Facundo – Civilización y barbarie

Facundo – Civilización y barbarie is one of the foundational texts of Latin American political thought and narrative prose. Written in exile, Domingo F. Sarmiento uses the life of caudillo Juan Facundo Quiroga as a lens to examine the social, cultural, and political forces that shaped 19th‑century Argentina under Juan Manuel de Rosas. Half biography, half essay, half novel, Facundo offers a powerful meditation on dictatorship, regionalism, and the daunting task of building a modern republic on the ruins of colonial rule.

Through vivid portraits of the pampas, gauchos, caudillos, and city elites, Sarmiento formulates the enduring and polemical dichotomy of “civilization vs. barbarism.” His liberal project—education, immigration, institutions—has been both celebrated and sharply criticized, making Facundo indispensable for understanding Argentine national identity, its myths, and its exclusions. The work has also become a touchstone for later writers like Hernández, Borges, and the entire tradition that questions or reworks Sarmiento’s categories.

This annotated edition is ideal for courses on Latin American nation‑building, political thought, and 19th‑century literature. It invites students to read Facundo both as a key historical document and as a sophisticated, rhetorically charged narrative that still provokes debate today.