Mariano Moreno

For the Neuquén village, see Mariano Moreno (Neuquén).

Mariano Moreno
Mariano Moreno en su mesa de trabajo, canonical aspect of Mariano Moreno, as designed by Adolfo Carranza and Pedro Subercaseaux Errázuriz
Secretary of War and Government of the Primera Junta
In office 1810–1811
President	Cornelio Saavedra
Personal details
Born	September 23, 1778(1778-09-23) Buenos Aires
Died	March 4, 1811(1811-03-04) (aged 32) High seas
Nationality	Argentina
Political party	Patriot
Other political affiliations	Alzaguism
Spouse(s)	María Guadalupe Cuenca
Relations	Manuel Moreno
Alma mater	St Francis Xavier University of Chuquisaca
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Catholicism
Signature

Mariano Moreno (September 23, 1778 – March 4, 1811) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution.

Moreno was born in Buenos Aires in 1778. His father was Manuel Moreno y Argumosa, born in Santander, Spain, who arrived in the city in 1776 and married María del Valle. Mariano was the firstborn of the Moreno family, and had thirteen brothers. During his youth he studied Latin, logic, and philosophy at San Carlos Royal College, followed by college studies of law at Chuquisaca. During these studies, he learned the new ideas of the Spanish Enlightenment. He married María Guadalupe Cuenca and returned to Buenos Aires, becoming a prominent lawyer for the Cabildo. Unlike most other criollos, he rejected the Carlotist project and the administration of Santiago de Liniers, joining instead the ill-fated mutiny of Álzaga against him. He worked for the next viceroy, Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. He wrote the economic paper The Representation of the Hacendados, which persuaded the viceroy to open trade with Britain.

Although he was not prominently involved in the May Revolution that deposed Cisneros, he was appointed as secretary of war of the new government, the Primera Junta. Along with Juan José Castelli, he promoted harsh policies against the supporters of the former government and the strengthening of the new one. These policies were detailed at a secret document, the Operations plan; some historians dispute its authorship. Moreno organized military campaigns to Paraguay and Upper Peru, and ensured the execution of Santiago de Liniers after the defeat of his counter-revolution. He established the first Argentine newspaper, La Gazeta de Buenos Ayres, and translated Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract into Spanish.

When the Junta achieved the first military victories, President Cornelio Saavedra opposed Moreno, favoring moderate policies instead. Allied with Gregorio Funes, Saavedra expanded the number of members of the Junta to leave Morenism in a minority. With disputes still going on, Moreno was appointed to a diplomatic mission to Britain, but died at sea on the way there. His brother considered that he was poisoned. His supporters were still an influential political party for some years after his death. Historians hold several perspectives about the role and historical significance of Moreno, from hagiography to repudiation. He is considered the precursor of Argentine journalism.

Birth and studies

Mariano Moreno was the son of Manuel Moreno y Argumosa and Ana Maria Valle, a poor family with fourteen children. He studied at Colegio Grande de San Carlos (now Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires), graduating with an honor diploma.^[1] He met influential people within the literary field, which meant he could continue his studies at the University of Chuquisaca, even when his father could not afford the cost.^[2] This was the only big university in South America at the time. He studied the books of Montesquieu, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and other European philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. He studied English and French languages as well, to understand authors from Britain and France.^[3] This allowed him to work as a translator, and he spent several years working with Rousseau's The Social Contract. Moreno was convinced that society could be changed by the power of intelligence and reason.^[4]

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract, translated to Spanish by Mariano Moreno

He also studied philosophical texts of the Spanish Enlightenment under the tutelage of the priest Terrazas, and aspired to implement the new ideas in his country. He wrote a thesis with strong criticism of the native slavery at the mines of Potosí, influenced by the Spanish jurist Juan de Solorzano Pereira,^[5] the foremost publisher of Indian Law, and Victoria Villalva, fiscal of the Audiencia of Charcas and defender of the indigenous cause.^[6]

