Abstract

This paper examines political philosophy of Pedro Albizu Campos, a 20th Century political leader and public philosopher from Puerto Rico. It argues that his apparent similarity to other anti-colonial thinkers of his day like José Vasconcelos and José Martí belies a deeper difference. It uses commentaries of his work by scholars such as Carlos Rojas Osorio and Antonio Steven-Arroyo to show that Albizu’s unflinching resistance against imperialism that cost him nearly three decades of freedom and ultimately his life was in his mind not the defiant act of a political rebel but the faithful obedience of a devout Catholic. It argues that Albizu’s radical Catholic nationalism marks him as an eclectic political thinker of the Americas whose work complicates common narratives about the history of political philosophy in Latin America and the geography of anti-colonialism in the Americas. Most importantly, Albizu offers much needed insight into Puerto Rico’s present crisis.