From the rio Magdalena to the rio de la Plata

Two cases of circulation and reception of ideas from the left in the first decades of the 20th century

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to describe the different ways in which the reception and circulation of the ideas of the left (freedom, equality, union and resistance) occurred, within the framework of the mobility of two popular intellectuals from Brazil and Colombia, during the first decades of the twentieth century. From a comparative perspective I will locate the forms of circulation through the deployment of both spatial and temporal scales, establishing rhythms, continuities and ruptures as constitutive elements of the circulation processes. For the Brazilian case, I will turn to the figure of Abilio de Nequete (Fiha, Líbano, 1888 - Porto Alegre, 7 de agosto de 1960). In Colombia, I will identify the trajectory of Raúl Eduardo Mahecha (El Guamo, octubre 13 de 1884 - Bogotá, julio 17 de 1940). Based on this comparison, I will maintain, in terms of hypotheses, that the circulation of ideas at the individual level made it possible that, around ideas, circulation networks were created that enabled their appropriation within the popular sectors. Process that was not only given by the intrinsic strength of the ideas themselves, but by the charisma of the subjects and their image as intellectual-popular. In this way, a double process of intellectual and popular constitution was organized within the framework of the circulation of ideas.