The peruvianism of Ádám Anderle

José Ignacio López Soria

Published in: Bulletin. Casa Museo José Carlos Mariátegui. Lima, (95), p. 14-16, May-July 2917.

Studies on Latin America in Hungary have a long history. They were carefully cultivated in the 1960s at the University of Economic Sciences "Karl Marx" in Budapest, at the University of Science "Loránd Eötvös" in Budapest, in the area of ​​language and literature, under the leadership of Professor Matyás Horányi, and at Józef Attila University of Science in Szeged in the area of ​​history, on the initiative and under the guidance of Professor Tibor Wittman. Professor Wittman died soon, but he had enough time to strengthen the Latin American history area, write a synthesis of our history -which I had the pleasure of translating into Spanish -, strengthen the Acta Historica series with Latin American themes, and, specially, to form some notable disciples, among whom stands out Ádám Anderle. Professor Anderle, who left us a few months ago, followed in the footsteps of his teacher, continued with the formation of specialists in American history, expanded the topics of work and research, promoted studies in Castilian linguistics in Szeged, strengthened the studies of our America in Europe forming networks of academic centers, and what is fundamental for us, he was a man in love with Peru and especially the work of José Carlos Mariátegui.

The academic production of Anderle is very broad. Some titles of his first works: The Peruvian agrarian problem in the years of 1920; The fundamental features of Apra's ideology at the time of the party's creation (1928-1932); Communists and Apristas in the thirties in Peru (1930-1935); Political movements in Peru between the two world wars; National consciousness and continentalism in Latin America in the first half of the twentieth century; The beginnings of the Cuban labor movement; The kuraka in colonial society; J.C. Mariátegui and the Peruvian labor movement in the 1920s. This last work was a lecture at the conference that Professor Anderle organized in Szeged in honor of Mariátegui in October 1975, and in which other prominent schplars of Peruvian subjects such as György Kerekes participated, "José Carlos Mariátegui, outstanding thinker of Latin America"; András Gulyás, "The indigenous problem in the literature of the 1920s and Mariátegui's Marxist conception"; and Zoltan Kollár, "Foreign Capital and Underdevelopment in Latin America."

I also remember with affection and gratitude the support that Ádám Anderle gave to my wife, Malena Salas, for the preparation and presentation at the University of Szeged of his work on the commercial relations between Hungary and Latin America from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, to obtain a doctorate in history.

As examples of Professor Anderle's dedication to the study of Peru's history, I will briefly mention two of his works. In "Communists and Apristas in the Thirties in Peru (1930-1935)", published in 1978, Ádám Anderle presents, firstly, the influence of the world crisis on the Peruvian economy and its consequences on living and working conditions of the working class. Unemployment in mining in the central region and in Lima and Callao sharpened the social movement. These areas became the main scene of action of the organized workers. The CGTP (General Confederation of Peruvian Workers), formed shortly before, played a fundamental role in the promotion, organization and articulation of the social movement. Anderle then refers to the strike in Morocha in 1929 and its successful results not only for the benefits obtained but for the impetus she gave to the workers' organization in the central highlands and their relations with Lima groups led by Mariategui. Meanwhile, Leguia's government staggered, the masses and the middle sectors occupied the streets and the traditional ruling class was unable to organize or elaborate a proposal to exit the crisis. In these circumstances, a sector of the Army, with Sánchez Cerro at the head, gives a coup d'État that establishes temporarily a military government. Of this process Anderle emphasizes several aspects that I consider important: the efforts of socialists and Apristas to organize trade unions (CGTP and CTP), the articulations between the proletarian and peasant movements, the coincidences with the student movement, the importance given to the formation of the working classes (Popular Universities and Workers and Peasants Schools), the unfortunate directives emanating from the South American Bureau of the Comintern, the successes of the organizers of APRA abroad. It should also be noted that Professor Anderle, in this study, is one of the first to draw attention to the presence in Peru of fascism as an ideology and as a political organization.

The second paper, published in Hungarian in 1976 and titled "J. C. Mariátegui és a perui munkásmozgalom az 1920-as években "(J. C. Mariátegui and the Peruvian labor movement in the 1920s"), Professor Anderle analyzes the political problems of the time and studies in particular the work of Mariátegui in the formation of class conscience of workers between 1923 and 1926. Before, however, briefly presents the movement of workers and craftsmen and their anarchist and libertarian orientation of the first two decades of the twentieth century, as well as the university reform movement between 1919 and 1923. After that, Anderle highlights the importance of the cycle of lectures on the history of the world crisis and its connection with the emergence of fascism offered by Mariátegui from July 1923 to January 1924. On the other hand, it deals with the publications Claridad, La Protesta and El Obrero Textil. Among the sources on which Anderle's study is based, we can mention the historiographical works of well-known authors such as J. Basadre, P. Klaren, V. Kapsoli, R. Martinez de la Torre and others, as well as magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and leaflets of the time and, of course, the writings of Mariátegui. 

Unfortunately, Ádám left us before we could imagine, but, like his teacher Tibor Wittman, left us his work as an inheritance and had the wisdom to be forming throughout his teaching and research work a handful of young people who do not lack enthusiasm and ability to continue and expand the work of their teachers.