From Spain to New Spain: Revisiting the Potestas Populi in Hispanic Political Thought

• Published in: Mexican studies 2008-07, Vol.24 (2), p.185-219
• Main Author: Quijada, Monica
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Conservatism; Decision making; Hispanic Americans; Historiography; Latin American history; Learning; Legitimacy; Liberalism; Mexico; Modernity; Political change; Political Ideologies; Political Power; Political science; Political science theories; Politics; Public opinion; Radical groups; Radicalism; Reality; Revolutions; Spain
• ISSN: 0742-9797; 1533-8320
• DOI: 10.1525/msem.2008.24.2.185

This work studies the configuration in Hispanic political thought of the principle that true political legitimacy is based on the consent of the community and on the contractual nature of the origin of political power. The goal is to recover viewpoints that have been obscured by a Hispanist historiography, that is, a historiography of those whose work on the Hispanic world, which has focused on some authors and excluded others who were as significant and as influential. Moreover, this work seeks to highlight the unique aspects of that tradition in light of how historiography classifies diverse expressions of modern political thought in relation to their conservative or radical potential which, in the end, foreshadow their relation with, and influence on, the political changes of modernity. This article argues that the development of the principle of potestas populi within Hispanic political thought forms part of the long tradition of 'radical ideas' that nourished modern revolutions and that this tradition was taken even further when it was applied to -- the then recently discovered, that is, conquered -- American populations. Finally, this work maintains that political thought should be reconsidered from a viewpoint that is not focused on a world of readers and academic learning -- in which ideas, references, and texts are passed among individuals or groups of individuals -- but on a more flexible notion and a wider scope: the concept of imaginaire, that is, how societies represent and perceive themselves. The reality of imaginaires resides in their very existence, their impact on mentality and behavior, and in their capacity to influence decision-making processes. Adapted from the source document.