Psychoanalysis and History: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Aggressiveness during the Preparations for the Failed Plebiscite in Tacna and Arica, 1925-1926

The nationalist violence between Chileans and Peruvians that occurred before the plebiscite vote that would define the sovereignty of Tacna and Arica is unique in the history of Latin America. Its uniqueness lies in the long wait that these inhabitants suffered to resolve a crucial aspect in the conformation of their national identities, because according to the Treaty of Ancon of 1883 that ended the War of the Pacific, the election should have been held in 1894. For these reasons, this article analyzes the nationalist aggressiveness between Chileans and Peruvians during 19251926 in Tacna and Arica, emphasizing that practiced by the latter group, since historiography has not clearly highlighted the use of this Peruvian political resource. The objective is to contextualize the causes of said aggressiveness and analyze it from psychoanalysis. For this, government, criminal and journalistic sources were used to which a documentary and index analysis linked to psychoanalytic theory was carried out. It is concluded that aggressiveness was exercised in a similar way by Chileans and Peruvians, and that it was legitimized by social institutions that justified the violence during the elections. In this sense, it is essential to suggest as a research finding that during the phase studied it is possible to distinguish a & DLANGBRAC;narcissism from small differences & drangbrac;, a concept taken from psychoanalysis to make a reading about the specular rivalry between Chileans and Peruvians, which was founded on differential elements that overlooked the common features that united these peoples.