Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The concept of freedom in Félix Varela's liberal constitutionalism
Author-Name: Abella, Raúl Escalona
Abstract: This paper examines the conception of freedom in the liberal constitutionalist thought of Félix Varela during the Spanish Liberal Triennium (1820-1823). Set against the backdrop of Cuba's socio-economic shift towards a slave-based plantation system, the study highlights how Varela, from his Chair of Constitutional Law, articulated a radical idea of freedom. Grounded in elective philosophy and enlightened naturalism, he asserted freedom as a natural and inalienable right of all individuals. Varela argued that sovereignty resides essentially in the nation, not the monarch, and linked individual liberty to national sovereignty, maintaining that without a constitution there is no freedom, and without freedom there is no homeland. His thought, which foreshadowed anti-slavery sentiments and a project for a Cuban nation, distanced itself from the interests of the slave-owning bourgeoisie and laid the groundwork for subsequent Cuban independence ideology.
Journal: SAP Southern Studies
Year: 2025
DOI: 10.62486/ss202526
File-URL: https://southam.pub/journals/files/ss/ss202526en.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Handle: RePEc:cwf:ssarti:ss202526