The conception of the conservative State: Bartolomé Herrera and his constitutional project of 1860

Abstract

This article refers us to the creation of the Peruvian State, standing out the figure of Bartolomé Herrera, one of the political voices of the nineteenth century in Peru. His proposals presented a state that kept everything under control, and was duly organized in order to circum­vent the evils of anarchy which had struck the country since the independence process. Following the call of the Congress of 1860, which was responsible for elab­orating a new constitution, bishop Herrera presented a constitutional project with the aim of strengthening the investiture of the Executive Branch and limiting the excessive power of the Legislative Branch. These propos­als sought to consolidate the “sovereignty of reason” for the creation of the state. Hence, it is interesting the way he conceived citizenship and constitutional rights.