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83-666: The agreement named Justo José de Urquiza as provisional Supreme Director of the Argentine Confederation , established the application of the Pact of 1831 , and set the gathering for a General Constitutional Congress in the city of Santa Fe . On 6 April 1852 the Protocol of Palermo was signed after a meeting between the governors of Buenos Aires and Corrientes , and the representatives of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos . The protocol named Justo José de Urquiza in charge of

166-472: A Creole of Buenos Aires. He was governor of Entre Ríos during the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas , governor of Buenos Aires with powers delegated from the other provinces. Rosas presented a resignation to his charge frequently, but only as a political gesture, counting that the other governments would reject it. However, in 1851, resentful of the economic and political dominance of Buenos Aires , Urquiza accepted Rosas' resignation and resumed for Entre Rios

249-516: A National Constitution. Urquiza immediately began the task of national organization. He became provisional director of the Argentine Confederation in May 1852. In 1853, a constituent assembly adopted a constitution based primarily on the ideas of Juan Bautista Alberdi , and Urquiza was inaugurated president in March 1854. During his administration, foreign relations were improved, public education

332-535: A constitutional assembly was from Buenos Aires, yet not from the literate citizens and Unitarian businessmen, but from the Buenos Aires caudillo Juan Manuel de Rosas , who claimed it was too soon to seal a constitution. The assassination of Quiroga in Barranca Yaco put an end to the initiative of the caudillos of the interior. The Federal Pact stipulated the formation of a Representative Commission with

415-572: A meeting with governors Vicente López y Planes of Buenos Aires, Juan Pujol of Corrientes, and delegates of Santa Fe, where it was decided to call for a Constitutional Congress under the terms of the Federal Pact of 1831. The decision of opening the congress in August of the following year was communicated to the rest of the provinces. Urquiza was aware of the strong opposition within the Buenos Aires elite to his mandate and any attempt of limiting

498-465: A near majority. The differences between provinces resulted in diverse delegates. Many did not have education in law but rather military, religious, or literary experience. Some of them had also been in exile during the government of Rosas, while others were politically active in that period. These differences would translate into discrepancies, such as the religious posture of the Constitution, and

581-525: Is a commuter railway line in Buenos Aires named after him, the Urquiza Line . The Colegio del Uruguay , founded by Urquiza, was later renamed in his honor. Argentine Constitution of 1853 The current Constitution of Argentina dates from 1853. The Constitution of Argentina of 1853 was approved in 1853 by almost all of the provincial governments at that moment (currently Argentina

664-558: Is made up of 24 jurisdictions of which 23 are provinces and one is an autonomous city ) with the exception of Buenos Aires Province , which remained separate from the Argentine Confederation until 1859. After several modifications to the original constitution and the return of power to Buenos Aires' Unitarian Party , it was sanctioned on May 1, 1853, by the Constitutional Convention gathered in Santa Fe , and it

747-669: The Battle of Cepeda . Justo Jos%C3%A9 de Urquiza Justo José de Urquiza y García ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxusto xoˈse ðe wɾˈkisa] ; October 18, 1801 – April 11, 1870) was an Argentine general and politician who served as president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860. Justo José de Urquiza y García was born in Entre Ríos, the son of José Narciso de Urquiza Álzaga, born in Castro Urdiales , Spain, and María Cándida García González,

830-472: The UCR , a group with social-democrat tendencies, the constitution represented an unfulfilled political ideal against the oligarchic government Generation of '80, perpetuated in power through electoral fraud . At the same time, for the nationalist movements of the 20th century, who criticized the liberal conventions and praised Rosas, the constitution had represented the renouncement of the national identity towards

913-412: The oligarchy of Buenos Aires; at the same time, it confronted the interests of the businessmen of the city, supporters of a liberal commerce , and the artisans and small industries of the interior, who without any kind of protection or importations restrictions could not compete and develop. Most of the constitutional delegates, especially Gorostiaga and Gutiérrez, urged to take measures in order to end

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996-593: The "crazy, traitor, savage, unitarian" Urquiza. Supported by Brazil and the Uruguayan liberals, he created the Grand Army and forced Manuel Oribe to capitulate, ending the long siege of Montevideo in October 1851, and finally defeating Rosas on 3 February 1852 at the Battle of Caseros . The other provinces that supported Rosas against Urquiza's pronunciation changed sides and supported his project of creating

