chronology of argentine history, 1516 - 2005

8/6/2019 Chronology of Argentine History, 1516 - 2005

1/125

1

ARGENTINA: 1516 - present1516, 1526,1536, 1537, 1541, 1542, 1544,1545, 1551, 1564, 1573, 1580,1588, 1594, 1596

1617, 1618,1622, 1680, 1695

1711, 1726,1776,1726, 1767, 1770,1771, 1776, 1778,1780, 1789, 1791, 1793, 1796, 17991800, 1801, 1802, 1806,1810,1811,1812, 1813, 1814,1815, 1816,1817, 1818,1819,1820,1821, 1822,1823,1824,1825,1826, 1827,1828, 1829,1830,1831, 1832, 1835,1835-1852,1838, 1839,1841, 1844, 1845,1847-1848, 1848,1850s-,1852,1853, 1859,1860, 1861, 1862, 1864,1868, 1869, 1871, 1874,1875, 1878, 1879,1880,1882, 1886,

1890,1891,1892, 1893, 1894, 1895,1896, 1897,1898, 1899

1900, 1901, 1902, 1903,1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 19091910, 1911,1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916,1916-1930,1917, 1918,1918-1921,19191920, 1921, 1922-1928,1922, 1923,1924, 1925, 1926, 1927,1928, 19291930-1940,1930,1931, 1932, 1933,1934, 1935,1936, 1937,1938,1939-45,1939,1940,1941, 1942, 1943,1944,1945,1946,1947, 1948,19491950, 1951,1952, 1953, 1954, 1955,1956, 1957, 1958,19591960, 1961, 1962,1963,1964,1965,1966, 1967,1968, 19691970,1971, 1972, 1973,1974, 1975, 1976,1977, 1978, 19791980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985,1986, 1987, 1988, 19891990,19911994, 1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1998-1999,19992000,2001,2002,2003, 2004,2005

1516February Juan Daz de Sols discovered the Ro de la Plata (River of Silver)

which, with all lands drained by it, he claimed for Spain. Henamed it the Mar Dulce (Sweetwater, or Freshwater, Sea), but itwas commonly called the Ro Sols at the time. Sols was killed byIndians on the Uruguayan side of the Plata. (RHF)

1526Sebastian Cabot, Italian explore sailing for Spain, was, like Sols,trying to find a route to the Pacific Ocean. He built a fort, SanctiSpirit, on the Paran River, a major tributary of the Plata, a littledistance above the present city of Rosario, Argentina it was thefirst settlement in present-day Argentina. He then proceeded


2/125

2

upriver into present-day Paraguay, but after a few years ofexploration returned to Spain with little to show for his work. Hisearly dispatch to Spain of a quantity of crude silver ornamentscollected form the Indians gave rise to the name River of Silver,quite unjustified by later developments and resources. (RHF)

1536February Pedro de Mendoza, leading a force of 1,200 men and 100 horses,

founded Buenos Aires, on the Plata River, for the first time. LocalIndians were at a much lower cultural level than those in Peru andMexico, had only scanty food supplies, and showed persistenthostility to the Spanish. Famine and disease plagued the Spanishsettlers. Mendoza, seriously ill with syphilis, sailed for Spain inlate April 1537 but died on shipboard. His lieutenant, Juan deAyolas, was left in command of the colony. Ayolas at the time was

exploring the Paran River in what is now Paraguay. Left incommand as Ayolas explored inland was Domingo Martnez deIrala. Ayolas and his party were killed in the interior of Paraguayby Indians. (RHF)

1537Irala founded the city of Asuncin on the Paraguay River morethan 900 miles north of Buenos Aires; it was the first permanentsettlement in the Plata basin. Indians in the area were moreagriculturally advanced and more tractable than those farthersouth. (RHF)

1541The settlement at Buenos Aires was abandoned because of Indianhostility and lack of adequate food. Asuncin then became thecenter of Spanish expansion in the Plata basin. (RHF)

1542Irala was succeeded by Alvar Nez Cabeza de Vaca as governorbut opposition by colonists forced withdrawal by Cabeza de Vaca

the following year and Irala returned to the post, holding it until hisdeath in 1556. (RHF)

1544Cabeza de Vaca attempted unsuccessfully to refound BuenosAires. (RHF)


3/125

3

1545Potos was founded in 1545 and during its first 50 years was themost fabulous source of silver the world had ever known. Becauseof isolation, living discomfort, and a series of disasters, such as theflood of 1626, the mines proved unable to compete with those ofPeru and Mexico. (CE, Potos, 6th Ed., 2001)

1551Colonists from Peru crossed the Andes and founded Santiago delEstero in what is now northwestern Argentina; it is the oldestpermanent settlement in present-day Argentina. (RHF)

1564Tucumn was founded in the interior in a continuation of the

expansion from Peru in the northwest. (RHF)

1573The southeastward spread led to the settlement of Crdoba in theinterior. In the same year Juan de Garay led a group of creoles(American born Spanish) from Asuncin to the south; theyconquered and expelled the Indians from the lower Paran regionand founded the city of Santa Fe. Santa Fe was regarded as a waystation toward resettlement of Buenos Aires. The two routes ofimmigration now merged, although access from the northwest

remained the official source of entry into what is now Argentina.(RHF)

1580Garay led an expedition of a few more than 60 Spaniards andsome 200 Indian families south from Santa Fe and succeeded in re-establishing Buenos Aires. Of the 63 Spanish inhabitants 53were native-born mestizos (persons of mixed Spanish and Indianparentage). By this time the clash of the two outlooks wasimplanted; the more conservative, conventional, and Spanish-

oriented in the cities settled form the northwest and one that wasmore individualistic and potentially rebellious in the area of thepampas of which Buenos Aires became the center. Buenos Airesgrew only slowly and had virtually to live on smuggling of goodsinto and out of Argentina. (RHF)


4/125

4

1586Juan Ramrez de Velasco, governor of Buenos Aires, was sent toestablish law and order in what is now northwestern Argentina.(RHF)

1588Corrientes was founded. (RHF)

1594The king of Spain decreed that no ship should go in or out of thePlata River. (RHF)

1596San Luis in the northwest was founded. (RHF)

1600sDuring the 17th cent. the city ceased to be endangered byindigenous peoples, but French, Portuguese, and Danish raids werefrequent. (CE, Buenos Aires, Sixth Edition, 2001 2005)

1617What is now Paraguay became a separate division and hence lessof a drain on the limited resources of Buenos Aires. (RHF)

In 1617 the province of Buenos Aires, or Ro de la Plata, wasseparated from the administration of Asuncin and was given itsown governor. (CE, Buenos Aires, Sixth Edition, 2001 2005)

1618The Spanish crown gave permission for two small ships to sailfrom Cdiz directly for Buenos Aires, but efforts were made tokeep goods from being taken into the interior of Argentina. (RHF)

1620A bishopric was established in Buenos Aires. (CE, BuenosAires, Sixth Edition, 20012005)


5/125

5

1622A customs border was established at Crdoba (moved to thenorthwest about three-fourths of a century later) to cross whichgoods from Buenos Aires were charged a duty of 50 percent advalorem; the result was to encourage smuggling and retard growthof Buenos Aires. (RHF)

1626Potos was founded in 1545 and during its first 50 years was themost fabulous source of silver the world had ever known. Becauseof isolation, living discomfort, and a series of disasters, such as theflood of 1626, the mines proved unable to compete with those ofPeru and Mexico. (CE, Potos, 6th Ed., 2001)

1680 Colonia del Sacramento was founded by the Portuguese. (CE,Colonia del Sacramento, Sixth Edition, 2001 2005)

1695The Academy of Monserrat in Crdoba came under sponsorship ofthe Jesuit Order. It was the first important secondary school inArgentina. (RHF)

1711 Father Louis Feuille of France undertook one of the firstsystematic studies of the natural history of Argentina. (RHF)

1726Montevideo, present capital of Uruguay, was founded by BrunoMauricio de Zabala, governor of Buenos Aires. (RHF)

1767Charles III expelled and expropriated the Jesuits. (CE, CharlesIII, Sixth Edition, 2001 2005)

1770Buenos Aires population totaled 22,007, including 4,163 Negroand mulatto slaves. It was then the fourth largest city in SpanishSouth America. (RHF)


6/125

6

1771Buenos Aires was described by Alonso Carron de la Vandera(pseudonym: Concolorcorvo) as a very primitive town. Thecharacterization was included in his Lazarillo de CiegosCaminantes (Guide for Blind Travelers). (RHF)

1776Spain established its fourth viceroyalty, that of La Plata, with itscapital at Buenos Aires. At the time the city had about 25,000inhabitants and was greatly exceeded in population by the northernprovinces. The new viceroyalty included the present republics ofArgentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia (though boundarieswere vague). Its establishment, with direct transatlantic access toSpain, gave a great boost to Buenos Aires, which, by 1800 had apopulation of 40,000. Economic contacts with Britain and cultural

reliance on France increased. (RHF)

Reforms in the Bourbon dynasty and a need to defend againstPortuguese encroachment from Brazil led to the formation of theViceroyalty of La Plata - including Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay,and Uruguay. Argentina had been part of Spain's Viceroyalty ofPeru.

The thirteen British colonies in North America declared theirindependence (July 4).

Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations.

James Watt creates the steam engine (Drucker???).

1777

1778Trade restrictions were relaxed and BsAs grew from a small townto a city of 50,000 by 1800. (Source: ?)