He started his professional career between 1803 and 1804, in the office of Augustine Gascón, officiating as labour counselor for Indians. As a result, he confronted powerful people like the mayors of Cochabamba and Chayanta. He left the city after being threatened, and returned to Buenos Aires in 1805 with his wife Maria Guadalupe Cuenca and their newborn son.^[7] Once in the city, he became a reporter of the hearings of the Royal Audiencia, a local appeal court. The Buenos Aires Cabildo, the local council, hired him as an advisor as well. He defended Melchor Fernández, aggrieved by Bishop Benito Lue y Riega, in one of his first cases. In another of his early disputes he backed the Cabildo in denying the appointment as an ensign of the young Bernardino Rivadavia.^[8]

A British army invaded Buenos Aires in 1806, starting the British invasions of the Río de la Plata. Although Moreno was not actively involved with the military counter-offensive which drove them out, he opposed the British presence in Buenos Aires. He wrote a diary that noted all the events, so that, in the future, his countrymen would know the circumstances that allowed such an invasion.^[9] The British made a new attack in 1807, this time invading at Montevideo. They edited a bilingual English–Spanish newspaper known as "The Southern Star" or "La estrella del sur" (the newspaper used both names in conjunction). It advocated free trade, a British goal, and promoted American independence under British protection.^[10] The Royal Audiencia of Buenos Aires banned the newspaper and requested Moreno to write articles refuting those of the British publication. Moreno refused because, although he did not accept British rule, he agreed with some of their criticisms of the Spanish government.^[11]

First political activities

The Representation of the Hacendados, economic paper written by Mariano Moreno

Although Mariano Moreno was a criollo, a Spanish citizen born in the Americas, he did not work with the other criollos of Buenos Aires who sought to promote political changes against the privileges of the Spanish-born. Unlike Manuel Belgrano or Juan José Castelli, he did not support viceroy Liniers or the Carlotist project, which sought the coronation of Carlota of Spain in the Americas. He joined mayor Martín de Álzaga instead, which allowed him to serve as legal adviser of the Cabildo. In that capacity, he wrote a petition to the King of Spain, so that the Buenos Aires Cabildo was named Protector of the Cabildos of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. As a result, all petitions from local cabildos to the King or the Viceroy would be channeled through the Cabildo at the capital.^[12]

Martín de Álzaga organized a mutiny on January 1, 1809, and Moreno joined it. Álzaga aspired to replace Viceroy Santiago de Liniers with a government Junta, after learning of the capture of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII during the Peninsular War and the creation of the Junta of Seville. If it prevailed, Mariano Moreno would have been part of the new Junta. The mutiny was defeated by the swift reaction of Cornelio Saavedra, in command of the Regiment of Patricians, who dispersed the crowd and persuaded Liniers not to abdicate. It is disputed by historians whenever the mutiny had similar or opposite goals to those of the May Revolution that would take place a year later. The historians who support the latter perspective try to make attempts to excuse or justify Moreno's involvement;^[13] those who support the former consider instead that Moreno was a revolutionary a year before most other Argentines.^[14] Moreno was Álzaga's lawyer in the trial that followed, which was labeled a trial for independentism. Liniers did not extend the trial to Moreno himself, for reasons unknown.^[15]

Liniers was succeeded by Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros a few months later, who pardoned the mutineers to reduce political conflicts. Cisneros allowed free trade as well, as instructed by the Junta of Seville, which benefited British merchants; Britain was allied with Spain in the Peninsular War. The agents of the Consulate of Cadiz asserted that this would hurt the local economy, moral values, social usages, religious practices, and the loyalty to Spain and its monarchy. As a result, Cisneros closed trade again, restoring the Spanish monopsony. A group of hacendados (owners of haciendas), who did not feel adequately represented at the Cabildo, asked Moreno to defend them. Moreno wrote The Representation of the Hacendados, a report that represented the export interest of the hacendados, encouraged free trade, and condemned the privileges of the merchants benefited from the monopsony. It is considered the most comprehensive economic report from the time of the viceroyalty. It represented the new European economic ideas, and noted that the legal monopsony with Spain did not prevent British goods from being smuggled. Several authors have questioned Moreno's authorship of the paper, considering it instead an update of another, previously drafted by Manuel Belgrano, Secretary of the Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires, written to make a similar request to the former viceroy Liniers.^[16] This report, as well as Moreno's prestige in the colonial society, helped him gain the confidence of Cisneros. Yet secretly, Moreno supported the plan to dismiss the Viceroy.

Primera Junta

Mariano Moreno (left) as member of the Primera Junta.