1079-409: The 25th declared the official promotion of immigration. The rights expressly recognized were gathered mainly in the 14th article, which instituted the freedom of work, navigation, commerce, residence and traveling, press, association, cult, education, and petition to the authorities. Other articles also detailed the protection of private property, the inviolability of the domicile, person, and mail, and

1162-488: The Buenos Aires government, and they argued the treaty jeopardized the rights of the province while giving despotic attributions to Urquiza. The following debates, known as the Jornadas de Junio , concluded with the resignation of López y Planes on June 2, 1852. The legislature elected Manuel Pinto to replace him, but Urquiza made use of the attributions given to him by the treaty to call a federal intervention that dissolved

1245-478: The Confederation. The major fraction affirmed that the opportunity to expose their reasons had already been rejected when Buenos Aires withdrew its representatives, and that the constitutional will would not hesitate to take arms against the very capital of the country if it were necessary for the future country's welfare. After arduous negotiations they arrived at a compromise solution, in which Buenos Aires

1328-490: The Constitutional Assembly and incited the other provinces to do the same. They received a negative response from the governments of the other provinces to cancel the assembly, and so Alsina and Mitre attempted to weaken Urquiza's position and power. They sent forces to attack the provinces of Entre Ríos, Santa Fe, and Córdoba. On November 21 an army under the command of Juan Madariaga attempted to take over

1411-560: The Federal Pact were never followed; though it is mentioned by the 1853 constitution as one of the pre-existent pacts, it was not in effect during the Rosas hegemony who insisted on the inadequacy of a premature constitution. This attitude became evident in 1847 when Alberdi, from exile, invited the members of the exiled intellectual ambient to collaborate with Rosas to intercede for the desired constitution. Rosas seemed to completely ignore

1494-715: The agreement were two. First the sanction on May 1 of the Argentine Constitution of 1853 , that was placed in force in the Argentine Confederation, and who in 1854 saw Justo José de Urquiza assuming as the first elected president of the Republic, for a period of 6 years. The second was the separation of the Buenos Aires Province from the rest of the Confederation until 1859, after Urquiza military defeated Bartolomé Mitre at

1577-528: The arguments from which Carlos María de Alvear proposed the creation of a temporal one-man regime, known as Directorio (Directorate). The Assembly voted favorably, but since it had no support from the civilian and military leaderships, it forced the creation of a project for the Congress of Tucumán of 1816. The action of the congress in that sense was limited, though fruitful in other aspects; it declared independence on July 9, 1816. Deliberations regarding

1660-598: The authority of the Directory after such orders. Belgrano behaved differently, making a pact with the federal forces of José Gervasio Artigas and he and his Northern Army had put themselves under the orders of the governor of Córdoba . The tension was finally broken at the Battle of Cepeda of 1820 when the united tropes of the provinces defeated the Director José Rondeau . As a result, the Treaty of Pilar

1743-451: The beginning of the 1830, urged to create a representative assembly. This new assembly was to be directed by Quiroga, who even used the writings of the young author of Bases , Juan Bautista Alberdi , for the 1853 constitution project. The first attempt of consent was achieved with the Federal Pact of 1831, signed by Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos, and Santa Fe, to which the rest of the provinces would eventually subscribe. The main opposition to

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1826-674: The capital (federal district), the 64th stipulated for the National Congress the exclusivity of the legislation in the territory of the federal capital, the 83rd conceded to the President of the Nation the control over the capital, and the 91st stated there the residence of the National Supreme Court. The law for a federal capital was finally approved with prescriptions for the case of being unable to immediately set

1909-512: The capital in Buenos Aires, as indeed happened. Another problematic issue was the Freedom of religion , to which a group of a few, though influential, delegates firmly opposed, headed by Centeno, Pérez, and strongly supported by Zuviría, Leiva and Díaz Colodrero. The arguments ranged from theological-juridical, for which Centeno affirmed the freedom of cult to be a natural right, to the pragmatic-historical, with Díaz Colodrero and Ferré stating that