Juan Jos de Vrtiz y Salcedo sucedi a Pedro de Cevallos comosegundo virrey. Su labor progresista en el orden material y culturalse revela con los siguientes ejemplos: fundacin del Colegio deSan Carlos, de la Casa de Comedias (primer teatro con que contBuenos Aires), del Hospital de Expsitos, del Protomedicato y denumerosos fuertes precursores de ciudades posteriormenteimportantes. Estableci el alumbrado de las calles, puso en vigor el


7/125

7

reglamento referente al libre comercio, etc. El 7 de marzo de 1784entreg el mando al marqus de Loreto.(BHG, Vrtiz y Salcedo, Juan Jos de)

1780Dean Gregorio Funes paid public tribute to Descartes, Galileo,Newton, and other intellectuals. It was a daring action in view ofthe ultraconservative tone of the government at the time and wasthe first time in Argentina that anyone had spoken so freely. (RHF)

1789

July 14 The French Revolution gets under way with the storming of the

Bastille in Paris.

1791A professorship of jurisprudence was established at the Universityof Crdoba. (RHF)

1793Porteos (residents of the Port of Buenos Aires) presented their

first petition to the Spanish crown for establishment of unrestrictedtrade; it was rejected. (RHF)

1796

Treaty of San Ildefonso: an alliance of France with Spain againstGreat Britain in the French Revolutionary Wars. (CE, SanIldefonso, Treaty of)

1799 On the initiative of Manuel Belgrano, schools of navigation anddesign were established. (RHF)

August 6 In application of the index expurgatorius the vice-roy threatenedsevere punishments for people reading prohibited books or papers.(RHF)
http://../San%20Ildefonso,%20Treaty%20of.dochttp://../San%20Ildefonso,%20Treaty%20of.dochttp://../San%20Ildefonso,%20Treaty%20of.dochttp://../San%20Ildefonso,%20Treaty%20of.dochttp://../San%20Ildefonso,%20Treaty%20of.doc


8/125

8

*1800s To what extent did Argentina industrialize during the 19th century?How did its development differ from that of other nations andregions? Were the railroads in the US built with American capital?

1800Population of Buenos Aires: 50,000. (Source: ?)

1801The teaching of anatomy and surgery began in Buenos Aires.(RHF)

April 1 The first periodical Telgrafo Maercantil, Rural, Poltico,

Econmico, e Historografo del Ro de la Plata, began publication.Inasmuch as this was prior to the invention of the telegraph, theTelgrafo referred to use of a semaphore for transmitting news.(RHF)

1802The Semanario de Agricultura (Agricultural Weekly) beganpublication; it was suspended, however, in 1807. (RHF)

1806June 27 A British naval force under Sir Home Popham appeared before

Buenos Aires and landed a contingent of 1,600 men commandedby Colonel W.C. Beresford. The troops occupied the city withoutresistance. Viceroy Sobremonte fled the following day, with whattreasure he could gather, to Crdoba in the interior. Porteos soonbegan to organize resistance under the leadership ofSantiagoLiniers, a French officer who had had long service in the Spanisharmy. Many peninsulares (Spanish-born residents) aided theeffort. (RHF)

Span. Santiago de Liniers y de Bremond(snt g th l n rs th br m nd) (KEY) , 17531810, French officer in Spanish service, viceroy of Ro de la Plata.After a military and naval career in Europe, he was transferred tothe Ro de la Plata (1788) as a Spanish naval officer. In 1806 herecaptured Buenos Aires from British forces under William CarrBeresford. The viceroy had fled, and Liniers was namedcommander in chief and lieutenant to the viceroy. When a secondBritish invasion occurred the following year, Liniers called a juntaof war, including ManuelBelgrano, which deposed the viceroy
http://www.bartleby.com/65/12.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/12.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/12.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/BeresforW.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/BeresforW.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Belgrano.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Belgrano.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Belgrano.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Belgrano.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/BeresforW.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/12.html


9/125

9

(Feb. 10, 1807). Despite the rout of the creole army outside BuenosAires, the hastily organized defenses of the city proved effective(July 5, 1807); the British general, John Whitelocke, surrendered.In May, 1808, the appointment of Liniers as viceroy becameknown; he served until Aug., 1809, though there were attempts by

his political enemies to oust him. After retirement, he becameinvolved in a counterrevolutionary plot and was executed.

*Argentines sometimes wonder, often with a sense of regret, what their countrywould be like if the British had won in 1806 and formally colonized Argentina.But would British rule have in fact mattered? To what extent would Anglo-Saxoninfluence have affected Argentine reality? To what extent has it influenced India(for the better), to take one example?

August 12 Porteos succeeded in expelling the British from Buenos Aires.When the inept and cowardly viceroy returned from Crdoba

porteos insisted that he be removed from office. Liniers soonbecame acting viceroy. (RHF)

1807June A larger British force again attempted conquest of Buenos Aires

but failed and had to withdraw. Porteo pride and confidence werebolstered. (RHF)

1809

September Mariano Moreno, a creole lawyer, published anonymously a well-reasoned pamphlet arguing for a trial period of free trade. InNovember the viceroy granted limited free trade to the port. (RHF)

*His equivalent in the US, Thomas Paine. Was he conscious of this?

18101852The decades divided into three major phases.

First, in 1810-1811 came territorial dismemberment, the loss of Upper Peru, Paraguay, and in a

less direct way the Plates east bank.

Second, between 1812 and 1816, widening fissures developed between Buenos Aires and itsnorthern and western hinterland, from Santa Fe to Tucuman and Cuyo. Frictions between aUnitarist, or centralist, faction in Buenos Aires and a Federalist, or provincial, faction beyond ledeventually to spasmodic civil war alongside the struggle with Spain; the outcome was the rise ofregional warlordism or caudillismo.


10/125

10

The third phase, from 1816 to 1820, brought a temporary truce in the civil wars, which furtheredthe cause of emancipation from Spain, but in 1819-1820 reintensified civil war returned. Thewars climax brought the conquest of Buenos Aires and the of the Unitarists by Federalistcaudillos, and the extinction of central government.

1810~ A Spanish edition of Rousseaus Social Contract was published in

Buenos Aires. (RHF)

May 25 La Revolucin de Mayo. The Buenos Aires cabildo (officialgoverning council) met to decide on a policy toward Spain, most ofwhich had been occupied by invading French troops. Counselswere divided but the growing and unruly crowd in the plazaoutside ultimately forced a decision to form a junta (unofficialgoverning committee) to rule ostensibly in the name of the

imprisonedKing Ferdinand. Moreno became one of itssecretaries and its guiding genius. The date, May 25, came to berecognized as that of Argentine independence. Moreno establisheda weekly propaganda periodical, La Gaceta de Buenos Aires; itwas the first uncensored newspaper in Argentina. (RHF)

On May 25, 1810 (May 25 is the Argentine national holiday),revolutionists, acting nominally in favor of the Bourbonsdethroned by Napoleon (seeSpain), deposed the viceroy, and thegovernment was controlled by a junta. The result was war againstthe royalists. (CE?)

November Juan Jos Castelli defeats the Spaniards north of Jujuy at Suipacha,then receives a warm welcome in Upper Peru, before beingdestroyed by Goyeneches army several months later. (DavidRock,Argentina, p. 82)

1811Buenos Aires, where sentiment was liberal and predominantlyrevolutionary, wanted to dominate all territory that had belonged to

the viceroyalty of La Plata. An army sent into Paraguay [in 1810,commanded by Manuel Belgrano (David Rock,Argentina, p. 83)]to force compliance was smashed [early in 1811] by an arousedParaguayan population [led by Jos Gspar de Francia] and thatarea continued its traditional isolation [under de dictarship of deFrancia]. Buenos Aires forces were also unsuccessful in winningsupport from Bolivian Indians and from settlements in Uruguay.(RHF)
http://../BIOGRAPHIES/Ferdinand%20VII,%20king%20of%20Spain%20(1784%20-%201833).dochttp://../BIOGRAPHIES/Ferdinand%20VII,%20king%20of%20Spain%20(1784%20-%201833).dochttp://../BIOGRAPHIES/Ferdinand%20VII,%20king%20of%20Spain%20(1784%20-%201833).dochttp://www.bartleby.com/65/sp/Spain.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/sp/Spain.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/sp/Spain.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/sp/Spain.htmlhttp://../BIOGRAPHIES/Ferdinand%20VII,%20king%20of%20Spain%20(1784%20-%201833).doc


11/125

11

September An army from Brazil relieved Francisco Javier de Elo formergovernor of Montevideo and now the accredited viceroywhowas under attack from Artigas. (David Rock,Argentina, pp. 83

84)

In September 1811, following the defeat at Huaqu, Saavedra andhis cumbersome committee style rule were replaced by anexecutive triumvirate. (David Rock,Argentina, p. 85)

1812March Jos de San Martn, Argentine born but educated in Spain,

returned to Buenos Aires alter 20 years service in the Spanish

army, determined to devote himself to the goal of Spanish-American freedom. He was almost immediately named to head aregiment of mounted grenadiers and at once began organizing andtraining his troops. He was a firm believer in discipline and drill.(RHF)

*Is it true San Martins mother was indigenous?

? The patriots under ManuelBelgranowon a victory [over theroyalists] at Tucumn. (CE?)

July Under British pressure in Rio de Janeirointended to avert a warin the River Plate that would disrupt commercethe Portuguesewithdrew, and the siege of Montevideo recommenced.

