La inmigración China en el Perú y la asianófila Dora Mayer

During the entire 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, Latin America experienced a massive, mainly European immigration. Peru was one of the countries where immigration policies failed. In the second half of the 19th century a significant number of Asian immigrants arrived in Peru, most of them Chinese. Later, from the beginning of the 20th century, the Japanese also arrived. The attitude towards Asian immigrants was ambiguous; those who defended and appreciated the presence of Chinese in the Peruvian society belonged to the minority. This article sheds light on some important aspects of the Chinese immigration in Peru through an analysis of their acceptance and the reasons behind the rise of a strong anti-Chinese discourse by way of Dora Mayer’s acts, who was one of the most important personalities defending Chinese immigrants and thus went against the grain