“ACCORDING TO THE CUSTOM”: TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE CABILDO ABIERTO IN AREQUIPA CITY (1780-1824)

Abstract The Cabildo Abierto was one of the local government’s mechanisms introduced to America by the Spaniards in the 16th Century. This paper shows the validity the Cabildo Abierto maintained in Arequipa City, Viceroyalty of Peru, by the end of the 18th Century, as it was used by the Corregidor to obtain support from the elites and, later, by the Intendente to raise money. It also points out the transformations the Cabildo Abierto experienced during the Hispanic Monarchy Crisis, at a time when it was organized with political-military purposes. The disappearance of these town meetings, after the restoration of the Absolutist System, was the result of mistrust between viceregal and Arequipa authorities, which caused the implementation of an increasingly exclusive local government.