1813

1814San Martn and his soldiers were sent as reinforcements to aidManuel Belgrano in the northern province of Tucumn. Afterreorganizing the forces there and stabilizing the area, he requesteda transfer to Mendoza in western Argentina, close to the AndesMountains, with the undisclosed intention of later crossing theAndes with his army and overthrowing Spanish power in Chile.(RHF)

September The Congress of Vienna began (and ended in June 1915).
http://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Belgrano.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Belgrano.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Belgrano.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Belgrano.html


12/125

12

1815? Two eminent porteos, Belgrano and Bernardino Rivadavia,

were sent to Europe to try to find a member of some royal familywho might be persuaded to head a constitutional monarchy inArgentina, a form of government favored by many creoles. NoEuropean prince or princess would accept such a possibility underthe limitations imposed by the Argentine provinces, and, on hisreturn, Belgrano as a last resort proposed placing a descendant ofthe old Inca dynasty in Peru on a not yet established Argentinethrone. San Martn favored the plan as a way of establishingcentral authority and promoting unity but it did not win generalacceptance. (RHF)

June The Congress of Vienna ended.

1816-20 Guerras de la independencia: criollos vs espaoles (Source:?)

1816A congress of provincial representatives met at Tucumn early inthe year. The situation, both internally and abroad, was perilous;both northern South America and Chile had been restored toSpanish control and Ferdinand VII had been re-established on theSpanish throne as an absolute monarch. The congress representeddivided counsels but the strongest leaders in the country favoredindependence from Spain. (RHF)

July 9 Moved by the flaming oratory ofBelgrano, the congress formallydeclared Argentine independence and assumed as a title for thenew state the United Provinces of South America. Monarchicalsentiment in the congress had to give way to the popular insistenceon a republic. (RHF)

On July 9, 1816, a congress in Tucumn proclaimed the

independence of the United Provinces of the Ro de La Plata. Otherpatriot generals were MarianoMoreno, Juan Martn dePueyrredn, and Jos deSan Martn. (Source: CE, Argentina?)

A struggle ensued between those who wanted to unify the countryand those who didn't want to be dominated by Buenos Aires.Independence was followed by virtually permanent civil war, withmany coups d'etat by regional, social, or political factions. (CE?)
http://www.bartleby.com/65/mo/Moreno-M.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/mo/Moreno-M.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/mo/Moreno-M.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/pu/Pueyrred.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/pu/Pueyrred.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/sa/SanMarti.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/sa/SanMarti.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/sa/SanMarti.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/sa/SanMarti.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/pu/Pueyrred.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/mo/Moreno-M.html


13/125

13

After independence the question of political relations among theUnited Provinces was settled by a federalist solution in which theprovinces dissolved into a number of practically independentrepublics. (Source: ?)

August San Martn furthered his plans for the trans-Andean invasion ofChile. He was made commander of the Army of the Andes andassembled additional troops and equipment. Even with the buildupthe army included fewer than 6,000 men. (RHF)

1817January 18 The invasion of Chile began. Although it was mid-summer, the

crossing of the Andes through a pass more than 12,000 feet high,dragging carts, cables, and cannon along a narrow and treacherousroad, was en epochal feat. (RHF)

February 12 The Andes having been successfully crossed, the Argentine forcetook Spanish troops completely by surprise and soundly defeatedthem in the battle of Chacabuco. Two days later the invading forceentered the Chilean capital of Santiago. The brilliant victory turnedthe tide of war in southern South America. San Martn, thoughoffered the governorship of Chile, declined it, saying that he wasfighting battles not to conquer governments but to liberate peoples.

Porteo leaders soon afterward attempted unsuccessfully to getdiplomatic and maritime aid in the United Status for an Argentine-Chilean attack on the center of Spanish power in Peru at theviceregal capital of Lima. (RHF)

? ? Manuel Dorrego attacked the government of Juan Martn dePueyrredn and was banished. Returning to Buenos Aires in 1820,he was provisional governor of the province (JulySept., 1820).(CE, Dorrego, Manuel, 6th Ed., 20012005)

1818April 5 San Martns forces, in another decisive defeat of Spanish troops atMaip, virtually broke the back of Spanish authority in Chile.(RHF)


14/125

14

1819June Juan Martn Pueyrredn, governor at Buenos Aires, resigned his

position at the end of his term, feeling that conditions therebordered on anarchy. Almost at once the city was threatened by the

rude and undisciplined gauchos (more or less, cowboys) of thepampa. This pointed up the growing gulf between Buenos Airesand the provinces. Authorities at Buenos Aires ordered San Martnto return with his army for its protection but he refused andresigned his commission, holding that his higher responsibility wastoward the freeing of Chile and Peru from the Spanish. (RHF)

18201829 The Age of Rivadavia (David Rock)

1820San Martns army, assisted by Chilean forces under the patriotleader Bernardo OHiggins were transported by sea to begin thecampaign against Peru. Armies led by Simn Bolvar fromVenezuela and Colombia moved down from northern SouthAmerica. After a two-day conference in Guayaquil, Ecuador inJuly, 1822 between the two great generals, the details of whichhave never come to light, San Martn withdrew and left the finalliberation of Peru to Bolvar and his lieutenants. San Martn wentsouth, first to Peru, then to Chile, then to Argentina, and finally, in1824, to voluntary exile in England, Belgium, and France. He diedin 1850 at Boulogne, France, and in 1889 his remains were takenback to Buenos Aires and buried in the capitals cathedral. (RHF)

By 1820, the terrible year, it was later called, political linesbetween the porteos and the residents of the hinterland werebecoming more tightly drawn. Their respective groupings--rudimentary parties--were the Unitarians (the more sophisticatedinhabitants of Buenos Aires, who wanted a centralized governmentfor Argentina, naturally under domination of the capital city and itsprovince) and the Federalists (the poorly organized populations ofthe interior, led by provincial caudillos, strong and magneticleaders--military chieftains and political bosses--who weremutually distrustful of one another but united in their opposition toBuenos Aires). (RHF)

February Gaucho forces from Santa Fe and Entre Ros provinces defeatedporteo troops in the battle of Cpeda, confirming the actualautonomy of the provinces and blocking dominance by BuenosAires for the time being. Subsequent conditions in Buenos Aires


15/125

15

reached virtual anarchy marked by a rapid turnover in governors.(RHF)

September General Martn Rodrguez was chosen governor and managed tohold office for four years. (RHF)

1821Rivadavia returned from Europe and became Rodrguezsprincipal cabinet minister. He served ably and energetically as aminister from 1821 to 1824 and as president in 1826-27; in thelatter post, challenges from the regional caudillos effectivelylimited his authority to Buenos Aires province. He was responsiblefor many constructive measures including, in 1821, the founding ofthe University of Buenos Aires. (RHF)

The University of Buenos Aires (UBA) was founded. (RHF)

1822Rivadavia abolished many Catholic Church privileges and moreclosely regulated various Church organization; serious frictionwith the Church followed. In the same year the United Statesextended diplomatic recognition to Argentina. (RHF)

*Did the Church side with the royalists in the revolution?

1824A new land law for Buenos Aires province, extended to allprovinces in 1826, was ultimately responsible for cementing onArgentina a pattern of large landholdings that long retarded theeconomic democratization of the country. In that year, too, GreatBritain recognized Argentine independence. (RHF)

*INEQUALITY

A constituent assembly created the office of president, first held by

Bernardino Rivadavia who resigned due to the failure to ratify aworkable constitution. (CE, Argentina?)

1825The Republic of Bolivia emerged, its territories once part of theViceroyalty of La Plata. (David Rock,Argentina, p. 83)


16/125

16

Se cre por ley la presidencia de la Repblica con carcter interino y hasta que se sancionarala Constitucin.

1826February 7 Rivadavia, que haba regresado al pas, asume la presidencia. Bajo

su mandato, el Congreso aprob la Constitucin de ese ao, queestableca el sistema unitario de gobierno, y que fue rechazada porlas provincias. La presidencia de Rivadavia sancion las leyes deenfiteusis, de creacin del Banco Nacional, nacionalizacin de laAduanas provinciales, etc. Se declar tambin la guerra con elBrasil que, a pesar de los triunfos militares, concluy en 1827, conla firma de un tratado de paz totalmente desventajoso para lasProvincias Unidas. Ese episodio aument el descontento contra

Rivadavia, que renunci el 27 de junio de 1827.A new, centralist constitution aroused general opposition in theprovinces. (RHF)

*Was this the first constitution for Argentina?

1827June 27 Rivadavia resigned, plagued by discontent augmented by the treaty

with Brazil. Vicente Lpez y Planes was designated interimpresident.

July Rivadavia transferred power to Vicente Lpez y Planes

July Rivadavia, faced with general revolt, resigned the presidency. Hewas succeeded by Governor Manuel Dorrego of Buenos Airesprovince, who lasted only about a year; civil war and near anarchyfollowed for some months. (RHF)

August After Juan Facundo Quiroga forced Rivadavias resignation andthe dissolution of the national government, Dorrego a leading

advocate of Federalism became governor of Buenos Aires.(CE, Dorrego, Manuel, 6th Ed., 20012005)

*INSTABILITY / INTERRUPTION


17/125

17

1828? ? As governor of Buenos Aires, Manuel Dorrego accepted on behalf

of the nation the treaty of peace with Brazil. (CE, Dorrego,Manuel, 6th Ed., 20012005)

December Manuel Dorregos constitutional government was overthrown byJuanLavalle, and Dorrego was summarily executed. This actionled to a reprisal by Juan Manuel deRosas, who claimed to beDorregos avenger. (CE, Dorrego, Manuel, 6th Ed., 20012005)

*INSTABILITY / INTERRUPTION*Was Dorregos government really constitutional (as the Columbia Encyclopediabiography claims)? After all he was installed after Rivadavias ouster by Quiroga.

