José de San Martín: Emancipatory strategy,
sovereignty, and citizenship in South America

Theoretical Framework and Historical Application

1. Conceptual Foundations

Summary: This article analyzes the trajectory of José de San Martín (Yapeyú, 1778 – Boulogne-sur-Mer, 1850) beyond hagiography, examining his continental political-military project through primary sources. Problem: What elements of his trajectory allow us to understand not only South American emancipation, but also the challenges of citizenship in the present? Hypothesis: San Martín's trajectory can be understood as a project aimed at securing South American independence, whose current legacy exceeds the military dimension and reaches public ethics, regional cooperation, and civic responsibility. Methodology: Review of primary sources (letters, proclamations, military dispatches, decrees) and specialized bibliography from the Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano. Conclusions: His figure must be interpreted critically as an invitation to build freedom, institutions, and solidarity, distinguishing documented facts from subsequent patriotic representations.

The commemoration of José de San Martín requires overcoming the simplified image of the isolated hero. His actions were decisive in the independence processes of Argentina, Chile, and Peru. The historiographical framework has portrayed him from multiple angles. This article carefully distinguishes between documented facts and patriotic representations constructed later, recognizing the contradictions and historical conditioning of his time. As he expressed in his correspondence, he counted himself among "those who in the cause of America see nothing but the happiness of the people", subordinating personal interest to collective well-being.

Primary sources, such as his letters, proclamations, and military dispatches, along with government documentation, allow us to reconstruct a leadership that prioritized planning over improvisation. The bibliography of the Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano supports this vision, highlighting its objective of rigorous historical research and the dissemination of thought oriented toward unity and sovereignty.

2. Methodological Development

San Martín's initial training in the Spanish army, including his time at the Royal Seminary of Nobles in Madrid and his participation in campaigns against the Napoleonic armies, was fundamental to his strategic preparation. This experience allowed him to study modern European combat and logistics techniques, which he later applied in America. Far from being an adventurer, he was a professional who understood the intrinsic relationship between military discipline, state organization, and political project in the context of the crisis of the Spanish monarchy.

The continental project did not conceive of emancipation as isolated national episodes, but as an interconnected regional process. The creation of the Army of the Andes in Cuyo was a state enterprise that required logistical planning unprecedented in the military history of the region.

2.1. Logistics and Planning of the Crossing

The Crossing of the Andes (1817) was not an improvised feat, but the result of meticulous preparation. According to historical records and the catalog of the Bicentennial commemorative exhibition of the Franklin Rawson Provincial Museum of Fine Arts, the operation mobilized approximately 5,400 men (including between 700 and 1,200 Chilean exiles integrated into the Division of Chile), 10,000 saddle and cargo mules, 1,600 fighting horses, and artillery trains. San Martín organized a camp in El Plumerillo where weapons and uniforms were manufactured, and animal transport was prepared, demonstrating an integral vision of war that combined human, livestock, and industrial resources.

2.2. Implementation and Transnational Cooperation

The campaign in Chile (battles of Chacabuco and Maipú) and the subsequent expedition to Peru evidence cooperation among Argentine, Chilean, and Peruvian forces. This transnational alliance was essential to prevent the restoration of colonial power. San Martín articulated this clearly in his Proclamation to the Inhabitants of Chile (1816), highlighting that the Army of the Andes acted "detaching a main part of its forces to break the bloody chains that bind you to the infamous chariot of tyrants", under strict discipline and respect for property and the honor of citizens. Although this cooperation was successful, it was also marked by political tensions, such as strategic differences with Simón Bolívar, which reflected distinct visions of the region's institutional future.

3. Case Studies

As a ruler, San Martín was not limited to the role of commander. He assumed the office of Protector of Peru in 1821, making institutional, educational, and cultural decisions that laid the foundations of the new state. His management sought to balance independence with political order, although it faced tensions regarding the representation of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, limited by the hierarchical social context of the early 19th century.

On August 28, 1821, San Martín signed the decree creating the National Library of Peru. In this document, he established that free governments must "facilitate all means to increase the stock of their lights, and foster their civilization through useful establishments", dedicating the institution to "universal enlightenment, more powerful than our armies to sustain independence". To materialize this commitment, he donated his personal collection of books to the nascent institution, institutionalizing access to knowledge as a pillar of sovereignty.

