ABSTRACT
Victor Raul Haya de la Torre was born on February 22, 1895 in Trujillo, Peru, the eldest of five children born to Raul Edmundo Haya and Zoila Maria de la Torre. While pursuing a law degree, Haya joined an avantgarde literary club and student government. In 1917, Haya de la Torre attended a meeting of the newly formed National Student Federation in Lima. While there, he visited Manuel Gonzalez Prada, the aging founder of Peruvian Indianism. Haya de la Torre was the founder of the Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA), an inter-American, democratic political movement that stimulated parties to modernize the old elitist orders in Peru and throughout Latin America. His introduction of mass politics to Latin America, his programs of fundamental social reform, and his commitment to democratic processes made him one of the most important political philosophers in twentieth century Latin America.