(hwn lvy ) (KEY) , 17971841, Argentine general, governor of

Buenos Aires province (182829). He served (181624) in the Warof Independence and (182628) in the war with Brazil. Returningto Buenos Aires, he led his troops in revolt (Dec. 1, 1828) againstthe governor, ManuelDorrego, who fled. Lavalle was proclaimedgovernor. He pursued Dorrego, defeated him, and ordered hissummary execution (Dec. 13, 1828). The Argentine provincesprotested; a national convention pronounced the execution hightreason. Forces commanded by Estanislao Lpez, governor ofSanta Fe, and Juan Manuel deRosasdefeated Lavalle (Apr., 1829),who took refuge in Montevideo. Aided by Argentine exiles thereand, for a time, by French officials, Lavalle organized an army in

1839 and, invading Argentina, campaigned against Rosas. Thecampaign was generally unsuccessful; Lavalle was decisivelydefeated by Manuel Oribe, an ally of Rosas, in 1841. He was killedin Jujuy when attempting to reach Bolivia.

1829Juan Manuel de Rosas became governor of Buenos Airesprovince. He came from a prominent family but was essentially aself-educated gaucho. He was nominally a Federalist, favoringprovincial autonomy; but when he later extended his authority overall Argentina his strong-willed rule would not tolerateinsubordination from any of the local caudillos. His first task wasto consolidate power in Buenos Aires province, which he didruthlessly, especially against the Unitarians. (RHF)
http://www.bartleby.com/65/la/Lavalle.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/la/Lavalle.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/la/Lavalle.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/ro/Rosas-Ju.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/ro/Rosas-Ju.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/ro/Rosas-Ju.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/12.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/12.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/12.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/do/Dorrego.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/do/Dorrego.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/do/Dorrego.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/ro/Rosas-Ju.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/ro/Rosas-Ju.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/ro/Rosas-Ju.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/ro/Rosas-Ju.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/do/Dorrego.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/12.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/ro/Rosas-Ju.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/la/Lavalle.html


18/125

18

Juan Manuel de Rosas became governor of BA and presided overthe construction of a federal agreement between the provinces in1831. (CE, Argentina?)

Together with Estanislao Lpez, [Rosas] defeated JuanLavalle,

and became governor (1829) of Buenos Aires with dictatorialpowers. Aided by Lpez and Juan FacundoQuiroga, he waged asanguinary campaign against the unitarians, destroying theirmovement, at least temporarily. (Source: CE, Rosas, Juan Manuelde, 6th Ed., 2001-2005)

1831Rosassigned the Federal Pact with Estanislao Lpez, caudilloin some of the provinces fronting the Uruguay River, by which thetwo leaders pledged to destroy the Unitarians and take steps towardorganization of a Federal regime in Argentina. (RHF)

Schillers William Tell and Mary Stuart were presented in BuenosAires. (RHF)

1832Because the council in Buenos Aires was unwilling to extendRosass dictatorial powers, he refused re-election, late in the year,to a second term as governor. For the next two and a half yearsthree weak governors bumbled in efforts to control the province

while Rosas led a campaign against the Indians and succeeded inpushing the frontier south and west, thus opening large new areasfor agricultural settlement. (RHF)

1835April After repeated engineered appeals Rosas returned to power with a

grant of complete authority for as long as he thought necessary.His title was that of governor but he exercised full control over thewhole of Argentina for the next 17 years. This was accomplishedby a highly efficient spy system, by the merciless jailing, exiling,

or execution of opponents, by a forced and fantastic homage tohimself, and by similar means. On the other hand, he succeeded inholding Argentina together and preventing further split-offs suchas had wrested Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia from the formerviceroyalty. (RHF)

*INTOLERANCE / REPRESSION / TERROR / DICTATORSHIP /CAUDILLISMO
http://www.bartleby.com/65/la/Lavalle.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/la/Lavalle.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/la/Lavalle.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/qu/QuirogaJ.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/qu/QuirogaJ.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/qu/QuirogaJ.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/qu/QuirogaJ.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/la/Lavalle.html


19/125

19

1838The French government, affronted by brusque treatment byRosas of a French consular agent and also wishing to protectFrench commerce in the disturbed Plata area, sent a naval forcewhich occupied a key customs house, with serious consequencesfor Argentine government finances. Resulting disturbances inBuenos Aires and some of the interior provinces were harshlycrushed. The French withdrew their forces in 1840 and agreed toarbitrate their claims. Rosas continued to interfere militarily inUruguay. (RHF)

1839Aided by Argentine exiles [in Montevideo, where he had takenrefuge in 1929] and, for a time, by French officials, Juan Lavalle

organized an army in 1839 and, invading Argentina, campaignedagainst Rosas. The campaign was generally unsuccessful; Lavallewas decisively defeated by Manuel Oribe, an ally of Rosas, in1841. He was killed in Jujuy when attempting to reach Bolivia.(CE, Lavalle, Juan, 6th Ed., 2001-2005)

*WAR / INSTABILITY / VIOLENCE / CAUDILLISMO

1841Juan Lavalle was killed in Jujuy by Manuel Oribe, an ally ofRosas, while attempting to reach Bolivia. (CE, Lavalle, Juan, 6thEd., 2001-2005)

18431851 Montevideo, the Troy of the River Plate, was under siege byJuan Manuel de Rosas, the Caligula of the River Plate.

1844Richard Newton, an Englishman, introduced barbed wire fencing

into Argentina, thus permitting the later development of wheatraising and breeding of better beef cattle. (RHF)

1845Britain and France joined in a naval blockade of the Plata River toprotect their nationals and their commercial interests in the area.By a diplomatic note the United States protested the action in 1846


20/125

20

as a violation of the Monroe Doctrine but, then engaged in theMexican War, could do nothing further about it. The blockade waslifted in 1847-48. (RHF)

1847-1848The British and French naval blockade of the Plata River waslifted. (RHF)

*Did events in France in 1848 have anything to do with the lifting of theblockade?

1848Revolutions in Europe. (Source: Personal knowledge)

1850s Heavy immigration, particularly from Spain and Italy. The otherprovinces formed the Argentine Federation, based on a federalconstitution of 1853, but BA refused to join. (Source: ?)

18501900 Argentina begins to incorporate itself into the world economy.

1852February 3 Rosas was defeated in a battle which finally ended his long

Argentine dominance. A combined army from three of the littoralprovinces plus troops from Uruguay and Brazil commanded by thecaudillo governor of Entre Ros, Justo Jos Urquiza, easilyovercame the half-hearted forces of the dictator, whose support hadbeen eroding for several years. Rosas resigned and immediatelyleft for exile in England, where he lived in poverty until 1877.(RHF)

*INSTABILITY / INTERRUPTION

February 20 Urquizas forces entered Buenos Aires and quieted the anarchyprevailing there. (RHF)

May Urquiza convened the provincial governors and gained theirconsent to the Pact of San Nicols, naming Urquiza as provisionalpresident, calling for a constitutional convention, and denouncinginternal trade barriers. Urquiza decreed free navigation on theArgentine rivers and nationalization of customs revenues. Buenos


21/125

21

Aires, unwilling to accept loss of its monopoly of customs receipts,refused to accept the San Nicols agreements and ousted theUrquiza-imposed governor. The province of Buenos Aires secededand the Argentine capital was moved to Paran, where it remainedfor eight years. This represented a renewal of the old Unitarian-

Federalist rivalry. (RHF)

September 11 Revolution against Urquiza. (DBHG, Alsin, Adolfo)

November The constitutional assembly met at Santa Fe. A foundation for itsdraft constitution was a short book by Juan Bautista Alberdi, anArgentine exiled in Chile, proposing bases for the politicalorganization of Argentina. (RHF)

1853May 1 The Santa Fe convention adopted the Argentine constitution. It wasbased on Alberdis proposals and closely followed the United

States constitution in structure of government. Urquiza becameconstitutional president. (RHF)

In 1853 the city and province of Buenos Aires refused toparticipate in a constituent congress and seceded from Argentina.National political unity was finally achieved when BartolomMitre became Argentinas president in 1862 and made BuenosAires his capital. Bitterness between Buenos Aires and theprovince continued, however, until 1880, when the city was

detached from the province and federalized. A new city, La Plata,was built as the provincial capital. (CE, Buenos Aires, 6th Ed.,2001)

1854July 10 The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange is founded. (Source:

http://www.bcba.sba.com.ar/)

1859-61 Buenos Aires and the Federation went to war with each other. (CE,Argentina?)

1859Friction between Buenos Aires and the rest of the countryculminated in a short civil war in which porteo troops underBartolom Mitre were defeated by Urquiza. The latters armythen threatened Buenos Aires and that city was forced to accept
http://www.bcba.sba.com.ar/http://www.bcba.sba.com.ar/http://www.bcba.sba.com.ar/


22/125

22

union with the rest of the country, with the sop of promisedconstitutional concessions to Buenos Aires. (RHF)

*BsAs vs INTERIOR / VIOLENCE / INSTABILITY

1860Mitre became governor of Buenos Aires province and Urquizagave up the presidency of the federation to Santiago Derqu.(RHF)

18611865 American Civil War

1861September A final indecisive battle (Pavn) in the sporadic civil war

convinced Urquiza that he must give up the struggle with BuenosAires. Late in the year Mitre assumed the provisional presidency,after Derqus resignation, and moved the capital back to BuenosAires. (RHF)

1862May A congress approved Mitres course of action, declared him well-

deserving from the Fatherland, and elected him constitutionalpresident. He was an accomplished soldier, orator, politician, andwriter. Proposals for federalizing Buenos Aires as the nationalcapital (similarly to Washington, DC) were defeated by porteoopposition. (RHF)

1862[Buenos Aires and the Federation] reached an agreement on theinclusion of BsAs in the Argentine Republic. (Source: ?)