1992-541: The city of Concepción del Uruguay , but was repelled by the forces of Ricardo López Jordán , who quickly informed Urquiza of the situation. Also, Paz could not advance over Santa Fe, and Mitre didn't succeed in convincing Corrientes governor Pujol to attack Entre Ríos, for Pujol joined Urquiza. Without the representatives of Buenos Aires but with the support of all the other provinces, the Constitutional Convention started its sessions in November 1852. The convention, which

2075-417: The city of Santa Fe . Article 15 granted executive attributions to Urquiza, and named him Provisional Director of the Argentine Confederation . The additional article invited the provinces that did not sign the agreement to adhere to it through the provisional Director of the Confederation. Buenos Aires rejected the project mainly because of the consequences of articles 5, 11, 15, 18 and 19. It refused to

2158-532: The conscience was not a matter of legislation but of public acts. The liberal sector prevailed 13 against 5, but the argument was dragged down to the abolition of religious privilege statutes; the obligation of professing the Catholic religion for all the state functionaries; and the conversion of the Native Americans . Finally, it was decided that only the president had to be Catholic, a condition that

2241-458: The constitution has been criticized for placing great power in the presidency. Nevertheless, the historical importance of the constitutional project has been unquestionable, and virtually all disputes regarding the political theory and practice in modern Argentina include either positive or negative references to the political consequences of the 1853 constitution. For the Generation of '80 ,

2324-560: The constitutional project of 1826 of Rivadavia , in exchange for support of his authority in front of the national government, but the project was rejected. The definitive meeting with the provincial delegates took place in San Nicolás de los Arroyos on May 29. Deliberations lasted for two days before they signed the San Nicolás Agreement , which granted provisional Directorship of the Confederation to Urquiza, and set

2407-421: The country favouring the porteños . One of the most controversial issues was the customs taxes, which with being Buenos Aires having the main deep-water port of the country, and the only one with active traffic of goods with Europe , were collected almost entirely in that city. The negation of sharing those profits for the national finances had always been one of the main points of controversy between Urquiza and

2490-503: The designation of the provincial governments and the heads of the national administration. The congress also ordered San Martín and Manuel Belgrano to return to the capital with their armies, to defend the authority of the Directory. Both generals refused to follow those orders. San Martín held his troops in Rancagua (present Chile ) and dictated the Act of Rancagua , for which he ignored

2573-543: The dictate of the constitution followed the pre-existing pacts subscribed by the provincial authorities; affirmed the project of guaranteeing the unity and inner peace and the formation of a common front towards the rest of the world; it stated the objective of populating the territory mentioning all men in the world who wish to inhabit the Argentine land ; and invoked God's authority in a form acceptable both to religious persons and to illustrated deists . The 31 articles of

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2656-597: The different organs of the national executive power in the first years of organization, was the convocation in 1812 of the Assembly of the Year XIII , also known as the Constituent General Assembly; its purpose was to write the fundamental law for the national organization. It gathered on January 31 of 1813 and worked for over 2 years until 1815. It dictated the regulations for the administration,

2739-575: The different provinces that adhered to the Pact were Justo José de Urquiza (Entre Ríos), Benjamín Virasoro (Corrientes), Domingo Crespo (Santa Fe), Pascual Segura ( Mendoza ), Nazario Benavides ( San Juan ), Pablo Lucero ( San Luis ), Manuel Taboada ( Santiago del Estero ), Celedonio Gutiérrez ( Tucumán ) and Vicente Bustos ( La Rioja ). Catamarca designated Urquiza as its representative. The provinces of Salta , Jujuy and Córdoba signed their adhesion later. Buenos Aires, whose representative

2822-524: The division of powers on the model of the French Revolution , even though they were still strongly centralist, delegating most of the public power to the hands of a central executive branch located in Buenos Aires. This, added to the absence of some provincial deputies, prevented an agreement on the subject. The lack of definitions from the Assembly, after two years of deliberations, was one of

2905-461: The existence of other cults could irritate the people and foment the apparition of new caudillos that would predicate in opposition to the constitution. On the contrary, those more influenced by Alberdi and the ideas of the Generation of 1837 pleaded for the freedom of cults, pointing out that it would encourage immigration to Argentina , simplify the relations with foreign nations, and that