Main article: Primera Junta

Mariano Moreno had several contacts with groups seeking the removal of Cisneros, but was not strongly involved with the May Revolution, which considered the fall of the Junta of Seville a reason to depose the viceroy and create a local junta. At the time, Moreno was still loyal to Álzaga. He attended the May 22 open Cabildo, but according to the father of Vicente Fidel López and the father-in-law of Bartolomé Mitre (both direct witness) he stayed silent at one side and did not join the debate.^[17] He voted for Saavedra's proposal: to remove viceroy Cisneros and replace him with a Junta. Manuel Hermenegildo Aguirre, captain of hussars, proposed that the Cabildo take the reins of government, with five men appointed as counselors, Moreno among them. However, nobody else voted for that proposal, and it was the only one that included him.^[18] Moreno felt betrayed when the Cabildo twisted the results of the open Cabildo and created a Junta that would be headed by Cisneros. He refused any further contacts with the revolutionaries and stayed home during the remaining events. The definitive members of the Junta came from a popular petition signed on May 25, which was given to the Cabildo. The reasons of Moreno's inclusion in the list are unclear, as with all other members of the Junta. A commonly accepted theory considers it to be a balance between Carlotists and Alzaguists.^[19]

The Junta faced strong opposition from the beginning: it was resisted locally by the Cabildo and the Royal Audiencia, still loyal to the absolutist factions; the nearby plazas of Montevideo and Paraguay did not recognize it; and Santiago de Liniers organized a counter-revolution at Córdoba. Mariano Moreno, an unimportant politician up to that point, became the leader of the most radical supporters of the Junta. He was supported by the popular leaders Domingo French and Antonio Beruti, Dupuy, Donado, Orma, and Cardozo; and priests like Grela and Aparicio.^[20] Historian Carlos Ibarguren described that Morenist youths roamed the streets preaching new ideas to each pedestrian they found, turned the "Marcos" coffee shop into a political hall, and proposed that all social classes should be illustrated.^[21] Manuel Belgrano and Juan José Castelli supported Moreno within the Junta, and French was promoted to Colonel of the regiment "América". This regiment, also known as "The Star" because of a star that they wore on their sleeves, was composed of radical youths led by French during the riots of the May Revolution.^[22]

Moreno established the official newspaper Gazeta de Buenos Ayres through a June 2 decree, and managed its contents. The first newspapers were available to the public five days later. He issued a freedom of the press decree, which allowed the press to publish anything that did not offend public morals or attack the Revolution or the government. Moreno published some works of Gaspar de Jovellanos, and his translation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract. In this later work he skipped the chapter about religion, suggesting that the author "has raved in religious matters".^[23] This was done to prevent religious disputes among patriots.^[24] This publication was criticized by conservatives such as Tomás de Anchorena, who said that it could generate popular unrest.^[25] As with the Junta itself, Moreno's writings maintained loyalty to Ferdinand VII. It is unclear to historians whether he was concealing independentist ambitions, or was truly loyal to the deposed king. However, he made specific references to independentism as early as November, 1810.^[26] In reference to the Courts of Cádiz that would write a Constitution, he said that the Congress "may establish an absolute disposal of our beloved Ferdinand",^[27] meaning that the right of self-determination would allow even that. He did not think the monarchical authority to be absolute, but subject to popular sovereignty, so that a monarch may lose his authority if he worked against the common good of the people.^[28] He also considered that if Ferdinand VII returned to the throne, he would not be able to challenge a Constitution written in his absence.^[29] However, he wrote that as a hypothetical scenario, to describe the strength of a Constitution, not as a likely possibility.^[30]

Moreno issued several decrees during his first days in government. He ordered punishment for anyone attempting to generate disputes, and for those concealing conspiracies against the Junta or other people.^[31] The military bodies of "Pardos" and "Morenos", composed of indigenous peoples, were reformed to have military ranks similar to those of the Spanish military bodies. He did this invoking the rulings of the Catholic Monarchs during the early Spanish colonization of the Americas.^[32]

Actions against royalists

See also: Argentine War of Independence

Execution of Santiago de Liniers.

