to. While Santander and Bolívar had similar ideas concerning Latin American independence, they did not share a completely identical ideology. Their growing differences became insurmountable when Bolívar chose not to permit independence of Venezuela from Colombia. The conflict of the secession of Venezuela caused problems not only between the two revolutionaries, but between the citizens of New Granada as well. The conflict came to a head when there was an assassination attempt on Bolívar’s life. Given the outspoken disagreement between Bolívar and Santander, many believed that the latter was behind the plan to kill Bolívar. Due to lack of incriminating evidence, Santander was exiled instead of executed. Santander would return to Columbia a few years later to become the next president as a new constitution was written. Santander’s time as president was different than Bolívar’s in the fact that Santander opposed lifelong presidency terms and direct appointment of successor, as well as closing off Colombia to industrialized nations (Santander believed economic growth was encouraged by relationship with developed nations such as the United States). Despite having a more liberal ideology than Bolívar and different views on political leadership, Santander was somewhat similar to Bolívar in the fact that he ruled the nation with an iron fist and did not permit the differing ideas to run rampant throughout the country, swiftly and harshly shutting down opposition.
Within the same time frame as Santander’s rise to power, the José Antonio Páez was gaining momentum in the region of Gran Colombia that is now Venezuela. Similarly to Santander, Páez came to power through his military feats. He soon came to represent the plains people who opposed Spanish rule in the region. This desire for independence of his region allied him with Bolívar; he was made chief commander of Venezuela under Bolívar’s rule. He was charismatic and well-liked among the people of the region due to his humble origins as a cattle farmer and mestizo. This allure would serve him well as we held control over Venezuela for many years whether he was president or not. While Páez did have a more conservative view than other leaders at the time, he was credited with introducing religious tolerance to the region, abiding by the law, and not seeking to pass legislature for personal gain. While Páez did not enact his political power over the people of Venezuela using force, he did act on behalf of the people seeking independence from Spain and then Gran Colombia using force.
Both Santander and Páez are seen as caudillos of Latin America that have risen to power through popular support. Santander was perhaps more concerned with overturning the notion of having one or few people in power- he opposed Bolívar’s lifelong presidency proposition- than Páez who was content to mingle amongst the elite oligarchy so long as he retained control. However, both were respected by the “common people” of their respective countries and came to rule and defend their countries fiercely against what they deemed a threat.
References
Hellinger, Daniel. 2011. Comparative Politics of Latin America: Democracy at Last? 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Francisco De Paula Santander.” Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/francisco-de-paula-santander (October 23, 2016).
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Páez, José Antonio | Encyclopedia Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/jose-antonio- paez/images-videos/jose-antonio-paez-detail-of-a-portrait-by-an-unknown/13335 (October 23, 2016).