2988-524: The first part, entitled Declaraciones, Derechos y Garantías , established the fundament of the political regime; it is in this section that the difference with the 1826 constitution is most visible. It formally introduced the division of powers of the republican system, the political representation and federalism ; it set the establishment of a federal capital ; the authority of each province to dictate its own constitution and their autonomy in internal issues except in cases of insurrection or foreign attack;

3071-590: The following year, with the previous election of the deputies that would take part in it. The rules established by the Electoral Law would be used to select the deputies of the provincial legislatures. All provinces were declared equal in rights, with two representative deputies for each province. Articles 6 and 7 mention that the Congress would sanction the National Constitution , consent by

3154-439: The fore-project. The rest of the congressmen, either for ideologic reasons or for the political urgency of establishing a national constitution, decided to support the initiative of the commission; the text would be worked out in the following ten days. The boycott started by the porteños revived an already traditional conflict between Buenos Aires and the other provinces, sharpened by the strong hand of Rosas who had governed

3237-505: The foreign relationships of the republic as long as the National Congress did not decide who would take the position. Two days after, Urquiza invited the governor of the provinces to a meeting that would take place on May 20 in San Nicolás de los Arroyos , Buenos Aires. On May 29 began the deliberations to determine the bases of the national organization. The Acuerdo de San Nicolás was signed on May 31, and consisted of 19 dispositional articles and an additional one. The representatives of

3320-533: The form of government proved harder. In its struggle liberal thinkers compromised with a republican government, and those in favor of a constitutional monarchy . Among the latter was José de San Martín , who proposed to establish a descendant of the Incas on the national throne. The monarchic followers claimed it impossible to erect a republic without historically developed institutions, and that it would form an unstable and weak government, while its opponents pointed to

3403-456: The hegemony of the port city over the rest of the country. To calm that opposition, Urquiza gave Pujol and Santiago Derqui the assignment of elaborating a constitutional project that would be less harsh to the porteño interests. On May 5, he gathered with some of the most influential characters of Buenos Aires— among which were Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield , Valentín Alsina , Tomás Guido and Vicente Fidel López — to propose revival of

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3486-474: The hegemony of the port city, federalizing the territory of the city of Buenos Aires , and separating it that way from the interests of the Buenos Aires Province . At the same time a moderate group, headed by Zuviría and Roque Gondra, considered such federalization wouldn't be convenient, for it would upset the porteños and void any attempt of negotiation to pacifically reincorporate it into

3569-462: The lack of inherited prejudices as one of the main reasons to attempt a democratic government. The congress had to be moved to Buenos Aires at the beginning of 1817 after the threat of the Spanish royal forces advancing over the northern part of the country. On December 3 of that year, the provisory regulation was sanctioned. The provincial delegates considered that moving the congress to Buenos Aires

3652-521: The legislature of Buenos Aires on September 1, 1826, but rejected by the rest of the provinces. The following years represented the temporal decline of the Unitarian and the rise of provincial Caudillos . They saw in the project of the constitution an administrative option to displace the Buenos Aires hegemony. The governors of Santiago del Estero , Córdoba and La Rioja , ( Mariano Fragueiro , Juan Felipe Ibarra and Facundo Quiroga , respectively), at

3735-468: The legislature. On September 22 they would revoke their adhesion to the treaty, and rejected the authority of Urquiza. They also sent José María Paz to extend the revolt to the provinces of the interior, who did not succeed, but they acquired certain support that prevented Urquiza from directly attacking the revolt, and forced him to negotiate with the revolters, sending Federico Báez to Buenos Aires for that purpose. Buenos Aires recalled its deputies from

3818-408: The majority of the suffrages, putting the national interest above that of the provinces. Article 8 declares that the deputies could not be judged for their opinions, not accused under any motive nor authority until the sanction of the constitution, though the provinces could withdraw their own deputies and replace them if considered opportune. According to Article 11, the Congress would take place in

3901-579: The merchants that brought industrialized goods from Britain and the businessmen of the provinces which lacked such industrial capacity, spurred debates in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata over the lack of modernization. With the Declaration of Independence in 1816, the first juridical bases had a marked Unitarian characteristic. The first project to converge the successive attempts, that defined

3984-531: The more urgent concern of establishing sovereign control effective against the resisting Spanish royal forces put the organizational decisions of the republic on hold, much was discussed and written on the matter that would later be taken into account. The formation of the Primera Junta , and its continuation in the Junta Grande , gave testimony to the disparity of interests between Buenos Aires and

