Argentine Nation-State Consolidation: 1862-1916
Campaign of the Desert
Alsina initiated a campaign to extend the boundary south of the Province of Buenos Aires. After Alsina’s death, the young General Julio A. Roca replaced him. Roca’s plan was to be completed in two stages:
- A general offensive on the territory between the south of the Province of Buenos Aires and the Río Negro.
- A coordinated movement of several divisions to converge near the present city of Bariloche.
The result was thousands of Indigenous people killed, fourteen thousand reduced to servitude, and the occupation of fifteen thousand square miles, which would theoretically provide for agriculture and livestock. The success in the conquest of the desert brought prestige among the ruling class to Roca and propelled him to the presidency of the Republic. For the nation-state, it meant the appropriation of millions of hectares.
Consolidation of the State
Between 1862 and 1880, the national state institutions were established. New roads were built to connect the interior with the port of Buenos Aires, and major rebellions inside the country were repressed by the national government. To achieve the desired order, the formation of a national army was essential. This required dissolving the National Guard, which might oppose the new army and create alternative sources of power. The state also strived to create a sense of belonging to a nation, or a collective identity, among its citizens. To do so, it had to overcome significant political differences and strong regional identities, in addition to integrating a growing foreign immigrant population.
There were other outstanding issues. The Church continued to monitor issues central to the state, such as the registration of births, marriages, and deaths, and part of basic education. However, progress on the Indian frontier and the capitalization of Buenos Aires were resolved at the last minute. The key issue of the capitalization of Buenos Aires was settled during the last months of Avellaneda’s presidency.
Generation of ’80
This was an attempt to reorganize and modify Argentine society from its foundations. It was a generation with liberal ideas, eager to leave the decadent past behind, and believing in progress and evolution. Some of its most important features were:
- Raising their voice against corruption.
- Trying to change certain habits and customs through immigration.
- Creating a model mimicking the modern state in Europe.
They were positivists: their philosophy was order and progress, growth, and general terms of tranquility in which the people ought to be the projection of perpetual progress. For positivism, order was essential for progress. It was a specific order whose purpose was the material progress of nations.
They were economically liberal: they incorporated the dominant ideas in the world into the country while Argentina was introduced into the global market.
They were conservatives in politics: trying to keep social and political power in the hands of traditional families.
They were Europeanists: seeking the modernization of Argentina.
1880 – 1916
1880 was a period of oligarchy in Buenos Aires, where power was reserved to an elite possessing knowledge and wealth. The government was in charge of the conservative regime, an oligarchy based on a few who controlled the presidential succession. From 1880, a model of economic development for the country was imposed, based on expanding exports of agricultural production in the temperate grassland of La Pampa.
The governments of the period consolidated the state, enacted liberal laws, and implemented policies that promoted economic modernization and social development. Some of these measures tended to strengthen the power of the central government. For example, in 1884, Law 1420 on education was enacted, which stated that primary education was free, compulsory, and secular.