Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827.
He was educated at the Royal College of San Carlos, but left without finishing his studies. During the British Invasions he served as Third Lieutenant of the Galicia Volunteers. He participated in the open Cabildo on May 22, 1810 voting for the deposition of the viceroy. He had a strong influence on the First Triumvirate and shortly after he served as Minister of Government and Foreign Affairs of the Province of Buenos Aires.
Although there was a General Congress intended to draft a constitution, the beginning of the War with Brazil led to the immediate establishment of the office of President of Argentina; with Rivadavia being the first to be named to the post. Argentina's Constitution of 1826 was promulgated later, but was rejected by the provinces. Strongly contested by his political party, Rivadavia resigned and was succeeded by Vicente López y Planes.
Rivadavia retired to Spain, where he died in 1845. His remains were repatriated to Argentina in 1857, receiving honors as Captain General. His remains are in a mausoleum in Plaza Miserere, adjacent to Rivadavia Avenue, named after him.
Biography Early life Rivadavia was born in Buenos Aires on May 20, 1780, the fourth son of Benito Bernardino González de Rivadavia, a wealthy Spanish lawyer, and his first wife, María Josefa de Jesús Rodríguez de Rivadeneyra. Both parents were born in the Galician town of Monforte de Lemos. Because of his dark appearance it has been alleged Rivadavia had African ancestry., p.227, p.24, p.111 On December 14, 1809, Bernardino Rivadavia married Juana del Pino y Vera Mujica, daughter of the viceroy of the Río de la Plata, Joaquín del Pino and his second wife, the vicereine Rafaela Francisca de Vera Mujica y López Pintado. His military appointment was rejected by Mariano Moreno.
Career Rivadavia was active in both the Argentine resistance to the British invasion of 1806 and in the May Revolution movement for Argentine Independence in 1810. In 1811, Rivadavia became the dominant member of the governing triumvirate as Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of War. Until its fall in October 1812, this government focused on creating a strong central government, moderating relations with Spain, and organizing an army.
By 1814 the Spanish King Ferdinand VII had returned to the throne and started the Absolutist Restoration, which had grave consequences for the governments in the Americas. Manuel Belgrano and Rivadavia were sent to Europe to seek support for the United Provinces from both Spain and Britain. They sought to promote the crowning of Francisco de Paula, son of Charles IV of Spain, as regent of the United Provinces, but in the end he refused to act against the interests of the King of Spain. The diplomatic mission was a failure, both in Spain and in Britain. He visited France as well, and returned to Buenos Aires in 1821, at their friends' request.Luna, pp. 7-24
During his stay in Britain, Rivadavia saw the growing development of the Industrial Revolution, and the rise of Romanticism. He sought to promote a similar development in Buenos Aires, and invited many people to move to the city. He convinced Aimé Bonpland to visit the country, but few other invitations were accepted.Luna, pp. 18-21
In June 1821, he was named minister of government to Buenos Aires by governor Martín Rodríguez. Over the next five years, he exerted a strong influence, and focused heavily on improving the city of Buenos Aires, often at the expense of greater Argentina. To make the former look more European, Rivadavia constructed large avenues, schools, paved and lighted streets. He founded the University of Buenos Aires, as well as the Theatre, Geology, and Medicine Academies and the continent's first museum of natural science.
He persuaded the legislature to authorize a one-million pound loan for public works that were never undertaken. The provincial bonds were sold in London through the Baring Brothers Bank, local and Buenos Aires-based British traders also acting as financial intermediaries. The borrowed money was in turn lent to these businessmen, who never repaid it. Of the original million pounds the Buenos Aires government received only £552,700. The province's foreign debt was transferred to the nation in 1825, its final repayment being made in 1904.
A strong supporter of a powerful, centralized government in Argentina, Rivadavia often faced violent resistance from the opposition federalists. In 1826, Rivadavia was elected the first President of Argentina. During his term he founded many museums, and expanded the national library.
Presidency (1826–1827)
Overview His government had many problems, primarily an ongoing war with Brazil over territory in modern Uruguay and resistance from provincial authorities. Faced with the rising power of the Federalist Party and with several provinces in open revolt, Rivadavia submitted his resignation on June 27, 1827. He was succeeded by Vicente López y Planes. At first he returned to private life, but fled to exile in Europe in 1829.
The Capitalization Law Immediately after assuming office, Rivadavia presented to Congress a project to make Buenos Aires the capital:Texto de la ley de Capitalización de Buenos Aires the city and much of the surrounding countryside were proclaimed the capital of the state. A few days later he issued a decree ordering the demarcation of the capital of the republic,Texto del decreto que ordenaba la demarcación de la Capital de la República and of the province of Buenos Aires.Texto del decreto que ordenaba la demarcación de la Provincia de Buenos Aires
Economic policy The Discount Bank of the province was transformed into the National BankTexto del Reglamento del Banco Nacional in 1826.