4067-742: The national organization, for they followed a centralized model whereas the delegates wished to procure a federal organization. The models to follow were the few available constitutions: the Constitution of the United States of 1787, the Spanish Constitution of 1812 , the Constitution of Switzerland of 1832, the Chilean Federal Laws of 1826 and the Political Constitution of 1833, and

4150-504: The opening of the constitutional convention for August, to which each province would send 2 representatives. The provinces that were directly represented were: Entre Ríos by Urquiza ; Buenos Aires by López y Planes; Corrientes by Benjamín Virasoro; Santa Fe by Domingo Crespo ; Mendoza by Pascual Segura ; San Juan by Nazario Benavides ; San Luis by Pablo Lucero ; Santiago del Estero by Manuel Taboada; Tucumán by Celedonio Gutiérrez; and La Rioja by Vicente Bustos. The treaty

4233-553: The other landlocked provinces. In part, such a division already existed during colonial times, when the port of Buenos Aires gave the city commercial interest far different from the artisanal and agricultural countryside. Buenos Aires benefited from the flow of goods brought by ships from the United Kingdom , for which it paid with the taxes collected from the exportation of the country's agricultural production, that being mainly raw leather and minerals. The discrepancies between

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4316-406: The petition, but other federal caudillos, especially Justo José de Urquiza , paid attention to it. The 1853 constitution was elaborated immediately after the Battle of Caseros , which saw the defeat of Rosas, who held political control in Buenos Aires for two decades. The shift in the political landscape left Justo José de Urquiza in charge of the national business. On April 6, 1852, Urquiza had

4399-506: The political, judicial and customs union of the country; and the fundamental rights of the citizens. Following the dispositions of the Assembly of 1813 who decreed the Law of Wombs , the constitution abolished slavery and the nobility titles , setting the juridical equality. The protection of the law extended to all the inhabitants of the country, not only to the citizens, in order to foment immigration; article 20th expressed it implicitly, and

4482-419: The powers delegated in Buenos Aires. Along with the resuming of international commerce without passing through the port of Buenos Aires, Urquiza replaced the " Death to the savage unitarians! " slogan with "Death to the enemies of national organization!", requesting the making of a national constitution that Rosas had long rejected. Corrientes supported Urquiza's action, but Rosas and the other provinces condemned

4565-613: The previous constitutions as well as the pioneering works of eminent jurist Juan Bautista Alberdi . The model has been frequently criticized by historians of the era. The introduction of a federal system had been characterized by several scholars as being unfeasible and unsuitable for Argentina. Others have charged the introduction with being overtly influenced by the United States Constitution , instead of earlier models found in Argentine history . More recently,

4648-644: The problem of the Buenos Aires hegemony. After Salvador María del Carril and Eduardo Lahitte left, the assembly as ordered by the Buenos Aires government installed after the revolt the members of the Constitutional Convention were: Some of the delegates were not native to the provinces they represented, and others had not resided in them for a long time, which the opposition of Buenos Aires exploited, calling them alquilones (rentals). The historical revisionism in Argentina has emphasised this, suggesting that these congressmen were not completely representative of

4731-475: The provinces to have the same number of deputies and that the congress had seat in Santa Fe, since it could not control it nor impose an almost majority for its own benefit, and the idea of Urquiza, merely a provincial caudillo , assuming as Supreme Director of the Confederation. It also refused to share the foreign commerce tax collection of the port for the federal government. The most relevant consequences of

4814-640: The provincial legislature and reestablished López y Planes at its head. When López y Planes resigned for the second time, Urquiza assumed the government of the province himself, naming a state council of 15 members as deliberating organ. Urquiza personally controlled the government of the province until September, when he left to Santa Fe for the constitutional convention together with elected deputies Salvador María del Carril and Eduardo Lahitte , leaving General José Miguel Galán as provisional governor. Three days later, on September 11, Mitre, Alsina, and Lorenzo Torres revolted against Galán's forces and restored

4897-482: The provincial population, to which others point out that the selection of the delegates of all the provinces was not precisely popular, since it was composed of jurists and intellectuals, many of which had been in the exile for years during the government of Rosas. The president of the convention was Zuviría, who received his doctorate in law at the National University of Córdoba and was a participant in

