Sobre el origen y difusión del nombre "América Latina" (o una variación heterodoxa en torno al tema de la construcción social de la verdad)

Abstract

The origin and dissemination of the name "Latin America" has been explained as a product of the French expansionist programme under Napoleon III. This version has been colectively accepted, and has become a "canonical" interpretation despite the problems it poses and the criticism it has raised, which has never been taken into consideration. This article intends to revise this version by examining its problems and inaccuracies, by drawing on information and previous critical elaborations, and by proposing an alternative interpretation which takes into account the original contexts, the pace of dissemination and the symbolical projections of the name "Latin" that paved the way for its successful adoption.