Education, elite formation, and geopoliticsAmericanism and the regeneration of Spain

Resumen

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries a group of intellectuals and Spanish scientists found it necessary to resume cultural relations with Latin American countries that had been Spanish colonies in the past. In order to do this, they promoted a school of thought called �Hispano-Americanism�, which aimed to create a Spanish-speaking geopolitical space that would counteract the growing influence of other European powers and of the United States in Latin America. This American projection would serve at the same time to �regenerate� cultural and scientific life in Spain and to improve the country�s position in the international field. This movement relied on the financial support of the Spanish communities settled in Latin America. They contributed to the creation of cultural institutions to disseminate Spanish scientific progress. The first and most successful of these creations was the Institución Cultural Española de Buenos Aires (Spanish Cultural Institution of Buenos Aires), which became a model to imitate in other Latin American countries. The associations tended to impose their own interests and priorities, focusing on acquiring more prestige and social recognition in the countries that had settled through links with local political and cultural elites. This was due to the absence of a genuine Spanish foreign policy and to the financial responsibility adjudged to the local communities of Spanish immigrants regarding cultural and scientific initiatives.