Althought the Junta of Seville was defeated, a new one was created afterwards, the Regency Council. The Primera Junta did not swore loyalty to it, but the Royal Audiencia did so in defiance of the local authority. The Junta summoned them, along with former viceroy Cisneros, and exiled them to Spain with the pretext that there was a threat to their lives. The Junta appointed new members for the Audiencia loyal to the revolution.^[33] Moreno wrote in the Gazeta that the Audiencia attacked the good faith of the government, and that the Junta left their usual moderation for the safety of the people.^[34]

The Junta was rejected in Montevideo, as was the exile of Cisneros and the former Audiencia. Moreno reacted immediately, replying to the Montevidean concerns. He supported the legitimacy of the Primera Junta by criticizing the Regency Council and stating that the overseas Spanish territories were equally capable of creating Juntas, as it was debated during the open cabildo.^[35] He also called for unity and support of the metropolis,^[36] and that both cities recognize Ferdinand VII as their legitimate monarch.^[37] He argued that the Junta treated the exiles initially with moderation, but their obstinacy, particularly on the part of Cisneros, generated popular discontent.^[38] Matías Irigoyen told the same thing to the British Lord Strangford in Río de Janeiro.^[39]

Moreno organized two military expeditions to counter the threat of the plazas that resisted the Junta. The first one, headed by Francisco Ortiz de Ocampo, would move to Córdoba and attack the counter-revolution organized by the former viceroy Santiago de Liniers; they next went to Upper Peru. Ocampo's initial orders were to capture the counter-revolutionary leaders and send them to Buenos Aires, so that they could be judged.^[40] When the counter-revolution became stronger Moreno called the Junta and, with support from Castelli and Paso, proposed that the enemy leaders should be shot as soon as they were captured instead of brought to trial.^[41] The Junta accepted the new proposal, and delivered it to Ocampo. The counter-revolution was defeated the following August, but Ocampo did not execute his prisoners. Gregorio Funes, head of the patriotic party of Córdoba, persuaded him to spare them, because the prisoners were popular in Córdoba and the people would not support their deaths.^[42] Besides Liniers, the prisoners included the governor of Córdoba and the bishop of the city. Ocampo stuck to the initial orders and delivered the prisoners to the city. Moreno did not accept it, and told Ocampo that a general should simply obey orders.^[43] He called a new meeting of the Junta, and produced a paper left at his home which said, "If Liniers does not die, LET HIM LIVE!"^[44] (note: the second part was written in capital letters in the original). The Junta agreed to fire Ocampo and replace him with Castelli,^[45] with Nicolás Rodríguez Peña as secretary and Domingo French leading the escort. They intercepted the convoy at Cabeza de Tigre and executed them, except for Bishop Orellana, because of his religious endowment. The Auxiliary Army, commanded by Ocampo and Castelli, was renamed as the Army of the North, and launched the First Alto Perú campaign. Moreno gave harsh new instructions for it: monitor the activities of the rich; kill Goyeneche, Nieto, Paula Sanz and the bishop on sight; and allow soldiers to pillage the enemies at the first patriot victory, to generate terror.^[46] The context was not favourable: only Cochabamba and Charcas made a genuine support of the revolution, and some indigenous people hesitated in joining, fearing the consequences of a possible royalist counter-attack.^[47] The Morenist projects for Upper Peru, which included the emancipation of the indigenous peoples and the nationalization of the mines of Potosi, were resisted by the local populations that were benefiting from the system already in force.^[48][49] Castelli proposed to advance the military campaign even closer to Lima, but Moreno asked him to stay at his position.^[50]

The other military expedition moved to Paraguay, commanded by Manuel Belgrano. Following instructions from Moreno, he helped the natives at the missions in Corrientes, on his way to Paraguay. He gave them full civil and political rights, granted lands, authorized commerce with the United Provinces, removed taxes for ten years, abolished any type of torture, and lifted restrictions on taking public or religious office.^[51]

