Sociedad Popular Restauradora

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 known by its armed force, known as the Mazorca.

It was created by Encarnación Ezcurra, wife of Rosas, 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.^[1]

The name "Mazorca" refers in Spanish to a cob of Maize. Interpretations on it range between an identification with the countryside to an alleged pun with the similar-sounding más horca ("more gallows").

References

1. ^ Di Meglio, Gabriel (2007). Mueran los salvajes unitarios. La Mazorca y la política en tiempos de Rosas. Buenos Aires: ed. Sudamericana.  (Spanish)