units refers to an Argentine political party that advocated liberalism. On the other hand, the federal they formed an opposition party that fought to maintain power in Argentina’s provinces.
While the Unitarians fought for one centralized governmentlocated in the city of Buenos Aires, the federals were looking for the political decentralization so that the autonomy of the provinces within the nation was respected.
These two political parties faced each other from 1828 to 1831, during the Argentine Civil War, which originated after the country’s independence. The conflict arose because there was a strong disagreement about how to organize the territory of the provinces.
| units | federal | |
|---|---|---|
| definition | Political group that proposed the centralization of power in Buenos Aires. | Political party that sought the freedom and autonomy of the provinces of Argentina. |
| Existence | From 1816 to 1862. | From 1816 to 1868. |
| Ideology | Centralism and liberalism. | federalism |
| Division of power | They wanted to establish a single central power (centralization). | They sought to maintain the autonomy of the provinces only by delegating certain functions to the central State (decentralization). |
| Economy | They proposed free trade to bring profits to the central government. | They advocated the protectionism of their economic activities for the benefit of the provinces. |
| Adepts | Liberal intellectuals, big merchants and military. | Inhabitants of the rural sectors, tax authorities, leaders and some intellectuals. |
| leaders | Bernardino Rivadavia, Juan Lavalle, José María Paz and Gregorio Araóz de Lamadrid. |
José Gervasio Artigas, Just José d’Urquiza, Juan Manuel de Roses, Facundo Quiroga. |
Who were the Unitarians?
An Argentine political party of tendency is known as Unitarians liberalfounded in 1816, which sought to have unity in the regime.
For the unitarians, the provinces were considered simple internal territorial divisions with little autonomy, because the nation was to predominate about them
Unitarianism arises from independence centralism. In principle, he allied himself with Great Britain and followed the example of Napoleonic France.
The Unitarians made the first attempt to impose themselves in 1826, seeking to implement a form of government where the provinces lost their authority and needs were not a priority.
Supporters of the elite of Buenos Aires and some capital cities of the province supported the Unitarians, but the rural population only followed the local chieftains.
Objectives of the units
- A centralized government in the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, later known as the Argentine Republic in the 19th century.
- Legislation that would unify the entire country under the same law, regardless of local traditions, culture or particularities.
- A unique port in Buenos Aires, whose customs revenues will be used exclusively in this city.
- Free trade, despite the fact that the provinces could be affected economically.
- Free navigation of European ships on rivers with free exchange to benefit from both exports and imports.
- The modernization of the financial system with a bank issuing paper money and contracting loans to carry out works.
Who were the feds?
An Argentine political party, founded in 1818, which proposed the establishment of the federal federalism to defend the autonomy and power of the provinces.
The Federals formed a Federal League, also known as Union of Free Peoples, taking as an example the constitution of the United States. They fought against the Unitary Party for the political organization of the country until the second half of the 19th century.
José Gervasio Artigas was the founding leader of the Union of Free Peoples, accompanied mainly by chiefs and people from the provinces. Together they opposed the dominance of the central power and the elites of Buenos Aires that restricted the independence of the provinces.
The federalists intended to form a republican and federal country, since taking into account the extension of the territory, as well as the economy and regional politics, they claimed that this model was better adapted to the national characteristics.
The thinking of the feds was traditionalistthey defended the customs of the regions.
Objectives of the feds
- Voluntarily associated provinces or regional powers, with a general government in charge of some matters, such as foreign relations.
- Equality of conditions, sovereignty and independence for all provinces.
- Maintenance of the traditions and cultures of rural regions.
- Economic protectionism, especially due to small local industries that could not compete with industrialized goods that were imported at low cost.
- Free navigation of inland rivers to export provincial export products and distribute customs profits among the provinces.
- Limiting the predominance of the Portuguese domain and, consequently, preventing Buenos Aires from being the capital of the country.
Civil war between unitarians and federalists
After the independence of Argentina, the division is made between unitary and federal. They fought for the way to command the politics of the country and for the organization of the territory of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, today known as the Argentine Republic.
When the armistice that ended the war with Brazil (1825-1828) was signed, a centralist presidencywhat originated the Civil war in Argentina from 1828 to 1831.
The chieftains of the interior faced the central power of the urban elites for the unequal distribution of power and economy between the provinces.
The unrest was felt in the provinces by the imports arriving in Argentina, which stole land from local products that had no access to the sea, making economic competition unfair.
the federal forces they won in 1931, establishing a triumvirate made up of Juan Manuel de Roses in Buenos Aires, Javier López on the coast and Facundo Quiroga in the interior.
After the death of Quiroga, Juan Manuel de Roses he positions himself as the commander-in-chief of the federal forces of the government. He was first as governor of the Province of Buenos Aires and then passed to the de facto leadership of the country in 1835.
With this event, Roses began to persecute and exile unitary and federal leaders who opposed his mandate, until establishing himself as the sole representative of the Argentine Confederation that he had formed.
Her dictatorship it was brutal and ended in 1852, when his troops were defeated in the Battle of Proprietors.
The winning coalition was formed by José Urquiza, governor of the Province of Entre Ríos, alongside troops from Brazil and Uruguay.
After this event, in 1853, a congress made up of the provinces drafted a National Constitution declaring a Federal Republic in Argentina.
You may also be interested in seeing Federalism and centralism.