4980-473: The redaction of the first constitution of its province on August 9, 1821. Domingo Crespo , governor of Santa Fe, inaugurated the sessions on November 20, 1852, in the absence of Urquiza, who was fighting the Buenos Aires forces. Zuviría then pointed out the difficulties the convention would have to face, especially regarding the armed confrontation with Buenos Aires, and the lack of a constitutional background. To this, Santa Fe delegate Manuel Leiva asserted that it

5063-464: The redaction of the fore-project. Gutiérrez had already part of it through correspondence with Alberdi, to whom he suggested to include the second edition of his Bases , a developed project, to facilitate the constitutional work. The main job was in Gorostiaga's hands, who worked on it from December 25 to mid-February. Gorostiaga consulted mainly the Unitarian constitution of 1826 from which he took

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5146-569: The republican constitutions of France of 1793 and 1848 , along with the work of Juan Bautista Alberdi . Exiled in Chile months before, Alberdi had sent a project of constitution to Juan María Gutiérrez, which adapted Rivadavia 's Unitarian constitution of 1826 to the federal form but also kept several parts untouched. Gutiérrez and Gorostiaga, as part of the Constitutional Business Commission, were in charge of

5229-462: The revolved porteños , made a pact to reinstitute the deputies of Buenos Aires to the Convention, with representation according to population. The negotiations though didn't finish positively, and after a long wait, the sessions were restarted on April 15 as requested by Urquiza, who pretended to have the full text by May. The similarity of the constitutional text with that of the United States

5312-588: The ruin of liberalism. On different fronts, the discussion remains open, and has inspired several of the most important works of Argentine thought. The legal system that was accepted by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata , formed after the May Revolution from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata , was one of the main concerns after the resignation of the last viceroy. Even though

5395-506: The seat in the city of Santa Fe . Each of the subscribed provinces would send a delegate with certain powers of decision, such as war and peace declarations, and the selection of the heads of the battalions. Delegates would also add voice to the national subjects decided by the Federative Congress, such as the country's administration, internal and foreign bossiness, and the range of each province's independence. Many points of

5478-419: The sections on individual guarantees, the composition of the legislative, and the competence of the executive power. He also consulted the Constitution of the United States, from a poor but only available translation of Venezuelan military man Manuel García de Sena , and the work of Alberdi. Once finished the project found the resistance within the commission by Leiva, Díaz Colodrero and Ferré, particularly on

5561-605: The settlement was short-lived, and further difficulties culminated in civil war. Urquiza met the army of Buenos Aires, again led by Mitre, in September 1861. The battle was indecisive, but Urquiza withdrew from the field, leaving the victory with Mitre. He retired to San José Palace , his residence in Entre Ríos, where he ruled until he was assassinated at age 69 (along with his sons Justo and Waldino ) by followers of dissident and political rival Ricardo López Jordán . Like many other nineteenth century Argentine patriots, Urquiza

5644-429: The settlers of the first liberal conventions on Argentine historiography , the constitution represented a true foundational act that broke the long government of Juan Manuel de Rosas . The members of the Generation of '80 especially praised the fact that the Constitution established a European -style liberal political regime. However, at the time that it was sanctioned, it had been strongly opposed by some of them. For

5727-511: The status of the Catholic Church within the state, and the position of the Buenos Aires city. The composition of the commission, in charge of the redaction of the text, was not very representative of the entire assembly. It had to be modified in the session of February 23 to let the project move forward, though there was a delay of two months due to the political situation. On March 9 Ferré and Zuviría, who had been sent to negotiate with

5810-578: The statute for the executive power, and promulgated several norms of regulation for the legislature, that would be in use for the following years. However, the assembly was unable to dictate the national constitution. There were 4 constitutional projects; one written by the Patriotic Society, another one by the assessorial commission designated by the Second Triumvirate , and two anonymous republican projects. These last two introduced

5893-547: Was Vicente López y Planes , did not ratify the agreement. In the first article, of a total of 19 in the agreement, the Federal Pact signed on January 4, 1831 was declared Fundamental Law of the Republic, and had to be followed and put in execution by the Responsible of Foreign Relationships of the Nation. Articles 4 and 5 refer to the General Constituent Congress that was to start on August of

