Culture and identity for latinamerican integration

• Autor: Ignacio Medina Núñez
• Cargo: El Colegio de Jalisco. México
• Páginas: 115-136

115

Ignacio Medina Núñez

Culture and identity for latinamerican integration [ 115- 136 pp]

Culture and idenity for lainamerican

integraion

Cultura e idenidad para la integración lainoamericana

Ignacio Medina Núñez. nacho@coljal.edu.mx

El Colegio de Jalisco. México

Recibido: 03/08/2019

Aprobado: 05/09/2019

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the importance of culture and social capital

for integraion projects in Lain America. Since the concept of culture is so

complex, it is presented first a theoreical discussion to define it, explaining

in paricular three great definiions. Based on this conceptual approach, the

author asks if there is a Lain American culture and idenity that can promote

Lain American integraion processes. The answer is posiive.

Keywors: Culture, Idenity, Integraion, Lain America

Resumen

Este trabajo pretende resaltar la importancia de la cultura y del capital social

para los proyectos de integración en América Laina. Dado que el concepto

de cultura es tan complejo, se presenta primero una discusión teórica sobre

diversos intentos para definirla, explicando de manera paricular tres grandes

definiciones. A parir de este acercamiento conceptual se pregunta el autor

si existe una cultura e idenidad lainoamericana que pueda promover los

procesos de integración lainoamericana. La respuesta es posiiva.

Palabras clave: cultura, idenidad, integración, América Laina

116 Controversias y Concurrencias Latinoamericanas. Vol.11 N.19. octubre 2019 - marzo 2020

Dossier: Estado de la integración regional autónoma latinoamericana y caribeña.

Introducion

Many analysts are menioning the great role that a people’s culture can play

in relaion to their levels of development (Radl, 2000; Kliksberg, 2000; Medina,

2011; Harrison and Hunigton, 2000...). There are those who even point out

that certain peoples are pracically doomed to underdevelopment due to

the fact that they have a passive atitude, they are less disciplined for work,

with limited social capital to carry out large collecive economic projects.

However, one must always ask about the meaning of the concept of culture

before being able to afirm whether or not it can play an important role in

any society´s development.

This aricle deals with three main interpretaions on the concept of culture,

in order to determine which of them can be adopted to afirm, for example,

as Bernardo Kliksberg (2000) points out, that culture and social capital are

forgotten keys for development in the Lain American region. In this way,

ater the theoreical discussion, the proposal of this paper is to emphasize

that Lain American culture and idenity have become a key factors in the

development and integraion processes of the region.

Some interpretaions on culture

Our research on the cultural dimension in the integraion processes in Lain

America in the 21st century must start from a specific focus on the concept

of culture, which in itself is complex and mulidimensional. Raymond

Williams, speaking about this Anglo-Saxon word culture, has characterized it

as “one of the two or three most complicated words of the English language”

(Williams, 1976, p. 87), noing that at the same ime its meaning is something

very interesing but also quite confusing.

This concept was first used by Cicerón1 in the first century B.C. with the

expression Cultura Animi2, with an etymological root coming from the Lain

verb colere, iniially referred to the culivaion of land, which is where the

word agriculture (and others related as pig farming -porcicultura in Spanish-,

Horiculture, etc.) comes from. Just as the field can be culivated, this acion can

also be used with the aim of culivaing the human spirit through philosophy,

knowledge, history analysis, educaion, etc. in order that the ciizen of Rome

could be perfectly located in his society, knowing his historical past and in the

perspecive of building a better future. Culture in this sense is a teleological

project that, although it can be sought by any ciizen with common sense,

can be conquered above all through quality educaion.

1 Marcus Tulius Cicero (106-43 BC) is known as a great thinker, writer and speaker who got into the

poliical life of Rome and for his determined acion to combat the conspiracies against the Republic

was appointed Pater Patriae; although later ater the Julio Cesar murder, he himself was killed by

supporters of Marco Antonio. In life, he used to go to his village in Tusculum to write; hence comes his

wriing Tusculanae Disputaiones, where this meaning of the concept of Culture appears.

2 The original text of Cicero in Tusculanae Disputaiones reads as follows: “Cultura animi philosophia

est, quae conatur extrahere viia radicitus, et praeparat animos ad satus accipiendos, eaque mandat

his, et, ut ita dicam, serit, quae adulta fructus ubérrimos ferunt” (Cicero, Ex Tusculana II. 1812, p. 273)

“Culture is the philosophy of the soul, which brings out the vices at the root, and prepares the mind to

receive the seed, and commits to it and, so to speak, sows something there that when it grows it can

have the most abundant fruit”.