Moreno promoted stronger measures against the royalists. In July, he gave orders to the neighboring mayors to prevent the creation of secret groups, or activities that could promote alienation.^[52] He promoted a new decree of the Junta that called for trial and confiscation of goods for anyone that left the city without authorization,^[53] kept military weapons in secret,^[54] promoted popular alienation or discontent against the government,^[55] or wrote letters to people in other cities for such a purpose.^[56] Serious cases were usually punished with execution or exile. Some rich people exiled by this decree were Francisco Beláustegui, Olaguer Reynals, Norberto de Quirno y Echeandía, and Pablo Villariño.^[57] Manuel Andrés Arroyo y Pinedo, another rich man, blamed Moreno for these actions, accusing him of equaling disagreement with antipatriotism, and felt that the ideas of egalitarianism would only cause great evils.^[58] Those measures were also criticized by moderate supporters of the revolution, such as Gregorio Funes from Córdoba, who rejected the lack of proper trials,^[59] or Dámaso Uriburu, from Salta, who compared Moreno, Castelli, and Vieytes with the French Jacobins.^[60]

By this time, Moreno thought that the only way to secure the Revolution would be if it was successful throughout the continent.^[61] However, he considered that Latin American integration should be achieved peacefully among equals, and not as the result of a conquest campaign. He wrote at the Gazeta that "even as pure as our intentions may be, it would be dangerous if the freedom of America was just our own work. Such a circumstance could lead to a real despotism and the Peruvian peoples would not improve having porteño oppressors instead of European ones."^[62] He made positive comments about the rebellions at Cochabamba and Chile.^[62]

Operations plan

First page of the Operations plan

Main article: operations plan

Following a proposal of Manuel Belgrano, the Junta wrote a political platform setting broad goals and procedures to follow to achieve its objectives. The creation of this document, whose name is often summarized simply as the "Operations plan", was trusted to Mariano Moreno. There have been disputes about the authenticity of this document. Some historians like Paul Groussac suspect that the document was a literary forgery, prepared by a Spaniard at the Court of Portugal to discredit the Junta.^[63] Supporters of the truthfulness of the document like Norberto Piñeiro, allege that the content would be consistent with government actions taken by the Primera Junta.^[64]

The document states the need to defeat the royalist forces and therefore proposes many possible actions similar to those employed by Jacobins during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. It rejected the use of political moderation, considering that it would be dangerous during revolutionary times.^[65] It compared the South American revolution, still in its early stages, with the French and North American^[66] ones, and even the revolution in Spain itself, pointing out that none of those relied solely in conspiracies or secret meetings.^[67] The document proposes to favor patriots, and fill the state offices with them.^[68] Peninsulars, on the other hand, should be carefully monitored, and punished at the slightest proof of action against the Junta, and executed if they were rich or influential.^[69] For this end, the Junta would need to create an espionage network.^[70] This policy towards peninsulars is coherent with the actions taken against the Liniers counter-revolution, and similar to the one employed by Simón Bolívar in the North shortly after. Moreno thought that José Gervasio Artigas would be an invaluable ally, and that Buenos Aires should use any resource at its disposal to have him join the fight against absolutism.^[71] He noted the internal conflicts in Chile and Paraguay, and urged support of local patriots against local royalists.

On the level of international relations, Mariano Moreno rejected slavery in Brazil, a neighboring Portuguese colony. He proposed to distribute large numbers of Gazeta de Buenos Ayres newspapers, filled with libertarian ideas and translated into Portuguese,^[72][73] and provide military support to the slaves if they should riot. He considered the risk of a complete Spanish defeat in the Peninsular War or a restoration of absolutism great menaces, and regarded Britain as a potential ally against them.^[74] During a conflict, Britain would be able to provide them with weapons and other goods not produced locally. Critics of Moreno consider him an Anglophile because of this proposal, but the same document also warns against the risk of allowing Britain too much influence in national economy. He criticized the relationship between Britain and Portugal, considering that Portugal was subject to a "shameful slavery" to Britain,^[75] and that British influence in Brazil was so high that the Portuguese colonies might eventually become British ones.^[76] Moreno held the same ideas about being simultaneously friendly and cautious with Britain in the pages of the Gazeta newspaper.