*Formalmente, la constitucin argentina tiene un rgimen democrtico y federal(Mario Cantarini: Esto realmente no es un pas federal. Por qu?)

1864The constructive early part ofMitres administration wassidetracked by Argentine involvement, late in 1864, in theParaguayan War, allied with Brazil and Uruguay against thesmall but fiercely militaristic land-locked nation to the north. Thefive-year war took a considerable toll of Argentine resources and


23/125

23

Mitres popularity but virtually destroyed Paraguay as a nation.(RHF)

1865-70 Argentina joined Brazil and Uruguay in The War of the Triple

Alliance against Paraguay. (Source: ?)

1868Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, minister to the United States and along-time rival ofMitre, was elected president. He was adistinguished writer, a devotee of education, an admirer of theUnited States, but highly egotistic and snobbish. (RHF)

1869Argentinas first census showed a population of about 1,800,000,with almost 500,000 in Buenos Aires province and 178,000 in thecapital city. Sarmientos stimulation of immigration was matchedby his encouragement of education; school enrollment andfacilities almost doubled during his administration. (RHF)

Jos Carlos Paz established La Prensa in Buenos Aires. It becameone of the worlds great newspapers. (RHF)

Population: two million. (Source: ?)

1871Buenos Aires suffered a severe epidemic of yellow fever; morethan 13,000 died within five months. (RHF)

As a consequence of this epidemic, the rich abandoned thesouthern districts of Buenos Aires, such as San Telmo, and movednorth. The divide remains to this day. (Personal knowledge)

1874 With support from Sarmiento, his minister of education, NicolsAvellaneda, was elected president over Mitre and inaugurated inOctober. Mitre, claiming fraud, led a revolt, which was notsuppressed for three months. (RHF)


24/125

24

1875September 3 The first official [polo] match in Argentina took place The game

had been taken there by English and Irish engineers and ranchers.(www.polo.co.uk)

1878A boundary dispute with Chile over lands in southern Patagoniaand Tierra del Fuego was brought to a head when Avellaneda senta small naval force south to oust the Chileans. The latter country,then engaged in the War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia, didnot contest the Argentine claim and withdrew its forces. (RHF)

187879The conquest of the indigenous people by General Roca had madecolonization of the region in the south and southwest possible.

187984 The War of the Pacific between Chile and the allied nations, Peruand Bolivia.

1879May 24 The Indian problem in southern Argentina was finally settled by

a decisive victory by troops under Gen. Julio A. Roca, minister of

war, over tribes in the southern areas which had conducted raidsinto agricultural lands and thus retarded settlement. Thisenormously enhanced Rocas prestige and popularity and was themajor factor in his election as president in 1880. (RHF)

*INTOLERANCE / REPRESSION / VIOLENCE

1880September 20 The long-standing capital question was officially settled by a law

federalizing the city of Buenos Aires and providing for

establishment of a new capital for the province. Buenos Aires city,as the national capital, was put under direct control of the federalgovernment. Buenos Aires province briefly but unsuccessfullyresisted loss of control over the metropolis. (RHF)

*BsAs vs INTERIOR
http://www.polo.co.uk/http://www.polo.co.uk/http://www.polo.co.uk/http://www.polo.co.uk/


25/125

25

1880La generacin del 80 Sarmiento tenia el discurso de la educacin Orden y progreso

Comienza el gran periodo de riqueza

1882The coastal city of La Plata was established on the pampa 50 milessoutheast of Buenos Aires to serve as a new provincial capital.(RHF)

*LA PLATA

1886Miguel Jurez Celman, brother-in-law of Roca, was electedpresident. His administration was extravagant and corrupt; thepublic debt tripled within four years. Concentration of land holdingin the hands of big estancieros (large estate owners) increased.Jurez Celman was forced out of office by popular andcongressional opposition in 1890 and succeeded by his vice-president, CarlosPellegrini. (RHF)

1890April 13 Middle-class entry into politics was formalized by the organization

of the Civic Union of Youth under the leadership of a Basquelawyer, LeandroAlem. The organization had the support of theaged General Mitre. It soon broadened its name to the RadicalCivic Union (UCR) and became commonly known as the Radicalparty. (RHF)

1892October A new administration, headed by President Luis Senz Pea,

took office. General unrest led to the presidents resignation inmidterm and he was succeeded by Vice-President Jos E.

Uriburu. (RHF)

1896July 1 Leandro Alem, leader of the Radical party, committed suicide.

His position as party leader was assumed by his nephew, HiplitoIrigoyen (sometimes spelled Yrigoyen), a partly mystical anderratic but honest and charismatic leader who had politically


26/125


27/125


28/125

28

1912Passage of the SenzPea law, after hot debate, achieved thegoals which the president had espoused and which the oligarchyhad previously dismissed as mere campaign talk. The lawprovided for secret and compulsory voting. Its first test, in the cityof Buenos Aires, led to a spectacular Radical party victory and wasfollowed by other Radical triumphs, to the disgust and anger of thethwarted Conservatives. (RHF)

*INEQUALITY / OLIGARCHY / DEMOCRACY

1913

1914August Senz Pea died and was succeeded by Vice-President Victorino

de la Plaza. He was immediately faced by serious economicrepercussions following the outbreak of World War I. Thegovernment announced a policy of strict neutrality in the war.(RHF)

World War I began.

Population: 8 million. (Source: ???)

Citibank opened its Buenos Aires office, the first in a rapidly builtLatin American branch network. (Source: Roberts, Richard. 2002.Wall Street: The Markets, Mechanisms and Players. London: TheEconomist. P. 243)

1915

1916-1930 Desarrollo industrial empieza con la guerra mundial-industrializacinpor la sustitucin de importes porque no llegan los bienes de Europa.

Haba un proteccionismo natural.

Con la industrializacin crece la clase obrera. (Source: ?)

1916April Though skeptical of how honestly the electoral law would be

enforced, the Radical party entered a reluctant Irigoyen as its


29/125

29

presidential candidate. In a bitterly contested race, Irigoyen won,thus giving the Radical party its first president in its decade and ahalf of activity and the oligarchy its first defeat in more than 60years. His conduct in office was capricious and unpredictable. Hewas personally honest but many officeholders under him were not.

He insisted on a highly personal control of the government.Despite serious German provocation by submarine attacks onArgentine ships, Irigoyen adamantly refused to go to war. He wasgenerally sympathetic to the lower classes but ruthless in hishandling of labor during strikes in January, 1919. (RHF?)

Radicales llegan al poder representando los inmigrantes y la clasemedia. (Source: )

1917

1918-21 High export prices bring enormous windfall gains to estancieros,but at the cost of heavy inflation and sever popular unrest. (Source:?)

1918A movement for reform in higher education began at theUniversity of Crdoba, soon spread to the University of BuenosAires, and then to that of La Plata. Later it was imitated in

Uruguay, Peru, and several other Latin American countries. Itinvolved student participation in university administration,appointment of professors by competitive examinations, academicfreedom, and other changes. (RHF)

*Is Crdoba not often the source of change in Argentina? Take, for example, theCordobazo? If yes, why?

The University of Littoral and the University of Tucumn werefounded. (RHF)

The Argentine University Federation was established as a productof the great university ferment of 1918. (RHF)

*What is the Argentine University Federation?


30/125

30

1919Irigoyen took Argentina into the League of Nations but soon tookit out again in effect when the League declined to admit Austriaand Germany. (RHF)

*Why did Yrigoyen care?

January 9 Semana Tragica.In early January 1919 working-class discontentsuddenly further intensified, and the subsequent events, known asLa Semana Trgica, are remembered as one of the greatbenchmarks in the history of Argentine labor. Metallurgicalworkers in Buenos Aires had called a strike the month before.During the war the metallurgical industry had suffered perhapsmore than any other because of its dependency o imported rawmaterials. High shipping rates and acute shortages due to arms

manufacture caused the cost of raw materials to reach astronomicallevels, and as costs climbed, wages fell. By the end of the war themetallurgical workers situation was desperate, their strike a battlefor survival. Violence immediately ensued, and the city policeforce intervened. When the strikers killed a policeman, the forceorganized a retaliatory ambush. Two days later five bystanderswere killed in an affray between the two sides.

