 While the reconstruction of nineteenth century Latin American liberalism has been dominated by historians, it is also of philosophical interest for at least two reasons. First, the most prominent liberal intellectuals, such as Juan Bautista Alberdi in Argentina, José María Luis Mora in Mexico, and José Victorino Lastarria in Chile, did develop distinctive liberal positions. As already mentioned, Alberdi and Lastarria also produced theoretical works in which they systematized their own political views. Second, the consideration of nineteenth century Latin American liberalism can contribute to enrich our understanding of liberalism as a far more internally heterogeneous ideology than is usually assumed since what was meant by “liberalism” turns out to be sometimes surprising from contemporary perspectives. For nineteenth century Latin American liberals the liberal State could be the main agent promoting economic growth, the principal provider of formal schooling, and the champion of political and social secularization in constant confrontation with the Catholic Church.