Book Launch: “Venal Origins of Development in Spanish America” by Jenny Guardado
By Julia Nguyen (SFS’27) —
On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, the Mortara Center for International Studies and the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) hosted Dr. Jenny Guardado for the launch of her new book Venal Origins of Development in Spanish America. Dr. Guardado is an assistant professor at the CLAS and the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University whose research examines the political and economic mechanisms behind armed conflict, corruption, and economic development in Latin America.
Venal Origins of Development in Spanish America examines the colonial origins of spatial inequality in Latin America. In her book, Dr. Guardado argues that there is a correlation between modern-day regional inequality and colonial office selling, which began in 1670 under King Charles II. Dr. Guardado collected primary data of 2,600 transactions spanning from 1670 to 1750 and found that there was an increase in officials with traits conducive to poor governance as office sales increased. In particular, as offices went on sale, the proportion of provincial rulers from the noble and military classes declined, which meant that fewer officials were pressured by social and reputational constraints.
Dr. Guardado’s book argues that office selling led to the systematic deterioration of Spanish colonial administration, resulting in elite collusion and self-dealing. The co-conspiring among elites led to ethnic segregation and political exclusion of the indigenous population in the nineteenth century, which led to the current sharp differences in public good provision and political representation we observe in Latin America today.
Dr. Guardado’s presentation was followed by remarks by Professor Deborah Boucayannis, a professor of comparative politics at The George Washington University. Dr. Boucayannis began by making a distinction between office-selling and venality, pointing out that Jeremy Bentham and Baron de Montesquieu praised office-selling as a way for those outside the nobility to take office. Boucayannis went on to make a comparison to the British case of office-selling, which was phasing out by the time the Spanish began selling offices.
The event ended with a Q&A in which attendees had the opportunity to ask Dr. Guardado about her research. Attendees’ questions covered a variety of topics, including gender inequality and Dr. Guardado’s data collection process. Their thoughtful discussion raised further questions about how legacies of Spanish colonialism continue to shape inequalities across demographics.