The war of the pacific (1879-1884) and the political use of its history in the 21st century

Abstract

More than one hundred and forty years after the War of the Pacific, which pitted Bolivia and Peru against Chile, it is still possible to find a discourse in the defeated countries that appeals to national sentiment and vindication faced with the confrontation's unfavorable consequences. It arises, from time to time, in harangues driven by political and electoral interests. This article analyzes the causes of these singular vestiges, despite the confrontation's conventional nineteenth-century conflict nature. To this end, it examines its territorial and economic causes, its development, its consequences, and the origin of the unjust war discourse in the defeated countries. It concludes that the discourse's source is the political use of history, which implies an anachronistic vision and attempts to rewrite history.