Elite cohesion and the endurance of the Peruvian oligarchy

Oligarchic power endured longer in Peru than in any other major Latin American nation. An oligarchy of wealthy families swayed Peruvian politics almost continuously from 1895 to 1968. Even when they did not dominate, the oligarchs exercised a powerful veto. This paper examines the...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Gilbert, Dennis, Samamé, Liliana
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2019
Country:Perú
Institution:Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Repository:Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Language:Spanish
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/21336
Online Access:http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/historica/article/view/21336
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Oligarchy
elites
1936 election
Political power
APRA
Oligarquía
élites
elección de 1936
poder político
Description
Summary:Oligarchic power endured longer in Peru than in any other major Latin American nation. An oligarchy of wealthy families swayed Peruvian politics almost continuously from 1895 to 1968. Even when they did not dominate, the oligarchs exercised a powerful veto. This paper examines the resilience of oligarchic power through the lens of classical elite theory. In particular, it focuses on the problem of elite cohesion as it was tested in the aborted 1936 election.