Presentation.

Independence from Other Centers: Reflections after the Bicentennial of the Battle of Ayacucho

Abstract

Commemorations are opportunities for reflection. And at a time when words are devalued in the political sphere—when what is said often bears little relation to what is done (if not its exact opposite), and laws are manipulated at the whim of individual wills, thereby corrupting their very purpose—historical reflection becomes all the more urgent. The study of the past always requires a horizon, something essential to transcend the short-term thinking and lack of future outlook that characterize politics today, not only in Peru. History may no longer be fashionable; it may no longer define national identity as it did a few decades ago, but it remains relevant at the regional level and ought to matter to everyone. As a discipline committed to uncovering the truth about the past, history should play a vital role in the public sphere—especially in times like ours, when truth is being systematically eroded in the service of authoritarianism.

This special issue of Argumentos responds to the open call “Independence from Other Centers,” launched by the journal last year to mark the bicentennial of the Battle of Ayacucho. It features seven scholarly articles by authors from different generations, academic contexts, and stages of their careers, all of whom take up the invitation to reflect “from other centers.” These centers are not only geographic—outside Lima, in line with a growing historiographical interest in the regions—but also thematic, engaging topics not usually associated with the study of independence. These include, for instance, oratory practices in educational institutions, as well as archival centers dispersed across various geographies—from Parinacochas in southern Ayacucho, to the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, to a private archive in Puno.