At this Buenos Aires erupted. On 9 January 1919 workersstruck en masse, and more outbreaks of violence followed. As theArmy intervened to quell the movement, the Radical governmentfell captive to a conservative-led reaction bent on exacting revengefor the disorders. In the strikes aftermath civilian vigilante gangsappeared in the streets. Their manhunt for agitators claimedscores of victims, among them numerous Russian Jews who werefalsely accused of masterminding a Communist conspiracy. Whenthe violence finally subsided, the vigilante groups organizedthemselves into the Argentine Patriotic League (Liga PatriticaArgentina). With backing from the Army and Navy, the Leagueremained active during the next two or three years, constantlyvigilant against Bolshevik conspiracies, repeatedly threateningthe government with force whenever it made renewed moves toconciliate organized labor, and conducting education campaignsamong the immigrant communities to inculcate the values ofpatriotism. The outcome of Yrigoyens dablling with the unionswas thus the crystallization of the new Right with authoritarian andprotofascist tendencies. Behind it stood the Army, both of themready to attack the government and thereby to bring to a swiftconclusion the experiment with representative government. After1919 Yrigoyen was compelled to give the new right virtually freerein; for example, strikes of shepherds and rural workers in


31/125

31

Patagonia in 19211922 were met by army intervention and aseries of massacres. (David Rock,Argentina, pp. 201-202)

1920Alejandro Korn published La Libertad Creadora, a veritablesourcebook for a new generation of writers. (RHF)

1921

19221928 Marcelo Torquato de Alvear

1922In an election strongly influenced by Irigoyen the presidency went

to the Radical party candidate Marcelo T. de Alvear, French-educated and member of a wealthy family. His administration wasless personalistic than that of Irigoyen. The latter continuedintermeddling in politics with the result that the Radical party splitinto a personalista wing headed by Irigoyen and an anti-personalistfaction led by Alvear. (RHF)

*Why was someone like MT Alvear a Radical?*Its interesting that Alvear had gone abroad for his education. At this point, is theAmerican upper class also studying abroad, or are US universities already worldclass? JP Morgan, if I remember correctly, studied in Germany in the 19 th century.

1923

1924The Martn Fierro group was formed in Buenos Aires by JorgeLuis Borges to follow the genre of that famous gaucho epic poem.(RHF)

1925

1926

1927


32/125

32

1928-30 Hiplito Irigoyen, round two.

1928Irigoyen was again elected president as the Radical candidate. Bythis time he was even more erratic and in his advanced agebordered on senility. Routine operation of the national governmentbecame increasingly paralyzed. (RHF)

1929March Despite fraud and manipulation the Radicals were defeated in

special elections in Buenos Aires and barely won in two provincialelections. The financial situation became increasingly critical.Unorganized opposition to Irigoyen mounted. (RHF)

Ricardo Guiraldes published his famous novel, Don SegundoSombra. (RHF)

October (?) Black Tuesday in the United States. Beginning of the GreatDepression???

19301940 The Infamous Decade

El fraude patriticoel fraude por el bien de la nacin

Prior to WWII Argentina was acutely Eurocentric, with an eye toBritish finance and French culture; this has changed since. (Source: ?)

1930~ The budget deficit amounted to 300,000 pesos. National

disintegration progressed rapidly, accelerated by the world-widedepression. (RHF)

September 5 Irigoyen, old and sick, delegated his authority to Vice PresidentEnrique Martinez, who promptly proclaimed a state of siege(martial law). Orders to prevent or limit revolutionary activity werenot obeyed. (RHF)


33/125

33

September 6 [Coup 1] Irigoyen and Martnez resigned their offices underpressure from a group of angry right-wing elements led byGeneral Jose F. Uriburu. Irigoyen was confined on a warship andsoon imprisoned on an island in the Plata River where he remained

almost until his death three years later. Alvear went into exile inUruguay. (RHF)

*INSTABILITY / COUP / This represented the first interruption of constitutionalrule after [?] years. It was a nasty precedent.

September 8 General Uriburu took the oath of office as provisional president.His accession marked the return to power of the landed oligarchy,now in alliance with the military. The new regime contemplatedsupplanting the 1853 constitution with a new one but abandonedthe plan. Nor did it abrogate the Senz Pea voting law although it

ceased enforcing it, with the result that elections were manipulatedand fraudulent for years following. The new regime intervenedfreely in the universities and in provincial politics. (RHF)

1931April 5 Radicals won elections in Buenos Aires province but the national

government subsequently annulled them. (RHF)

November 8 General Agustn P. Justo, representing the Conservative-military

alliance, was elected president. (RHF)

1932February 20 President Justo took office. His first act was to lift the state of

siege that had been in effect for a year and a half. His six-year rulewas a semi-dictatorship, with electoral frauds and interventioncommon and political opposition strictly controlled, but withoutmurders, exilings, or torture. In some respects, Justo wasovershadowed by his able and ambitious foreign minister, Carlos

Saavedra Lamas. (RHF)

1933May Julio A. Roca, son of a former president, negotiated a rigid

bilateral trade treaty (the Roca-Runciman Agreement) with Great


34/125

34

Britain by which Argentina received substantial Britishconcessions regarding beef purchases. (RHF)

1934

1935May 31 En marzo de 1935 el Congreso Nacional sancion finalmente la ley

de creacin del Banco Central, la ley de bancos y otras normas quecompletaban la revolucionaria renovacin financiera. Los objetivosde la nueva institucin eran: concentrar reservas para moderar lasconsecuencias de las fluctuaciones de las exportaciones y de lasinversiones de capitales extranjeros sobre la moneda, el crdito ylas actividades comerciales; regular la cantidad de crdito y losmedios de pago, adaptndolos al volumen real de los negocios;promover la liquidez y el buen funcionamiento del crdito bancarioy controlar a los bancos; actuar como agente financiero y aconsejaral gobierno en la emisin de emprstitos y en las operaciones decrdito. (Gerchunoff and Llach,El ciclo - , p. 137. Exact date ofcreation of central bank from Central Bank website.)

The centerpiece of Pinedos reforms was the Central Bank,created in 1934 [WRONG!]. The previous banking system made itimpossible to control the money supply and manage the economyat large by such methods as buying or selling securities,rediscounting, or changing bank reserve requirements. When thegold standard was in force, as between 1927 and 1929, thedomestic money supply was determined by gold holdings, amechanism that produced a rigid, inelastic monetary system, onewhich invariably tended to enhance rather than attenuate businesscycles. In the early 1930s the traditional alternative ofinconvertibility was deemed unsatisfactory because depreciationheavily penalized foreign investors wishing to repatriate theirearnings; Pinedo believed that economic recovery ultimatelydepended on renewed foreign investment.

The Central Bank was thus intended primarily as analternative to the gold standard, one that would uphold the peso atfixed parity and enhance the countrys attractiveness to newforeign investors, while avoiding the pains of automatic deflationas gold reserves fell. The bank was also empowered to regulatemoney supply. By 1935, under Ral Prebisch, its youthful andresourceful director-general, the bank, however, had developedquasi-Keynesian functions through its capacity to control creditand stimulate demand. The Central Bank was empowered to serve


35/125


36/125


37/125

37

repression. The colonels clique, officially the GOU (Group ofUnited Officers), at first showed some confusion as to policies,although three months before the coup it had secretly distributed amemorandum with strongly fascistic overtones expressing frankadmiration for Nazi Germany. (RHF)

July General Pedro Pablo Ramrez, temporarily president, dissolvedcongress and thereafter ruled by decree. (RHF)

September The scheduled presidential election was canceled. Jail or exilefaced increasing numbers of opponents. Anti-Semitic agitationincreased. (RHF)

October A manifesto signed by about 150 business, professional, andintellectual leaders called for freedom of the press, effectivedemocracy, solidarity with other American republics, and

fulfillment of international pledges but it was met with increasedrepression by the government. (RHF)

Victoria Ocampo founded the review Sur, a periodical thatprovided an open forum for world thought. She was harassed andimprisoned for a time by the Peron regime because of herunwillingness to conform to its pressures. (RHF)

1944

January In the face of irrefutable evidence presented by the United Statesand Great Britain that German agents were carrying on espionagein Argentina protected by diplomatic immunity, the Argentinegovernment was pressured into severing diplomatic relations withAxis powers. Ramrez was forced to resign; he gave way toGeneral Edelmiro Farrell, with Peron continuing as the realthough untitled head of government. (RHF)

~ Peron based his bid for power increasingly on support from theproletariat, which he wooed persistently with consummate skill.

Taking the headship of the Labor Department, he cultivatedorganized labor and saw to it that they got many concessions.(RHF)

May Peron was additionally named minister of war. (RHF)

July Peron was appointed vice president in addition to his other posts.(RHF)


38/125

38

1945Peron continued his climb to power. A highly effective ally was an

illegitimate and initially obscure radio and movie actress, EvaDuarte (Evita) who had formed a deep dislike of the upperclasses and after the military coup in 1943 quickly ingratiatedherself with members of the officers clique, especially with Peron.She became his mistress and his staunch supporter in rallying thelower classes to his following. She was especially effective inpropagandizing organized labor. (RHF)

March? Argentina declared war on the Axis and subsequently expropriated38 German firms. (Source???)

October? Peron finally married Eva Duarte, allegedly under some pressurefrom fellow army officers who wanted to see their relationshipregularized. (RHF, p. 127)

October An inept counter-coup ousted Peron from power and sent him todetention on a Plata River island; Farrell, however, was notremoved from the presidency nor did the officers behind the coupconsolidate their hold on government. Slightly over a week laterPeron was permitted to return to Buenos Aires for medicaltreatment. Evita, who in the meantime had been whipping up pro-Peron sentiment among the descamisados (shirtless ones, as the

proletariat was referred to by Peron), stage-managed a huge rally atwhich Peron spoke, was embraced by President Farrell, andpromptly, though unofficially, restored to full political power. Thecounter-coup had ignominiously collapsed. (RHF)

October 17 La famosa manifestacion espontanea en la Plaza de Mayo

La clase obrera sale a la callela primera demostracin de lasmasas en Argentina.

23:00 Peron spoke from the Casa Rosada to the crowd in the Plaza de

Mayo.Speech.