In the economic field, the document addressed the lack of a bourgeoisie that could turn the political changes into economic development, and proposed to overcome this lack with strong state interventionism. Mariano Moreno proposed that the state invest 200 or 300 million in factories, manufacturing, arts, agriculture, navigation, and other critical areas.^[77] There would be no risk of bankruptcy because the state would manage the businesses.^[78] With the money generated, the state would then seek seeds and tools, and ultimately allow the continent to be economically autarchic. The initial money that the state would need to become such an active economic force would come from the mines in Potosi, where the slavers had nearly 500 or 600 million. Moreno proposed simply to confiscate the money and nationalize the mines.^[79] He reasoned that five or six thousand people would be harmed by such action, but eighty or a hundred thousand would benefit.^[80] The state would not manage those areas indefinitely; Moreno proposed that this should be done only until there was a strong economic activity in each area, and then the state would just observe, making sure that they followed the laws enacted for the common good of society.

Early 19th-century liberalism did not promote confiscation among their common proposals, but an antecedent of this proposal was the Conspiracy of the Equals, promoted by François-Noël Babeuf during the French Revolution.^[81] Moreno thought that state-sized fortunes managed by a few individuals were detrimental to civil society, and those individuals would tend to manage the economy for their own benefit, without fixing the problems of society at large.

The document proposed to avoid exporting money, and to include high tariffs on the import of luxury goods. This is often seen as a contradiction of the The Representation of the Hacendados, but each request different things. The Representation opposed the absolute prohibition of trade with Britain, which is not the same than allowing it while following a protectionist policy.^[82] As secretary, Moreno reduced the tariffs on national exports, but kept high ones for imports.

Internal disputes

Cornelio Saavedra, president of the Primera Junta

Mariano Moreno and Cornelio Saavedra had disagreements about the events of the May Revolution and the way to run the government; their disputes became public shortly after the creation of the Junta. Saavedra was the president, and Moreno was a secretary with the support of other vocal members. Ignacio Núñez describes how Morenists felt that the President was attempting to restore in his office the authority of the viceroys, thus downgrading the importance of the other members of the Junta at public events; while Saavedrists considered that the Secretary was overstepping his authority and did not allow even the appointment of a janitor that was not of his liking.^[83] However, Domingo Matheu would clarify in his memoirs that their initial concerns with Saavedra were based more on his desire for honours and privileges than for a real power struggle.^[84] Núñez described how Moreno was resisted by some criollos who initially supported the revolution without being aware of the long-term consequences. He was resisted by criollos alarmed by his straightforward way of talking about concepts like self-determination, tyranny, slavery, and freedom. Theologians resented that Moreno cited authors like Rousseau, Voltaire, or Montesquieu rather than Christian philosophers like Saint Augustine or Saint Thomas. He was also resisted by conservative lawyers and by most of the military.^[85]

By October, Moreno's measures started to generate resistance among some who initially supported the May Revolution. Traders did not like the protectionist policy, and some members of the military had close ties with rich people and opposed their punishment.^[86] On October 16 it was discovered that ten members of the Cabildo had sworn loyalty to the Regency Council the past July, and they were all jailed. This included Julián Leiva and Juan José de Lezica.^[87] Moreno and Saavedra had a dispute when the Junta was deciding what to do. Moreno proposed executing them as a deterrent, accusing them of working with the Montevideo Cabildo, the enemy of the Junta.^[88] Saavedra replied that the government should promote leniency, and rejected the use of the Patricians Regiment to carry out such executions.^[89] The prisoners were finally exiled to Luján, Ranchos, and Salto, and Leiva was housed by Gregorio Funes in Córdoba.^[90]

By this point, the only military support for Moreno was Domingo French, head of "The Star" regiment. Castelli and Belgrano supported him, but were far away from the capital on their respective military campaigns. The activists of the May Revolution supported him as well, as did other members of the Junta and other patriots like Vieytes and Nicolás Rodríguez Peña. Saavedra kept the strong support of the Regiment of Patricians, and added that of the merchants and even some supporters of the former regime who deemed the moderated Saavedra a lesser evil.^[91] Moreno sought to modify the military balance of power by reforming the promotion rules. Up until that point, the sons of officials were automatically granted the status of cadet and were promoted just by seniority; Moreno arranged that promotions were earned by military merits instead.^[92] However, in the short run this measure worked against him, as it antagonised members of the military who got promoted precisely because of such rules.^[93] He also thought that support from the lower classes was instrumental to the success of the Revolution,^[94] and wrote letters to Chiclana instructing him to generate such support at Upper Peru.^[95] Such popular involvement would take time to consolidate: the Guerra Gaucha, the War of the Republiquetas, and the rise of José Gervasio Artigas took place later, not as of 1810.^[96]

