Peru

From Spanish Colonies to Modern Networks

While no formal study on social networks accounts for the early formation of the Republic of Peru and its heritage coming from the process of Spanish colonization of the Inca Empire, many features of these earlier processes highlight the nature of Peru's social organization as it is known today. Many archaeological and historical studies defend that the development of a centralized state in the Cusco Valley, the Inca Empire, was possible through the expansion of a direct and complex administration of agricultural goods from 1000 to 1400 C.E. Neighboring regional elites accepted and often initiated Inca patronage through marriage alliances that extended regional kinship. Many other rival regions maintained their independence by depopulating intermediate areas and settling in defensive sites, which later aligned with other strong regional elites and surrendered to Inca regimes through war. Such a complex pattern of state formation and integration influenced later patterns that eased the Spanish conquest.

[Page 704]The initial process of Spanish colonization used marriage as a political mean to subordinate the Inca elite, while receiving active support of resistant regional elites. Reciprocal forms of agricultural production such the mita, minka, and ayni, which respectively benefited the state, community, or group of local families (ayllu) and close relatives, were maintained through the colonial period. The maintenance of the practice of reciprocity, particularly in more local forms, shaped the character of close kinship ties within the Andean culture, even after declaration of independence in 1821. However, the process of mestizaje, or interracial mixing, was not excluded from symbolic and physical violence during colonial times and translated into the continuing practice of ethnic discrimination by the ruling classes during the formation of the Peruvian nation-state.

Pioneer studies on social networks began in the 1970s and focused on the character of the Andean culture, especially the flow of migrants to the capital city. Andean migrants were characterized by their close kinship and community ties that helped to adapt and transform the city of Lima. Some researchers argued that this form of assimilation provided a solid ground for political mobilization as well as the emergence of an ethnic economy that supported not only the capital city but also regional economies. However, the rise of political violence during the 1980s widely disrupted communal ties, which not only halted economic assimilation, but also led to a distrustful political culture in the postwar period.

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