5976-677: Was a freemason . His imposing Palacio San José has been interpreted as containing many masonic symbols, created "to symbolize and reflect the construction of his other work: the Argentine State". There are many streets, parks and squares all over Argentina that are named after Justo José de Urquiza, such as the Urquiza park in Rosario or the Urquiza park in Parana City. There is a central street in Rosario called Urquiza, and there

6059-465: Was also adhered to by Catamarca , who also designated Urquiza as its representative, and Córdoba , Salta and Jujuy , who would ratify it later. The Buenos Aires opposition reacted quickly. Alsina, Bartolomé Mitre , Vélez Sársfield and Ireneo Portela confronted López y Planes, who they considered had ideals too close to those of Urquiza. They denounced López y Planes' vote as having no validity and affirmed he had no attributions to sign it in name of

6142-519: Was closely inspired by the juridical and political doctrines of the United States Federal Constitution . It established, for instance, a Republican division of powers , a high level of independence for the provinces, and a federal power controlled by a strong executive government yet limited by a bicameral national congress to balance the population's representation with equity among the provinces. It also drew from

6225-491: Was encouraged, colonization was promoted, and plans for railroad construction was initiated. His work of national organization was, however, hindered by the opposition of Buenos Aires, which seceded from the Confederation. Open war broke out in 1859. Urquiza defeated the provincial army led by Bartolomé Mitre in October 1859, at the Battle of Cepeda , and Buenos Aires agreed to re-enter the Confederation. Constitutional amendments proposed by Buenos Aires were adopted in 1860 but

6308-453: Was held in Santa Fe followed the precedent set by the 1787 Philadelphia Constitution. The San Nicolás Agreement established equal representation for all provinces of the Confederation, with two delegates for each. This was one of the points of rupture with Buenos Aires , the most populated of all the provinces, which hadbsought representation proportional to population. Proportional representation would have granted Buenos Aires 18 delegates,

6391-437: Was held until the constitutional reform of 1994. The final text consisted of a preamble and 107 articles, organized in two parts: one on the rights of the inhabitants, and one on the organization of the government. The preamble was destined to affirm the legitimation of the Constitution, synthesizing the legislative and political program of the conventional delegates. To clear doubts about their interests it reminded them that

6474-413: Was imperious to move forward with celerity, before the urgency of a constitution. After a tense deliberation, Leiva's position prevailed. The commission in charge of the redaction for the project was composed of Leiva , Gutiérrez , Gorostiaga , Colodrero and Ferré . Even though most provinces already had their own constitution which could have been used as a model, these were judged inconvenient for

6557-431: Was made capital by the 3rd article, but tied to a special law, approved together with the constitution, to facilitate a possible future modification. Nevertheless, the affirmation of the sovereignty of the Convention over the territories of Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires Province was made explicit in several articles, including the 3rd, 32nd, 34th, and 42nd. The 42nd article states the election of senators and deputies also for

6640-415: Was not welcomed by all the congressmen; Zuviría read, at the inauguration of the sessions of April 20, a long speech against the indiscriminate application of foreign principles to a country whose organization, he said, was not habituated to it. He proposed instead to make a study of local institutions and use it as a base. Zuviría with Centeno, Díaz Colodrero and Friar Pérez, were the only ones to vote against

6723-482: Was oriented to put pressure on the congressmen to secure benefits for the Buenos Aires porteño in the concluding constitutional text. In 1819, these fears became true in the project of the Argentine Constitution of 1819 , characterized by strong centralism around Buenos Aires. The text didn't even aboard the subject of the method of election of the Director of State , but guaranteed him wide competencies, including

6806-481: Was promulgated by the provisional director of the national executive government Justo José de Urquiza , a member of the Federalist Party . Following the short-lived constitutions of 1819 and 1826 , it was the third constitution in the history of the country. Despite several reforms of varying importance, the 1853 constitution is still substantially the basis of the current Argentine juridical system. It

6889-458: Was signed, establishing a federally organized government in which Buenos Aires would be one of the 13 provinces. Even though defeated in combat, the Unitarian idealism was kept vigorous in Buenos Aires. Bernardino Rivadavia , Minister of Governor Martín Rodríguez , redesigned the project of the constitution of 1819 in more republican terms: The Argentine Constitution of 1826 was approved by

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