Aníbal Quijano

Aníbal Quijano
Quijano in August 2015
Born(1928-11-17)November 17, 1928
DiedMay 31, 2018(2018-05-31) (aged 89)
EducationNational University of San Marcos
OccupationSociologist
Known for
  • Coloniality of power
  • Coloniality of knowledge
Scientific career
FieldsDecoloniality
WorkplacesNational University of San Marcos; Ricardo Palma University; Binghamton University; National Autonomous University of Mexico

Aníbal Quijano (17 November 1930 – 31 May 2018) was a Peruvian sociologist and humanist thinker, known for having developed the concepts of "coloniality of power" and "coloniality of knowledge". His body of work has been influential in the fields of decolonial studies and critical theory.

Education and academic career

Quijano received a Bachelor's degree from the National University of San Marcos (UNMSM), where he enrolled in various courses on Latin American history, anthropology, sociology and law. He later obtained a Master's degree at the Latin American Social Sciences Institute (FLACSO) in Santiago de Chile. He subsequently returned to Lima to study for a PhD at the University of San Marcos, which he completed in 1964.

His PhD examined the emergence of rural-to-urban Indigenous migrants in Peru and the changing roles and contexts of ethnic identity in Latin America. Until 1995, he was senior lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences of San Marcos.

He became a professor of the Department of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York. Quijano held several positions as a visiting professor in the social sciences at universities worldwide: Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (Paris), University of São Paulo, University of Puerto Rico, University of Hannover, Free University of Berlin, National University of Ecuador, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Universidad de Chile, Latin American School of Economics (ESCOLATINA), and George Washington University[citation needed]. He published works on colonialism, politics, democracy, globalization and other social issues.

Intellectual Formation

Throughout the 1950s he studied the works of Karl Marx, Lenin, Trotsky and other socialist thinkers. But he didn't just follow their ideas, he formed his own opinions. At that time he also worked with documents to learn about slavery in Peru. Quijano taught at schools and kept studying. Quijano helped to come up with ideas that set him apart from other scholars in Latin America.[citation needed]

Contributions to Sociology and Dependency Theory

During the 1960s Quijano wrote key essays on urbanization, social marginalization, Indigenous identity and political change in Latin America. He worked at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean also known as ECLAC or CEPAL in Chile from 1966 to 1971. His work there helped develop Dependency Theory.

This theory says that Latin America's underdevelopment resulted from the extraction of their resources by developed or core countries. Quijano’s work on dependency theory is still important today. It explains how Latin America was affected by its ties with richer nations.The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean played a role in shaping Quijano’s ideas. Essays from the 1960s remain influential in understanding Latin Americas economic challenges.

The dependency theory highlights the impact of economic inequalities on regional development. Latin America's underdevelopment is still a major concern for economists and policymakers.

Academic Career

Later in his life Anibal Quijano taught at universities around the world. He taught at Binghamton University in New York. He also taught at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He was a teacher at Ricardo Palma University in Peru. His research was about sociology, economics, history and political theory. He studied how colonial systems still affected societies a long time after independence movements finished. Quijano's work showed that colonial systems kept influencing societies. He looked at how colonial systems changed over time. The study of systems and their effects was important to Quijano.

Political Organizations and Publications

In the 1970s Quijano went back to Peru. He got really involved in groups that did not like the government. Quijano worked with people, workers and students. Together they started the Movimiento Revolucionario Socialista, which is also known as the MRS. The MRS was not a group but it made strong friends with labor and student groups in different parts of Peru. The MRS was especially close to the people of Villa El Salvador, where people took care of their community. Quijano and the people of the Movimiento Revolucionario Socialista did a lot of work in this area. The Movimiento Revolucionario Socialista was a group in Peru.

Sociedad y Politica

Quijano helped create the journal Sociedad y Política with Peruvian intellectuals. These intellectuals included Julio Cotler, César Germaná, Felipe Portocarrero and Heraclio Bonilla.

The journal Sociedad y Política talked about socialism and Marxism. It also encouraged many different groups from the Peruvian left to join in.

Quijano was in charge of Sociedad y Política from 1972 to 1983.

José Carlos Mariategui and Anuario Mariategui

Quijano had written extensively about José Carlos Mariátegui. Among his writings was the Prologue to the Biblioteca Ayacucho edition of the 7 Ensayos de Interpretación de la Realidad Peruana, which was originally written in 1978. In 1981 Ediciones Era published Introduccion a Mariátegui, in which he explores Mariátegui's political thought, his approach to imperialism, and his contemporary relevance to Latin American Marxism. In 1991 Quijano edited for Fondo de Cultura Económica a compilation of essential texts by Mariátegui titled Textos Básicos.

After the death of Alberto Tauro, Quijano was invited to co-direct, among with Antonio Melis, the Anuario Mariateguiano. He was involved in the development of the section "La Escena Contemporánea" in which he invited contemporary authors to discuss about a series of topics, and in which some of his ideas about Coloniality of power where originally published.

Legacy

On his death, Aníbal Quijano was remembered as an "important and influential intellectual." The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia established a chair in his honor to curate events to promote reflection on his work on decolonialization. Anthropologist Rita Laura Segato was named as the inaugural chair in 2018.

Works

See also

References

  1. ↑ Moraña, Mabel; Dussel, Enrique D.; Jáuregui, Carlos A. (2008). Coloniality at Large: Latin America and the Postcolonial Debate. Duke University Press. pp. 280–283. ISBN 9780822341697. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Simon, David (2019). Simon, David (ed.). Key Thinkers on Development. Routledge. p. 528. doi:10.4324/9781351026307. ISBN 9781138494329.
  3. ↑ Garrels, Elizabeth; Mariátegui, José-Carlos; Quijano, Aníbal (2007). 7 ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (Tercera edición con correcciones y adiciones de nuevos textos ed.). Caracas, Venezuela: Fundación Biblioteca Ayacucho. ISBN 978-980-276-415-0.
  4. ↑ Quijano, Anibel (1981). Introducción a Mariátegui (1st ed.). Mexico City: Ediciones Era. ISBN 9789684110847.
  5. ↑ Mariátegui, José Carlos; Quijano, Aníbal (1995). Textos básicos. Tierra firme (1. ed., reimpr ed.). México, D.F: Fondo de Cultura Económica. ISBN 978-968-16-4895-4.
  6. ↑ "Aníbal Quijano (1930-2018) | EL MONTONERO". EL MONTONERO | Primer Portal de opinión del país (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  7. ↑ "Cátedra Aníbal Quijano". www.museoreinasofia.es. Retrieved 2026-06-10.

Wikipedia contributors. (2026). Aníbal Quijano. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from

Wikipedia English – Aníbal Quijano

Wikipedia contributors. (2026). Aníbal Quijano. Wikipedia, La Enciclopedia Libre. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from

Wikipedia Spanish – Aníbal Quijano

Quijano, A. (2024). Aníbal Quijano: Foundational Essays on the Coloniality of Power. Duke University Press.

PhilPapers – Foundational Essays on the Coloniality of Power

Barriga, A. (2020). Aníbal Quijano y la colonialidad del poder: todo lo sólido se desvanece en el aire. Políticas de la Memoria.

Políticas de la Memoria – Colonialidad del poder

Walsh, C. (2018). Nos deja Aníbal Quijano, el gran pensador decolonial. Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar.

Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar – Aníbal Quijano

Gandarilla Salgado, J. G., & García Bravo, M. H. (2019). Aníbal Quijano, un secreto khipukamayuq. Las Torres de Lucca: International Journal of Political Philosophy.

Las Torres de Lucca – Aníbal Quijano