*POPULAR PROTEST

December Peron became the government candidate in the presidentialelections set for the following February. An opposition coalitionwas headed by a colorless Radical party leader. The campaign washighly manipulated in favor of Peron. (RHF)
http://../Argentina,%20Documents/Speach,%20Peron,%201945-10-17.dochttp://../Argentina,%20Documents/Speach,%20Peron,%201945-10-17.dochttp://../Argentina,%20Documents/Speach,%20Peron,%201945-10-17.dochttp://../Argentina,%20Documents/Speach,%20Peron,%201945-10-17.doc


39/125

39

1946

February 24 Peron was overwhelmingly elected president. In contrast to thepreceding campaign the election itself was scrupulously impartial.Peron, now married to Evita, was given a great psychological andpolitical boost by this popular mandate to rule Argentina. EvitaPeron came to wield enormous power. (RHF)

May Braden replaced with George Messersmith. [Why? Because ofBradens stance in the elections?]

March In March, in a measure instigated by Miranda and supported byPeron, Farrell nationalized the Central Bank and the deposits ofprivate banks. This action eliminated the Central Banks formalautonomy, which it had enjoyed since its creation twelve yearsearlier, and its system of administration by a board of nomineesfrom private banks. The measure also extended the rediscountnexus between the Central and private banks, and establisheduniform reserve requirements for issuing loans. Nationalization ofthe Central Bank thus enhanced the centralization of economicmanagement. (David Rock,Argentina, p. 273).

*CENTRAL BANK

June 4 Peron succeeds Farell on the third anniversary of the 1943 coup.

Peron was inaugurated on the third anniversary of the GOU coup.He promptly began preparation of an ambitious Five-Year Plan forbuilding the New Argentina, chiefly by a crash program ofindustrialization. Although later modified, this ultimately had veryserious consequences for Argentine agricultural productivity. TheArmy was treated with great favoritism and given manyconcessions. Peron started a national theater movement. It wasintended to stress the nationalism that the regime wished toemphasize. (RHF)

Juan Domingo Peron won the presidential election andconstructed a populist political alliance that included workers,industrialists, and the armed forces. The Peron-inspired populistideology ofjusticialismo included extension of franchise towomen and redistribution of income to workers and the poor. Theactivities of Peron's charismatic wife, Eva, bolstered justicialismo


40/125

40

through her effort to distribute goods to the poor through theSocial Aid Foundation.

Peron appears to enjoy a more favorable international situationthan any of his predecessors since at least the 1920s.

Also marked a notable attenuation of the wartime feud with the USas a result of the increasing communist threat.

Peron:

Una politica redistributiva Lo apoyaron los sindicatos (Especialmente CGT), la iglesia y el ejercito Creo un estado benefactor y mas burocratico Evita: el voto para mujeres Estabilidad nacional: salarios o sueldos altospara obreros Perdio el apoyo de la iglesia y de la parte catolica del ejercito por introducir el divorcio ypor sacar la obligacin de tener una educacin religiosa y el apoyo de la parte

1947

Evita made a triumphal official visit to Spain, Italy, and France andwas received with high honors by the Spanish dictator Franco, thePope, and the French president. In Argentina she won revenge on

the women of the oligarchy, who had been contemptuouslysnubbing her, by heading a newly organized Eva Peron Foundationwhich was given control of all charitable activities, previouslyexercised by the matrons of the oligarchy. (RHF)

Woman suffrage adopted. (Skidmore & Smith, pg 64)

1948In a complicated purchase deal Argentina acquired title to the

British-owned railways for 150,000,000. The government alsomanaged to retire the outstanding foreign debt of about twelve anda half billion pesos. (RHF)


41/125

41

1949March 16 The regime approved a new constitution. It maintained most of the

governmental structure established in the 1853 constitution butwrote in a great deal of the new synthetic peronista philosophy

and, most important of all from the standpoint of the regime,provided that a president could be immediately re-elected. (RHF)

July 25 The Peronista party was officially founded as a political vehicle forPeron; it was the first time an Argentine party had formally beennamed for an individual. The following day the Peronista Feministparty was established and headed by Evita; this was the firstArgentine womens party. (RHF)

1950 Late in the year the government cautiously began sounding outsentiment toward the possible later nomination of Eva Peron as avice-presidential running-mate with Peron in the forthcomingpresidential elections. (RHF)

1951April The government expropriated the great independent newspaper La

Prensa. (RHF)

August A huge stage-managed mass meeting of descamisados indowntown Buenos Aires demanded that Evita accept the vice-presidential nomination alongside Peron. She coyly accepted but afew days later withdrew, ostensibly because she was under theconstitution age for the office but actually because pressure formhigh army officers forced her withdrawal. The colorless incumbentvice-president, Juan H. Quijano, was then substituted for her.(RHF)

November Peron was re-elected with about 60 percent of the vote, a higher

fraction than in 1946. Peronistas were in full control of both housesof congress and all provinces. The election was soon followed bythe flowering of justicialismo (roughly, social justice), therationale synthetically developed as a foundation for the regime.(RHF)


42/125

42

1952July Evita Peron died of cancer. Only partially due to her death, the

strength of the regime began to dissipate. The governmentseconomic problems increased; a critical press entirely disappeared;

the universities further deteriorated; the Catholic Church becameincreasingly alienated; agricultural production declined. (RHF)

1953

1954

1955Population: 19 million. (Source: ?)

June A demonstration of about 100,000 Catholics in the plaza frontingthe presidential palace protested actions the government hadrecently taken which antagonized the Church. This was soonfollowed by an attempted naval revolt in which planes actuallydropped a few bombs on Buenos Aires but then had to fly to refugein Uruguay. In retaliation peronista gangs attacked and lootedsome of Buenos Airess finest churches. Peron expelled two highChurch officials and the Vatican responded by excommunicatingPeron and a number of his high associates. (RHF)

August Additional plots came to light and more rioting occurred. (RHF)

August 31? 5x1 speech. (Source: ?)

September 16 COUP 3] La Revolucion Libertadora

Armed revolt broke out in several barracks in the interiorprovinces. General Eduardo Lonardiwas named chief of theliberating movement. (RHF)

September 19 Peron resigned as president and took refuge on a Paraguayangunboat in the Plata River. He went into exile, first in Paraguay,


43/125

43

then successively in Panama, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic,and Spain. (RHF)

September 23 Londardi took over the provisional presidency. (RHF)

November 13 [COUP 4] A further army coup ousted Lonardi and madeGeneral Pedro E. Aramburu provisional president. The apparentreason was internal army politics, especially the feeling thatLonardi had been too conciliatory toward conservative elements.Late in 1955 the government revealed that from 1946 to 1955 toldand foreign exchange reserves had dropped from $1,682 million to$450 million, due largely to purchase of the British-ownedrailways and American utilities, retirement of old foreign debt, andgrafting. (RHF)

1956The 1853 constitution was restored by presidential decree. Thegovernment announced that elections would be held in 1957 andthis immediately led to a revival of party activity. Argentinanegotiated favorable trade treaties with a number of Europeangovernments. (RHF)

1957

July The poorly knit Radical party, the countrys largest except for thePeronistas, split into two groups, the Intransigent Radical party andthe Popular Radical party. Elections were held for a constitutionalassembly to consider modification of the basic law. Almost aquarter of those voting cast blank ballots, supposedly on ordersform the exiled Peron because Peronista parties of all kinds werebarred from the ballot. The constitutional assembly could not agreeon any actions and adjourned in futility. (RHF)

??? Following Prebischs reforms, Argentina receives the credentials

for admission to the IMF. (Source: ???)

1958


44/125

44

February The postponed presidential election was held and Arturo Frondizi(1908-), candidate of the Intransigent Radicals, easily won,allegedly with support from the followers of Peron whose supportFrondizi had cultivated. (RHF)

1959Frondizi did not (and probably could not) carry out all the populistpledges he had made in his campaign, with the result thatorganized labor, still under the Peronist spell, turned increasinglyrestive. The army remained skeptical of Frondizis ability to steer amoderate government course. (RHF)

CUBAN REVOLUTION

January De facto devalution. (Source:?)

*Devaluation

June Within a year Frondizi was forced by the military to fire hiseconomic team and replace them with a dogmatic free-enterprisegroup headed by Alvaro Alsogaray, a rigid advocate of IMF-stylemonetarism. (Thomas Skidmore and Peter H Smith, p 91)

June Alvaro Carlos Alsogaray, who in June 1959 became Minister ofLabor and the Economy, was an explicit admirer of LudwigErhard. Alsogaray believed that German-style liberalization with asingle exchange rate and a control of the money supply exercisedonly through changes in banks reserve requirements wouldproduce the Argentine Wirtschaftswunder. In the particularcircumstances of Argentina, such reforms would attract foreigncapital. (Harold James, I.M.C.S.B.W, pg 130)

June The Frondizi-Peron alliance collapsed. (Source:?)

1960s Brain drain begins. (Source:???)


45/125

45

1960March Yet the fate of Frondizis presidency rested on the strength of his

political support. Labor and the nationalist left never forgave hisorthodox stabilization policy, with its cut in real wages and its

embrace of foreign capital. In the congressional elections of March1960 Frondizis Radicals got got fewer votes than the Balbinfaction; Peronists cast blank ballots on instruction from their exiledleader. Frondizi was already failing to woo the Peronists to hisside, a failure that aroused the military. (Source: ?)

