One of the better contributions to the sesquicentennial celebration of the Argentine independence movement, this well-documented book is an attempt to rescue Viamonte from oblivion and to give him his true place in Argentine history. The documents come mainly from the private collection of Carlos Sánchez Víamonte (who writes a helpful prologue for the book) and from the public archives of Argentina. On the whole, in spite of one or two over-eulogistic digressions, the author has succeeded in his intentions to do justice for the first time to this Hero of May. He does it, fortunately, by sticking to facts gleaned from the documents. The result is a well-written, well-documented, and altogether original and responsible biography of a prócer who has heretofore been ignored and even unjustly condemned.
The book denies Ignacio Núñez’s contention that Saavedra and Viamonte had their differences, and in general refutes skillfully the bad impression of Víamonte left by Núñez. In this regard much space is consumed with a detailed explanation of the many hatreds, jealousies, and conspiracies among the early leaders of Argentine independence, 1810-1812, at the moment of great import and always a good topic for polemics in Argentina. Víamonte’s role in the fight against the British invasions takes on a different light, for he actually performed gallantly as sargento mayor and rendered his services not with the help of Martín de Alzaga as heretofore believed, but on his own. In this interpretation one has to believe López and not Mitre, since López used the same documents the author uses and Mitre never saw them.
Among other interesting conclusions reached in this excellent work are the following: Víamonte and not Pueyrredón commanded the forces which retreated south after their defeat at Desaguadero and the blame for the defeat should lie on the shoulders of Castelli and Balcaree and not on those of Víamonte; in 1812, throughout the trial of Desaguadero, it is clearly shown that the Buenos Aires government considered it a crime to attack the principle of loyalty to Ferdinand VII; the disaster of Víamonte’s campaign against Artigas and Sante Fe should not be blamed against him for he failed to receive the aid promised him by Buenos Aires; until the first government of Rosas the two men cultivated a friendship based on mutual interests (both men being estancieros and federalists), Rosas’ support of Víamonte’s promotion in the army, and cooperative opposition against Lavalie’s coup d’état, but after that relations quickly cooled and became hostile; Víamonte saved Rivadavia’s life in 1834 on humane grounds because Víamonte was incapable of political intrigues; Víamonte saw the necessity of a constitution and often said so; Víamonte’s excellent work in Entre Ríos, until now unknown, was interrupted by the circumstantial negligence and ineptitude of Buenos Aires in spite of Víamonte, and the people of Entre Ríos should remember him with gratitude; Víamonte’s term of office as governor of Buenos Aires saw several outstanding reforms introduced, like the creation of the Registro Civil, his insistence on defending human rights, and his defense of Argentine sovereignty against papal pretensions.
But let the author himself sum up the contributions of this little known Argentine leader:
Guerrero contra los indios, Portugal, Inglaterra, España y la anarquía, patricio cofundador del estado argentino, consejero de diversos gobiernos innúmeras veces, gobernador de Entre Ríos en una oportunidad y tres de Buenos Aires si contamos su primera substitución, no hemos soslayado otras de las facetas que integraba su completa personalidad. Parlamentario, se condujo con sobriedad y talento. Economista, tuvo la virtud de propugnar, desde el llano, medidas antiinflacionistas que concretó en el poder, sin vacilaciones. Jurista, defendió dos veces, con alegatos magistrales, derechos en riesgo de conculcarse. Institucionalista, estructuró la relación armónica de los poderes y las provincias. De ideas definidas y coherentes, mantuvo una posición doctrinaria y moderada que lo caracteriza como inteligencia equilibrada y lúcida. Fué antimilitarista y anticlericalista antes de que aparecieran el militarismo y el clericalismo. Aunque esto pueda parecer una paradoja, es incuestionable, pues advirtió los peligros de la intervención militar en la política con su decreto del 31 de octubre de 1829, y se opuso a las pretensiones papales, de tipo clerical y no religioso. Estas fuerzas no existieron como peligro real y organizado sino hasta bien pasada la segunda parte del siglo XIX; el militarismo, para ser más precisos, recién a comienzos del presente. Víamonte, adelantándose a la época, como en tantos otros problemas, detuvo esos avances imprudentes.
An extensive appendix of formerly unpublished documents, a valuable bibliography on the period, and an index of names make this work even more valuable to the historical investigator.
