Building Argentina (1816-1880)

The Tucumán congress had tried to create a nation, but that proved to be an elusive and bloody task. The collapse of Spanish control led to a bloody mix of anarchy and civil war that lasted a good part of the next 50 years. All over Argentina local strongmen, known as caudillos, raised gaucho militias and tried to conquer their neighbors. Bitter infighting consumed Buenos Aires and other cities; raids by Native Americans and bandits contributed to the general lack of security.

One caudillo eventually managed to achieve what others couldn't: stability and security in his domain. Juan Manuel de Rosas, self-styled "restorer of laws", ruled Buenos Aires with an iron fist from 1829 to 1852 after pacifying the natives on the pampas with a mixture of diplomacy and brute force. Enormously popular with the working classes and feared by the elite, Rosas organized a secret service called the Mazorca to destroy his political opposition. The result was a macabre preview of Argentina's darkest hour, as the Mazorca proceeded to murder thousands. The victims were often beheaded and their heads displayed in public places.

Rosas and the other caudillos, with their perpetual fueding, were a significant obstacle to the creation of a strong central government in the United Provinces. Still, the Constitution of 1853, which created the modern Republic of Argentina, paved the way for a strong executive who could keep unruly caudillos in line. But it took war against Paraguay (the war of the triple alliance, 1865-1870) to mobilize substantial support for national unity.

An ardent nationalist and popular figure to emerge from the war was general Julio Roca. In 1879 Roca led the infamous conquest of the desert, in which he exterminated most of the remaining native peoples of Argentina and forced the survivors onto reservations. Despite the fact that he had commited genocide, Roca was elected president the next year.

Stability and Growth