This article intends to study the right-wing ideologies of Latin America during the first half of the nineteenth century. At first, it tries to define what conservatism is and to point out its differences from the rhetoric of reaction; later, the thought of José Bonifacio and the Marquis of Caravelas is compared to that of Simon Bolivar, underlying the dilemmas of Latin American conservatism. The comparison enlightens the different ways followed by the ancient Portuguese and Hispanic America after political independence.
Latin America; Conservatisms; Right wing ideologies; Independences