List of Hispanic American caudillos

A caudillo (Spanish pronunciation: [kawˈdiʎo]; Old Spanish: cabdillo, from Latin capitellum, diminutive of caput "head". Caudillo means "little head" or "little chief") is part of the larger Iberian tradition of authoritarian leaders, with roots in the Iberian past, particularly in the Reconquista. A number of military leaders who were part of the Spanish American struggle for independence took on political roles in during the establishment of new sovereign nation-states. The establishment of military strong men as the head of new national governments did not generally come via elections, but many did have strong popular support. Caudillos often have a personalist connection with their popular followers, combining charisma and machismo ("manliness"), access to political and economic power. They often desire to legitimize their rule. Many caudillos brought order to their areas of control, but also resorted to violence with their armed supporters to achieve it. The early nineteenth century has been considered the "Age of Caudillos," but authoritarian regimes existed in the twentieth century as well, with caudillismo casting a long shadow.

Argentina

 * José Félix Aldao
 * Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid
 * Nazario Benavídez
 * Pedro Castelli
 * Manuel Dorrego
 * Pascual Echagüe
 * Pedro Ferré
 * Andrés Guazurary
 * Santos Guayama
 * Martín Miguel de Güemes
 * Alejandro Heredia
 * Juan Felipe Ibarra
 * Juan Lavalle
 * Estanislao López
 * Ricardo López Jordán
 * Bartolomé Mitre
 * José María Paz
 * Ángel Vicente Peñaloza
 * Juan Perón
 * Juan Facundo Quiroga
 * Francisco Ramírez
 * Julio Argentino Roca
 * Juan Manuel de Rosas
 * Juan Saá
 * Antonino Taboada
 * Justo José de Urquiza
 * Felipe Varela
 * Juan de Dios Videla

Bolivia

 * José Ballivián
 * Hugo Banzer
 * Germán Busch
 * Antonio Huachaca
 * Manuel Isidoro Belzu
 * Hilarión Daza
 * Mariano Melgarejo
 * Andrés de Santa Cruz
 * Óscar Únzaga
 * José Miguel de Velasco

Chile

 * Arturo Alessandri
 * Vicente Benavides
 * José Miguel Carrera
 * Ramón Freire
 * Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
 * Manuel Montt Torres
 * Bernardo O'Higgins
 * Augusto Pinochet
 * Diego Portales
 * José Joaquín Prieto

Colombia

 * Sergio Arboleda
 * Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
 * Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
 * Alfonso López Pumarejo
 * Rafael Núñez
 * Aquileo Parra
 * Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
 * Rafael Uribe Uribe
 * Marceliano Vélez

Costa Rica

 * José Figueres Ferrer
 * José María Castro Madriz, "Founder of the Republic"
 * Juan Rafael Mora Porras
 * Gregorio José Ramírez

Cuba

 * Ignacio Agramonte
 * Fulgencio Batista
 * Fidel Castro
 * Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
 * Máximo Gómez
 * Antonio Maceo

Dominican Republic

 * Buenaventura Báez
 * Joaquín Balaguer
 * José Núñez de Cáceres
 * Pedro Santana
 * Rafael Trujillo, "The Benefactor"

Ecuador

 * Juan José Flores
 * Carlos de Montúfar, "The First Caudillo"
 * Juan Pío de Montúfar
 * Pedro de Montúfar
 * Gabriel García Moreno
 * Eloy Alfaro
 * José María Velasco Ibarra
 * José Joaquín de Olmedo

El Salvador

 * Manuel José Arce
 * Gerardo Barrios
 * Francisco Dueñas
 * Francisco Malespín
 * Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
 * Santiago González Portillo
 * Tomás Regalado Romero

Guatemala

 * Justo Rufino Barrios
 * Rafael Carrera
 * Manuel Estrada Cabrera
 * Serapio Cruz
 * Miguel García Granados
 * Efraín Ríos Montt
 * Jorge Ubico

Honduras

 * Tiburcio Carías Andino
 * Luis Bográn
 * Policarpo Bonilla
 * José Trinidad Cabañas
 * Francisco Ferrera
 * Francisco Morazán
 * José Cecilio del Valle, "The Wise"

Mexico

 * Juan Álvarez
 * Plutarco Elías Calles, "El Jefe Máximo"
 * Lázaro Cárdenas
 * Venustiano Carranza, "Primer Jefe"
 * Saturnino Cedillo
 * Adolfo de la Huerta
 * Porfirio Díaz
 * Vicente Guerrero
 * Agustín Guzmán, "Héroe Altense"
 * Miguel Hidalgo
 * Victoriano Huerta
 * Agustín de Iturbide
 * Manuel Lozada, "El Tigre de Alica"
 * Francisco Xavier Mina
 * José María Morelos
 * Álvaro Obregón
 * Pascual Orozco
 * Antonio López de Santa Anna
 * Santiago Vidaurri
 * Pancho Villa, "The Centaur of the North"
 * Emiliano Zapata

Nicaragua

 * Juan Argüello
 * Manuel Antonio de la Cerda
 * Anastasio Somoza Debayle
 * Casto Fonseca
 * Anastasio Somoza García
 * Bernardo Méndez de Figueroa, "El Pavo"
 * José Trinidad Muñoz
 * José Anacleto Ordóñez
 * Daniel Ortega
 * Augusto César Sandino
 * Fulgencio Vega
 * José Santos Zelaya

Panama

 * Juan Eligio Alzuru
 * José Domingo Espinar
 * Tomás de Herrera
 * José de Fábrega, "Liberator of the Isthmus"
 * Manuel Noriega
 * Omar Torrijos

