Abstract

SUAREZ MAYORGA, Adriana María. The Construction of the Colombian Nation in Light of the Porfirian Model. Secuencia [online]. 2017, n.98, pp.99-129. ISSN 2395-8464.  https://doi.org/10.18234/secuencia.v0i98.1357.

The article analyzes the interest generated by the government of Porfirio Díaz among Colombian intelligentsia of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a model for nation building. Within this context, it examines the way Colombians used the Mexican example –either to endorse or criticize it– in order to propose solutions to the crisis in which the country was immersed. Methodologically, the research is based on the primary sources of the time (particularly books and newspapers), which are compared with the main literature on the subject. On the basis of the principle that is essential to begin to problematize national history by changing the scale of analysis, the main conclusion is that, beyond the similarities, this model failed to flourish in the Colombian setting because it involved violating three unshakable principles: republicanism, democracy and institutionality.

Keywords : Colombia; regeneration; Rafael Reyes; Porfirio Díaz; 19th and 20th centuries.