Documentary extract (Decree of August 12, 1821, Freedom of Wombs): "A numerous portion of our species has until today been regarded as a tradable commodity, and subject to the calculations of a criminal traffic... I would not be responsible to my public conscience, and to my private feelings, if I did not prepare for the future this pious reform, reconciling for now the interest of the proprietors with the voice of reason and nature." This fragment evidences an attempt at legal transition that, although gradual, explicitly recognized the moral contradiction of slavery in a republican project, laying the legal groundwork for its definitive abolition.

The Meeting of Guayaquil (July 26 and 27, 1822) constitutes a topic of intense historiographical debate. Historical evidence suggests that San Martín required a reinforcement of 2,000 to 3,000 men to culminate the campaign in Peru, support that Bolívar could not provide without militarily compromising Gran Colombia. His subsequent retirement should not be presented solely as an abstract heroic gesture, but as a complex political decision: a way to avoid civil war among independence leaders, prioritizing the consolidation of independence over his personal ambition.

• Case A (Chile): Consolidation of the alliance with Bernardo O'Higgins, demonstrating that regional sovereignty required effective military and political cooperation, beyond local identities.
• Case B (Peru): The Protectorate as a laboratory for state-building, with measures for the gradual abolition of slavery and the promotion of public education as pillars of the new republic, backed by verifiable decrees.
• Case C (Guayaquil): The renunciation of power as an act of coherence with his republican principles, avoiding caudillismo and the fragmentation of the emancipatory project.

4. Implications and Scope

Recovering the traits of his trajectory requires translating them historically, without turning them into abstract slogans. Planning, discipline, cooperation, renunciation of power, and continental sense are values that, when contextualized, offer lessons for the present.

1 For the Argentine citizen: The relevance of San Martín today lies in recovering the willingness to prepare, cooperate, and subordinate personal interest to legitimate public objectives. As he himself expressed upon assuming command in Peru: "In taking charge of the enterprise of freeing this country, I had no other motive than the desire to advance the sacred cause of America and promote the happiness of the people." This institutional ethics invites us to overcome social fragmentation through responsible participation, informed voting, and commitment to the common good.

2 For the foreign reader: It is crucial to understand that the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and the wars of independence were regional processes. San Martín is not just an "Argentine hero", but a key actor in the political transformation of South America, whose case study illustrates the formation of new states after the fall of an empire and transnational cooperation in emancipatory processes.

3 Conceptual differentiation: It is necessary to distinguish between independence (formal rupture), emancipation (process of integral liberation), and sovereignty (capacity for collective self-determination), concepts that San Martín articulated in his political practice and which remain current challenges.

Citizenship can be strengthened by understanding that the construction of freedom was a collective, conflictive, and regional enterprise. It is not about idealizing a national past, but recognizing that willpower, without knowledge or planning, is not enough to solve complex problems, a principle that San Martín rigorously applied at every stage of his campaign.

5. Future Perspectives

The trajectory of José de San Martín reveals that South American independence was the result of a combination of strategic planning, regional cooperation, political leadership, and personal sacrifice. His legacy continues to be significant when interpreted critically as an invitation to build freedom, institutions, and solidarity among peoples, and not simply as a military model or a figure of patriotic cult.

• Projection 1 (Education and Memory): Foster historical teaching that prioritizes critical thinking over the memorization of anniversaries, using primary sources (such as the Protectorate's decrees or the Liberator's correspondence) and multiple perspectives to form an informed citizenry.
• Projection 2 (Regional Integration): Revitalize Latin American cooperation mechanisms, remembering that contemporary challenges (inequality, sustainable development) require the same continental vision that drove the liberating campaign.
• Projection 3 (Public Ethics): Promote leadership that, like San Martín in his retirement, prioritizes the common good and respect for institutions over personalism and perpetuation in power.

📚 Links of interest

• Wikipedia: José de San Martín (Verifiable and open-access biographical source with cross-references).
• Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano (Research, dissemination of Sanmartinian thought, and access to documentary funds).
• Franklin Rawson Museum: Catalog "The Crossing of the Andes" (Logistical, iconographic analysis, and figures of the Army of the Andes).
• José de San Martín, father of the nation (BNM) (National Library of Teachers: pedagogical resources and documented anniversaries).
• National Library of Peru: Our History (Foundational document and 1821 decree on universal enlightenment).