Rivadavia's administration coincided with an increase in British influence in national politics. Rivadavia's scheme was based on five pillars: completely free trade and no protectionism against British imports, finances with a central bank managed by British investors, absolute control of the port of Buenos Aires as the sole source of income for the country, British exploitation of natural resources, and centralized unitarism in Buenos Aires. Gold exports, allowed by free-trade policies, quickly depleted national reserves. This represented a major problem, since gold was the medium of exchange of the local economy. Rivadavia sought to solve this problem by establishing the Discount Bank, a central bank to print money. Despite the role played by the central bank, this institution was placed in the hands of private British investors.
Nationalization of resources President Rivadavia ordered the immediate nationalization of Buenos Aires and its institutions, including the customs house.El Congreso General declara nacionales todas las aduanas e impuestos sobre importaciones y exportaciones
The Consolidation of the Public Debt of the State lawTexto de la ley de Consolidación de la Deuda Pública Interior del Estado declared all public lands of the nation mortgaged and prohibited their sale without special permission from Congress.Prohibiendo la enajenación de tierras del Estado Lands that had previously been considered provincial were nationalized and were to be subject to the system of emphyteusis. During the brief government of Rivadavia, in 1827 the paper peso was devalued by 33% and again by 68% in 1829. Emphyteusis, despite its progressive character, resulted in a strong process of concentration of land ownership in Buenos Aires: a total of 138 owners obtained 18,656,000 hectares. The most favored emphyteutic tenants included many collaborators of Bernardino Rivadavia's own government, including the families Anchorena, Alvear, Ortiz Basualdo, Díaz Vélez, Escalada, Irigoyen, Lezica, Lynch, Miguens, Obarrio, Ocampo, Olivera, Vidal, and Sáenz Valiente, among others. Emphyteusis placed more than eight million hectares at the disposal of tenants and emphyteutic holders, who generally did not pay or paid very low rents to the province. This law tended to favor the great concentration of property in a few dozen families.
The Constitution of 1826
Under the pretext that the war with Brazil had been declared on 1 January 1826 and that a national government was necessary to direct and finance operations, in September of that year the Constitutional Affairs Commission presented a draft constitution based on the Constitution of 1819. After heated debates, forty-three deputies supported the project, while eleven opposed it. The constitution was enacted on 24 December 1826. The name United Provinces of South America was replaced by the Argentine Republic and a representative, republican, and unitary government was adopted.Ternavasio, Marcela. Historia de la Argentina, 1806–1852. Siglo XXI Editores. p. 155.
Civil war in the interior
The reaction of the provinces was swift. From Córdoba, Juan Bautista Bustos led strong opposition to the new constitution and the presidential system. In La Rioja, Facundo Quiroga initially seemed favorable to Buenos Aires, but the civil war in the provinces of Catamarca and San Juan eventually placed him at the head of the federal forces. The rest of the provinces - Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, Mendoza, Santiago del Estero, San Luis and Salta - rejected the constitution but expressed their desire to continue the war with Brazil "without Congress or the president".
The government sent Colonel Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid to gather troops in the provinces of the Argentine Northwest to fight in the war with Brazil, but faced with the weakness of local authorities Lamadrid used the forces he had assembled to overthrow governor Javier López and take control of the government of Tucumán Province. Instead of disavowing him, Rivadavia encouraged him to use those troops to attack neighboring federal caudillos who opposed his policy. Lamadrid led the Unitarian Party in his province and invaded Catamarca, where he restored the Unitarian leader Manuel Antonio Gutiérrez to the government. Facundo Quiroga marched with his militias on Catamarca, where he deposed the governor and then prevailed in Tucumán, San Juan, and Santiago del Estero, finally defeating Lamadrid at the Battle of Rincón de Valladares on 6 July 1827. Quiroga thus became the arbiter of power relations in the northwest. By early 1827, the vast majority of provinces rejected both the constitution and the president.
Loss of the Banda Oriental (Independence of Uruguay) Rivadavia again turned to Manuel José García and sent him on a diplomatic mission to Brazil to begin negotiations for peace with the Empire. The reasons that led Rivadavia to change his position were the same that had earlier discouraged García from supporting the war, and here the important investigative work of Juan Carlos Nicolau should be noted:
On 16 April 1827, García received instructions from Rivadavia and his minister Francisco Fernández de la Cruz, informing him that the government intended to accelerate the end of the war. The bases that the plenipotentiary minister García was to use were:
In other words, President Rivadavia instructed the plenipotentiary minister García that peace with Brazil should be achieved either through recognition by the emperor of the Oriental Province as an integral part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, or, if that was not accepted, through the proclamation of the independence of the Oriental Province.