Saavedra increased his resistance to Moreno's proposals after the victory at the Battle of Suipacha, considering that the revolution had defeated its enemies and should relax its severity in consequence.^[97] The Regiment of Patricians hosted a banquet celebration at the barracks, restricting attendance to the military and supporters of Saavedra. Moreno was not allowed to pass by the guards at the door, which generated a small incident.^[98] That same night, Officer Atanasio Duarte, who was drunk, gave a crown of sugar to Saavedra's wife and saluted Saavedra as if he was the new king or emperor of the Americas.^[99] The next day, when Moreno heard about the incident, he wrote the "Honours Suppression decree", which suppressed the ceremony usually reserved for the president of the Junta and inherited privileges of the office of viceroy.^[99] Duarte was exiled, and Moreno's act was justified by stating that "An inhabitant of Buenos Aires neither drunk nor asleep should be expressed against the freedom of his country".^[100] Saavedra signed the decree without complaint, but Gregorio Funes felt that the Patricians resented Moreno because of this.^[101]

Gregorio Funes, from Córdoba, joined Saavedra against Moreno.

The conflicts between Moreno and Saavedra generated international reactions. Lord Strangford complained about the later actions of the Junta, such as the execution of Liniers, which were seen as more violent than the initial ones.^[102] Brazil was also concerned because many copies of the Gazeta were being distributed at Rio Grande do Sul, influencing their slaves with libertarian ideas.^[103][104] The Brazilian government sent Carlos José Guezzi to Buenos Aires, with the purpose of mediating in the conflict with the royalists at Montevideo and to ratify the aspirations of Carlota Joaquina to rule as regent.^[103] He met Saavedra in his first interview, in July, and got a positive impression of him. Saavedra said that if Carlota's rights were confirmed by the Spanish monarchy, Buenos Aires would support her, even if it meant they had to stand against the other provinces.^[105] The following month he requested a representative for the Court of Brazil, offered Carlota's mediation with Montevideo,^[106] and pointed out that Brazil had forces near the frontier, awaiting orders to attack the revolution.^[107] This time, Moreno resisted. Moreno rejected sending a representative,^[108] and told him that the Junta did not work for the interests of Brazil, but for those of the United Provinces.^[109] He rejected the mediation as well, considering that no mediation was possible under a military threat.^[110] Guezzi was immediately sent back to Rio de Janeiro on the first available ship.^[111] He described Moreno as "the Robespierre of the day",^[104] and accused the Junta of attempting to build a republic.^[104]

In December, the deputies of the other provinces convened by the circular of May 27 arrived to Buenos Aires. Most of them were closer to the ideas of Saavedra, and Gregorio Funes became highly influential over them. They did not agree about which body they should join: the deputies wanted to join the Junta, while Moreno thought that they should start a constituent assembly. Funes, allied with Saavedra, calculated that they could stop Moreno by joining the Junta, as his proposals would be agreed to by a minority. The Junta, with both its original members and the deputies, discussed the topic on December 18. Funes said that Buenos Aires had no right to rule the other provinces without their consent, and got the support of the other members.^[112] He said that there was popular discontent with the Junta.^[112] The supporters of Moreno said that such discontent was only among some rebels,^[112] and Moreno said that it was only the discontent of the Patricians in respect of the Supressions decree.^[112] However, only Paso voted with him, and the deputies joined the Junta. Moreno resigned, but his resignation was rejected. His opposition to the incorporation of the deputies is seen by some historians as an initial step in the conflict between Buenos Aires and the other provinces, which dominated politics in Argentina during the following decades. Some call it a precursor of the Unitarian Party, while others find his words or actions more consistent with the Federal Party. However, historians Paul Groussac and Norberto Piñeiro feel it is inappropriate to extrapolate so far into the future. Piñeiro considered it an error to label Moreno as federal or unitary, proving that this organization been prioritized over the secondary aspect of centralism or federalism, while Groussac similarly notes that Moreno devoted all his energies to the immediate problem of achieving independence without giving much thought to possible long-term scenarios.

Political decline and death

Death of Mariano Moreno.

