Origins of radical thought in Latin America: a comparative study of Jose Marti, Juan B. Justo, and Ricardo Flores Magon

This article summarizes the results, in the ideological sphere, of comparative research which analyzes the growth, evolution, and defeat of three projects of radical democratization in Latin America at the beginnings of Imperialism. Jose Marti (1853-1895) in Cuba, Juan B. Justo (1865-1928) in Argentina, and Ricardo Flores Magon (1874-1922) in Mexico led intellectual and political efforts aimed at overcoming the constraints inherited from colonial past that hindered national integration. This effort found expression in ideas on which the political parties they headed were built. Coming from different ideological and political premises, but referring to a common democratic purpose, our hypothesis is that these authors established a frame of reference for the maximum possible consciousness of radical activism in the continent during that period.