He embodied everything that Martí would later reject, mainly regarding Europe as the guide for the new republics, and the elimination of the native element in the Americas. Typical man of his time, Sarmiento's  work reflected positivist thinking at the extreme; he embraced European philosophy and deeply believed that the Indian and the gaucho were hindrances to civilization. For Sarmiento, the barbarie represented in the gaucho and the Indian was to be eliminated in his country; for him only European civilization was a commendable  way of life. He became president and fostered immigration from Northern European countries, although most newcomers hailed from Italy and Spain. His famous  work (infamous some would say) is Civilizacion y Barbarie (1845) where he purports that barbarie is epitomized by the gaucho culture that dominated his country. Very unfortunately, his ideas are still widely regarded as the gospel in his native country.