The Sociedad Popular Restauradora ( Spanish : Popular Restorer Society ) was an Argentine security agency that worked for Juan Manuel de Rosas in the mid-nineteenth century. It is usually equated to the organization called the "Mazorca", which was actually the security and military force working for it.
8-660: It was created by Encarnación Ezcurra , Rosas' wife, during the Revolution of the Restorers , and disbanded by Rosas in 1846. It was focused in locating people (mostly Unitarians , but also opposing Federals ) involved in conspiracies against Rosas. Modern historical investigations that set apart the executions performed by the Mazorca and executions carried out by other forces loyal to Rosas number those deaths at nearly 20 in 1840 and 20 more in 1842. Although some thought that
16-464: A considerable following. She died unexpectedly at the age of 43. Even today historians dispute the cause of her death although many believe that she died of cardiac arrest or a similar condition. Her death, however, caused great grief among the people and the political establishment. Twenty five thousand participated in her funeral procession from el Fuerte to the Convent of San Francisco, where she
24-598: The army and the Masorca [sic] commissioners of Rosas, I was residing on my estate in the country. I was aware of wretches being staked into the ground forty-eight hours before their heads were sawed, not cut, off; – of the lasso being flung over persons' necks, and then drawn by horse at full speed until life became extinct; – of spikes being driven into the mouths of human beings, and they, whilst living, thus nailed to trees. Encarnaci%C3%B3n Ezcurra María de la Encarnación Ezcurra (March 25, 1795 – October 20, 1838)
32-465: The inward stalk of the maize, when deprived of its grain, and has been used by members of the clubs as an instrument of torture, of which your Lordship may form some idea when calling to mind the agonizing death of Edward II . O'Brien, who claimed to have known Rosas for 25 years, added: My Lord, I know of these tortures being inflicted. At the time that Oribe invaded the Banda Oriental, with
40-596: The power to designate governors, to regard her husband as the only option to restore social order in the province. After the triumph of her husband in the Desert Campaign (1833–34) , and with her success in securing the governorship for him, the people gave her the title of Heroine of the Holy Federation . It is particularly notable that at that time prejudices against women participating in politics ran high, yet Ezcurra achieved great responsibilities and
48-690: The word Mazorca derived from "más horca" (more gallows), the more sinister (and orthographically plausible) belief was that the mazorca (Spanish for "corncob") referred to their chosen instrument of rectal torture. As explained by General J.T. O'Brien (the Uruguayan Agent in England) for the benefit of the British Foreign Secretary Lord Aberdeen: The Masorcas [sic], or secret affiliation, in support of Rosas's government, derives its name from
56-473: Was an Argentine political activist, wife of Juan Manuel de Rosas . She was the daughter of Juan Ignacio Ezcurra and Teodora de Arguibel. She married Rosas on March 16, 1813. She became her husband's most faithful follower, helping him in many difficult circumstances. In 1833–1834, her husband was away from Buenos Aires leading an army in the Desert Campaign to extend Argentina's frontier. She
64-601: Was the driving force behind the Revolution of the Restorers , and was the president of the Mazorca , an organization which acted as a secret police. The Revolution of the Restorers unseated Juan Ramón Balcarce the governor of the Buenos Aires. The Mazorca put pressure on every government worker to vocally campaign for the return of de Rosas. This forced the provincial legislature, the Board of Representatives , which had
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