Mariátegui, Jose Carle (1895–1930)

Peruvian politician and writer. He was the first Peruvian intellectual to apply Marxist principles to Peruvian problems and founded the Socialist party in 1928.

In 1923, Mariátegui embarked on a radical programme of political upheaval along with his radical counterpart, Victor Rául Haya de la Torre. The founding of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance party (APRA; Aprista Party) in 1924 by the exiled Victor Rául Haya de la Torre enabled Mariátegui to become the leading Aprista Party activist in Peru until 1927. The Aprista Party doctrine actively advocated socialist reform.

His book Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana/Seven Interpretive essays on Peruvian Reality (1928) is a seminal work of social analysis and has influenced many other Peruvian writers. His Obras completas/Complete Works) were published in 1959.

Mariátegui was born in Lima and rose to prominence as a self-taught journalist. Educated in Italy, he developed strong ideological ties and became a confirmed Marxist.