December The Intransigent Radical party revised its platform and droppedreferences to agrarian reform, government ownership of industry,and a state-planned economy. (RHF)

1961The government faced crisis after crisis. Military pressure on theFrondizi regime increased, especially after the government showedsigns of making a concession to Peronista sentiment by allowingPeronista parties to participate in the forthcoming congressionalelections. (RHF)

1962ECONOMY:

-The economy showed a small decline (Skidmore and Smith, p. 93)

March 18 The elections, with Peronista parties permitted, showed asurprising maintenance of Peronist sentiment. Blank ballotsdropped off almost to zero. Peronist candidates polled almost3,000,000 votes, slightly under a third of the total. The alliance ofPeronista parties had the largest vote of any party; it won 9 of the14 provincial governorships to be filled and carried a majority ofthe national chamber of deputies (corresponding to the U.S. Houseof Representatives). The results were politically fatal for Frondizi.(RHF)


46/125

46

March 29 [COUP 5] The armed services submerged their previousdifferences and engineered a coup forcing Frondizi from office andannulling the recent election results. After a short period ofconfusion Jose Maria Guido, president of the senate, becameprovisional president of Argentina and held office for somewhat

over a troubled year at the sufferance of the army. Congress wasrecessed, parties were dissolved, and provincial governments werereplaced. A court held that the invalidating of the elections wasunconstitutional but the military-dominated regime ignored theruling. (RHF)

September 21 Internal army friction between two rival groups resulted in a briefoutbreak of street fighting. The winning faction promised earlyelections and the withdrawal of the military from politics.President Guido soon afterward scheduled the forthcomingelections for the following June. Much wrangling followed as the

conditions under which the elections would be held. (RHF)

1963

ECONOMY, 1963:-The economy showed a small decline (Skidmore and Smith, p. 93)

June Internal dissensions forced postponements of the elections until

July. (RHF)

July 7 Dr Arturo Illia, Popular Radical party candidate, was the leader inthe popular voting, with about 27 percent of the vote. Peronistacandidates were banned and as a consequence the percentage ofblank ballots rose to almost a fifth of the total. As Illia fell short ofthe constitutionally required majority of the electoral vote it wasdoubtful for a short time what the electoral college would do inmaking a choice. (RHF)

This time the Balbin Radicals won the largest total, with 27 percent

of the ballots. The new president was Arturo Illia, a colorlessprovincial physician who was to lead the second Radical attempt atgoverning post-Peronist Argentina. (Skidmore and Smith, pg. 93)

July 31 The electoral college confirmed Illia by a comfortable margin.Illias administration was a moderate one, quite lacking in


47/125

47

flamboyance. The army and organized labor remained enmeshed inpolitics. (RHF)

Illias style was decidedly low-key. This seemed suitable, since hehad gained only slightly over a quarter of the popular vote. Unlike

Frondizi, Illia had made no overtures to the Peronists. Nonetheless,the hard-line military were ever vigilant to find any signs ofsoftness toward Peronism or the left.

Illia was very fortunate in the economic situation he found. Thegovernment began very cautiously. It soon became evident,however that the policymakers were set on expansion, grantinggenerous wage increases and imposing price controls. Thesemeasures helped to swing Argentina into the go phase of thestop and go economic pattern (alternately stimulating andcontracting the economy) it had exhibited since the war. The GNP

showed small declines in 1962 and 1963, but spurted to gains of10.4 percent in 1964 and 9.1 percent in 1965.

On the agricultural front the Illia government suffered through adownturn in the beef cycle, when the depleted herds werewithheld for breeding. The resulting shortage irritated urbanconsumersalways voracious beefeatersand reduced theproduction available for export. Cattlemen were angry because thegovernment did not let prices rise to the levels indicated by marketdemand. Illia, like virtually every other president since 1945, foundthe rural sector virtually impossible to harness for the nationalinterest. (Skidmore and Smith, pg. 93)

1964

ECONOMY, 1964:

Illias policies were primarily ones of drift. The economic situationdangerously worsened. The government undertook successive

devaluations of the peso. (RHF)

*Devaluations

October The government announced a five year plan for Argentina but itwas unambitious and vague and was never seriously implemented.(RHF)


48/125

48

December Peron attempted a spectacular return to Argentina but Brazilianarmy officers in Rio de Janeiro required him to return to Spain andthe Spanish government insisted that he pledge himself not toundertake any more political activity from Spanish territory. (RHF)

1965

March Peronist political activity was permitted in congressional elections.Groups supporting Peron ran candidates under another party labeland won 52 seats in the chamber of deputies, thus constituting thesecond largest political bloc. Peronist leaders immediately beganarguing that this was a mandate for the return of Peron himself.(RHF)

The Peronist unions were opposed to Illia from the moment heentered office, in part because the Peronists were barred from the1963 elections. Despite Illias initially large wage settlements, thePeronist-dominated CGT drew up a battle plan (plan de lucha)which included strikes and workplace takeovers. In thecongressional elections of March 1965 the now legalized Peronistparty won 30.3 percent of the vote, as against 28.9 percent for theIllia Radicals. (Skidmore and Smith, pg 93)

October Peron sent his third wife Isabelita, to Buenos Aires to try to weld asolid front among various Peronist factions. She immediately

became a focus of speculation and political intrigue. (RHF)

Peron, in his Spanish exile, was encouraged by the vote and senthis third wife, Isabel, to Argentina to negotiate directly with thefeuding Peronist groups. The hard-line military grew more worriedover the apparent Peronist comeback. Illia had taken the samepolitical gamble as Frondizi, with similar results. The Economicscene had also taken a disquieting turn. Inflation had erupted anewand the government deficit was out of control. In June 1966 themilitary intervened again. Illia was unceremoniously ejected fromthe Casa Rosada. Once again the officers had removed a Radical

government unable either to court or to repress the Peronistmasses. (Skidmore and Smith, pg 93)

1966-73 A military bureaucratic-authoritarian regime led by a series of Argentineofficers was established.


49/125

49

1966

April A statement by top military leaders disclaimed any intention ofmounting another coup but expressed concern over the

deteriorating economy and the passive attitudes of the Illiagovernment. (RHF)

June 28 [COUP 6] An army coup ousted Illia, removed all governors,dissolved congress, the provincial legislatures, and all politicalparties, and dismissed the supreme court. (RHF)

Peron, in his Spanish exile, was encouraged by the vote and senthis third wife, Isabel, to Argentina to negotiate directly with thefeuding Peronist groups. The hard-line military grew more worriedover the apparent Peronist comeback. Illia had taken the same

political gamble as Frondizi, with similar results. The Economicscene had also taken a disquieting turn. Inflation had erupted anewand the government deficit was out of control. In June 1966 themilitary intervened again. Illia was unceremoniously ejected fromthe Casa Rosada. Once again the officers had removed a Radicalgovernment unable either to court or to repress the Peronistmasses. (Skidmore and Smith, pg 93)

June 29 General Juan Carlos Ongana, a former army commander,became provisional president. The real reason behind thethoroughgoing military coup was the threat that in free elections

Peronista forces might again win control of several provinces, apossibility that the army was adamantly against. Ongana beganruling dynamically but almost immediately struck sparks fromuniversity students and organized labor. (RHF)

August High officials of the Catholic hierarchy became increasinglycritical of the Ongana regime. (RHF)

1967

ECONOMY, 1967:Krieger Vasenas two year wage and price freeze went into effect.

The Ongania government attempted yet another economicstabilization program. None of the preceding governments had


50/125

50

succeeded in getting at the root of Argentinas problem: the lack ofsustained growth, based on a productive rural sector able to satisfyboth export and domestic demand. (Skidmore and Smith)

March Railway workers undertook a brief strike but Ongana took strong

steps against them, thus further antagonizing a Peronist faction inthe labor force.

April Ongana decreed a stringent new law removing university studentsand graduates form any share in determination of universitypolicies. (RHF)

June A new secretariat of tourism and broadcasting tightened controlsover press, radio, and TV criticism. (RHF)

June 5 11 SIX DAY WAR. Israel struck against Egypt and Syria; Jordan

subsequently attacked Israel. In six days, Israel occupied the GazaStrip and the Sinai peninsula of Egypt, the Golan Heights of Syria,and the West Bank and Arab sector of E Jerusalem (both underJordanian rule), thereby giving the conflict the name of the Six-Day War. Israel unified the Arab and Israeli sectors of Jerusalem,and Arab guerrillas stepped up their incursions, operating largelyfrom Jordan. After Eshkols death in 1969, GoldaMeirbecameprime minister. There followed an inconclusive period when therewas neither peace nor war in the area. (CE, Israel, 6th Ed., 20012005)

1968Student unrest spread virtually to the point of explosion. (RHF)

1969May 29 31 Cordobazo. Student and worker activism came together. The

local CGT undertook a general strike, and groups of students and

workerswith a massive participation of auto workers among thelattertook control of the city center, where common citizenssoon joined themThe army finally intervenedSlowly, on May31st, order was reestablished. Between twenty and thirty personshad been killed, some five hundred were wounded, and other threehundred were arrested. War tribunals condemned the principalunion leaders such as Agustin Tosco to prison sentences, therebyassigning them responsibility for the uprising.
http://www.bartleby.com/65/me/Meir-Gol.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/me/Meir-Gol.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/me/Meir-Gol.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/65/me/Meir-Gol.html


51/125

51

As a mass protest, only the 1919 Semana Tragica or the events ofOctober 17, 1945 can be compared to the Cordobazo, with thedifference that in the 1945 protest the police supported andprotected the workers. But like the October 17th events, the

Cordobazo was a seminal episode in the wave of social proteststhat followed. Therefore, its symbolic significance was enormous,although it was given different interpretations by those in powerand by the union leadership, or from the perpective of those who,in one way or another, identified with the popular mobilization anddrew lessons from the events. Whatever the interpretation, onething was clear: The enemy of those people who massively wentout into the street