DISTINCIÓN Y ELITISMO: SER PARLAMENTARIO EN PERÚ EN LA SEGUNDA MITAD DEL SIGLO XIX.

These pages analyse the qualities required of parliamentarians in Peru from the Constitution of 1860, the regulatory framework until 1920. With this aim, we used the speeches pronounced by the parliamentarians in the development of their functions, which allows an approach to the political culture of liberal elites. The objective of this paper is to analyse the perception of parliamentarians about themselves and their role in Parliament, and how one of the basic principles of nineteenth century liberalism operated in this sense: the principle of distinction. Finally, it can be affirmed that the positions of deputies and senators acted as political categories defined by the own parliamentarians, who considered their role as different and superior to that of the electors. Therefore, it was necessary to restrict the space of the Congress to a "distinguished" sector of the population, through the imposition of a series of requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]