Paraguay

 * Eusebio Ayala
 * José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, "El Supremo"
 * Rafael Franco
 * Carlos Antonio López
 * Francisco Solano López
 * Alfredo Stroessner

Peru

 * Óscar Benavides
 * Andrés Avelino Cáceres
 * Ramón Castilla
 * Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro
 * Alberto Fujimori
 * Agustín Gamarra
 * Antonio Gutiérrez de la Fuente
 * Miguel Iglesias
 * Augusto B. Leguía
 * Lizardo Montero Flores
 * Domingo Nieto
 * Manuel Odría
 * Nicolás de Piérola
 * Felipe Santiago Salaverry
 * Juan Crisóstomo Torrico
 * Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco

Puerto Rico

 * Francisco Ramírez Medina
 * Manuel Rojas

Uruguay

 * Gregorio Conrado Álvarez
 * Timoteo Aparicio
 * José Gervasio Artigas
 * José Batlle y Ordóñez
 * Venancio Flores
 * Leandro Gómez
 * Juan Antonio Lavalleja
 * Lorenzo Latorre
 * Manuel Oribe
 * Fructuoso Rivera
 * Aparicio Saravia

Venezuela

 * José Tomás Boves
 * Cipriano Castro
 * Joaquín Crespo
 * Juan Crisóstomo Falcón
 * Juan Vicente Gómez
 * Antonio Guzmán Blanco
 * Santiago Mariño
 * José Tadeo Monagas
 * José Antonio Páez
 * Marcos Pérez Jiménez
 * Manuel Piar
 * Carlos Rangel Garbiras
 * José Félix Ribas
 * José Antonio Yáñez
 * Ezequiel Zamora

Definitions, Theories, and Contexts

 * Alexander, Robert J. "Caudillos, Coroneis, and Political Bosses in Latin America." In Presidential Power in Latin American Politics, ed. Thomas V. DiBacco. New York: Prager 1977.
 * Beezley, William H. "Caudillismo: An Interpretative Note." Journal of Inter-American Studies 11 (July 1969): 345–52.
 * Collier, David, ed. The New Authoritarianism in Latin America. Princeton: Princeton University Press 1979.
 * Dealy, Glenn Cudill. The Public Man: An Interpretation of Latin America and other Catholic Countries. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press 1977.
 * DiTella, Torcuato S. Latin American Politics: A Theoretical Framework. Austin: University of Texas Press 1989.
 * Hale, Charles A. "The Reconstruction of Nineteenth-Century Politics in Spanish America: A Case for the History of Ideas." Latin American Research Review 8 (Summer 1973), 53-73.
 * Hamill, Hugh, ed. Caudillos: Dictators in Spanish America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1992.
 * Humphreys, R.A. "The Caudillo Tradition." in Tradition and Revolt in Latin America, 216-28. New York: Columbia University Press 1969.
 * Johnson, John J. "Foreign Factors in Dictatorship in Latin America". Pacific Historical Review 20 (1951)
 * Kern, Robert, ed. The Caciques: Oligarchical Politics and the System of Caciquismo in the Luso-Latin World. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 1973.
 * Loveman, Brian. The Constitution of Tyranny: Regimes of Exception in Spanish America. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press 1993.
 * Lynch, John, Caudillos in Spanish America, 1800-1850. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1992.
 * Pleasants, Edwin Hemingway, The Caudillo: a Study in Latin-American Dictatorships. Monmouth, IL: Commercial Art Press 1959.
 * Smith, Peter H. "Political Legitimacy in Spanish America" in New Approaches to Latin American History, Richard Graham and Peter Smith, eds. 1974.
 * Wolf, Eric R. and Edward C. Hanson, "Caudillo Politics: A Structural Analysis." Comparative Studies in Society and History 9 (1966–67): 168-79.
 * Wolf, Eric R. and Edward C. Hanson, "Caudillo Politics: A Structural Analysis." Comparative Studies in Society and History 9 (1966–67): 168-79.

Regions and Individuals

 * Balfour, Sebastian. Castro (1990)
 * Brading, D.A., ed. Caudillo and Peasant in the Mexican Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1980.
 * Gilmore, Robert L. Caudillism and Militarism in Venezuela, 1810-1910. 1994.
 * Haigh, Roger M. Martin Güemes: Tyrant or Tool? A Study of the Sources of Power of an Argentine Caudillo. 1968.
 * Hamill, Hugh M., ed. Caudillos: Dictators in Spanish America. Selections on Hidalgo, Quiroga, Moreno, Díaz, Trujillo, Perón, Castro, Pinochet, and Stroessner. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1992.
 * Lynch, John. "Bolívar and the Caudillos". Hispanic American Historical Review 63 No. 1 (1983), 3-35.
 * Lynch, John. Argentine Dictator: Juan Manuel de Rosas, 1829-1852. 1981.
 * Lynch, John. Caudillos in Spanish America, 1800-1850. Chapters on Rosas, Páez, Santa Anna, and Carrera. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1992.
 * Page, Joseph A. Perón: A Biography. 1983.
 * Park, James William. Rafael Núñez and the Politics of Colombian Regionalism, 1863-1886. (1985)
 * Smith, Peter H. Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press 2005.
 * Wiarda, Howard. Dictatorship and Development: The Methods of Control in Trujillo's Dominican Republic. 1968.
 * Woodward, Ralph Lee. Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871. 1993.
 * Woodward, Ralph Lee. Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871. 1993.
 * Woodward, Ralph Lee. Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala, 1821-1871. 1993.