ABSTRACT
Julián Segundo Agüero was an adviser to Bernardino Rivadavia, the first president of Argentina-or more accurately, of the United Provinces of the River Plate, as the country was known in the 1820s. The country had just gone to war with Brazil to settle control over the neighboring region of Uruguay. Rivadavia’s adviser saw an opportunity in the conflict, one that would provide justification for the raising of a large army, which could then be used to quell calls for autonomy from caudillo strongholds in the interior provinces, and to impose a new constitution that centralized power in Buenos Aires. But the scheme quickly foundered. The war effort took its toll on agricultural production, and stoked the caudillo opposition. Rivadavia resigned and went into exile. Civil war ensued, and in the aftermath, General Juan Manuel de Rosas stood supreme. He had fought for the cause of autonomy, but once in power he took on dictatorial powers. He catered to the economic interests of the cattlemen in the interior, but set aside politics as his own preserve. His rhetoric was confederal, but his style was firmly rooted in centralized decision making. His rule lasted from 1829 to 1852. It was the longest period of stability experienced by the country, and it depended on a permanent military campaign to not only subdue rebellions in the periphery, but also justify despotic rule. Perhaps unwittingly, he had assumed the very strategy he had once fought against. He made unity with sticks.
