Bernardino Rivadavia left an indelible mark on the first two decades of the independence period in the Río de la Plata. He is generally regarded as one of the founders of the Argentine Republic, but his objectives, his sources of political strength, and many aspects of his activities are obscure or disputed. The influence of this austere merchant turned statesman was felt in many areas, political, economic, cultural, and religious, at a time when the inhabitants of the Río de la Plata were seeking to secure and adjust to their new-found freedom from Spain. It is the life of this extraordinary man that concerns Alberto Palcos in the book reviewed here. In reality this biography is an extension of the author’s La visión de Rivadavia (Buenos Aires, 1936). The older work, an analysis of Rivadavia’s career to the end of the First Triumvirate, has been republished as part of a more complete treatment.
Palcos views Rivadavia as a political and social reformer who was influenced by the philosophies of Jeremy Bentham and Destutt de Tracy and Spanish liberalism, and who failed because of erroneous judgments and the opposition to his program. However, Rivadavia, predestined to greatness, was “the effective organizer of Argentine democracy.” Full of self-confidence and with a deep sense of mission, he strived to achieve the ideal of the Revolución de Mayo independently of any political party and without following in the footsteps of Mariano Moreno. He was always a democrat and a republican motivated by a nationalism that was both progressive and constructive. He did not work for the restoration of the Spanish monarchy in 1812, and when he drew up plans in 1818-1819 for a constitutional monarchy, he did so reluctantly. Actually, his aim was to reconcile differences between those for and against radical changes in the colonial political and juridical institutions, to stimulate popular initiative, and to avoid a strong centralist government. When he did accept the Unitarian constitution of 1826, it was only because the provinces were ambivalent and there was a pressing need to organize the nation. However, he thought federalism would triumph eventually.
Another facet of his program was to reorder the social classes, to strengthen the “middle class,” and to prevent the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few Spaniards and foreigners and the absorption of the public domain by large landlords and monopolizing companies, especially foreign. This objective explains in part his preoccupation with agrarian reform and poverty, and his support of the system of emphyteusis. The laws of emphyteusis did result in an exodus from the city to the countryside, but they were abused, and Rivadavia would have taken remedial action if he had served his full term as president of the Argentine Republic.
In the realm of international affairs he wanted peace and harmony, the avoidance of war, without sacrificing national territory. Anticipating the war with Brazil over possession of Uruguay, he sought in 1825 the mediation of Great Britain. He believed, for reasons he thought sound, that English mediation would be forthcoming and pro-Argentina, but Canning disappointed him. Albion’s “perfidy” was again evident in 1828. In that year Lord Ponsonby, the British agent, acted contrary to his instructions and took the side of Brazil in the peace negotiations. Even Rivadavia’s own negotiator, an Anglophile with his own ideas, exceeded the limits of his authority when he signed a peace treaty confirming Brazilian suzerainty over Uruguay.
Palcos presents a provocative interpretation of Rivadavia and his times, and with the aid of new documents, he adds to our knowledge of the period. However, his tendency to make strong assertions on the basis of weak evidence suggests that much remains to be done before we will fully understand the contradictions between the alleged goals of Rivadavia and his actions. What is most regrettable, at least from the viewpoint of this reviewer, is the failure of Palcos to fully indicate his sources after the first 336 pages of his fascinating study.