Hipólito Vieytes was about to make a diplomatic mission to Britain, but Moreno requested that he should be given the appointment instead. Saavedra accepted immediately. He traveled to Britain with his brother Manuel Moreno and his secretary Tomás Guido, on the British schooner Fame. His health declined and there was no doctor on board, but the captain refused requests to land at some earlier port such as in Río de Janeiro (Brazil) or Cape Town (South Africa). The captain gave him an emetic in common use at that time, prepared with four grams of antimony potassium tartrate. Moreno had great convulsions as a consequence, and considered that in his state he could not have resisted more than the quarter of a gram. He died shortly afterwards.^[113] His body was wrapped in a Union Jack and thrown into the sea, after a volley of musketry.

Manuel Moreno speculated later that he was poisoned by the captain. Manuel Moreno was unsure of whether the captain really given him that substance, or if he substituted something else, or gave an even higher dose. Circumstances did not allow an autopsy to be performed. Further points used to sustain the idea of a murder are the captain's refusal to land elsewhere, his slow sailing, his administration of the emetic in secrecy, and that he didn't return to Buenos Aires with the ship.^[114] Enrique de Gandía pointed to an irregular ruling of the Junta that appointed a British person named Curtis as Moreno's replacement for the diplomatic mission in the case of Moreno's death. The son of Mariano Moreno commented to the historian Adolfo Saldías that his mother, Guadalupe Cuenca, received an anonymous gift of a mourning hand fan and handkerchief, with instructions to use them soon. By that time, the murder of Moreno was a common assumption, and it was mentioned during the trial of residence of the members of the Junta. Juan Madera stated at the trial that Moreno may had requested to go to Britain because he was afraid of being murdered, and that he may have stated this during the meeting when the Junta discussed his resignation.^[115] Modern author Manuel Luis Martín studied the health of both Moreno and his family, and concluded that he died of natural causes.^[116]

Legacy

Despite the death of Mariano Moreno, his supporters were still an influential party in Buenos Aires. Morenists accused Saavedra and Funes of plotting to allow the coronation of Carlota, and organized a rebellion with "The Star" Regiment. However, the Saavedrists became aware of it, and organized another rebellion on May 5 and 6, 1811. This rebellion requested strong changes in the government: the removal of Morenists Nicolás Rodríguez Peña, Hipólito Vieytes, Miguel Azcuénaga, and Juan Larrea from the Junta; the exile of Domingo French, Antonio Beruti, Agustín Donado, Gervasio Posadas and Ramón Vieytes; and the return and trial of Manuel Belgrano. Thus, the Morenist party was set apart from the government.^[117]

The Saavedrist hegemony was short-lived. The military defeats of Castelli and Belgrano started a new political crisis, and the First Triumvirate replaced the Junta Grande as the executive power, and then closed it completely. The former supporters of Moreno (Belgrano, Dupuy, Tomás Guido, Beruti, Monteagudo, French, Vicente López) would later support the campaign of José de San Martín.^[118] The Argentine war of independence would give room to the Argentine Civil War between unitarians and federals. Saavedrists like Martín Rodríguez, Ortiz de Ocampo, de la Cruz—and even Saavedra himself—became unitarians.^[119] Manuel Moreno, French, Agrelo, Vicente López, and Pancho Planes opposed both the First Triumvirate and the presidency of unitarian Bernardino Rivadavia.^[120] Manuel Moreno and Tomás Guido, in particular, worked in the government of the most powerful federal leader, Juan Manuel de Rosas.

Historical perspectives

Argentine historian Ricardo Levene during a conference about Mariano Moreno.

Early Argentine historians described Mariano Moreno as the leader of the Revolution and a great historical man. Later liberal historians would embellish this portrayal even more. An example of this tendency is La Revolución de Mayo y Mariano Moreno by Ricardo Levene.^[121] Biographers would describe him as a serene statesman, a notable economist, a decided democrat, and a great leader.^[121] For those historians, Moreno would have been an anglophile, and "The Representation of the Hacendados", the government platform of the May Revolution.^[122]

Subsequently, revisionist authors would formulate accusations against him, while promoting Saavedra as a popular leader. According to those authors, Moreno was a British agent, a demagogic caudillo, a paranoid, a mere man of theoretical ideas applying European principles that failed in the local context, wrongly portrayed as leader of the Revolution by the liberal historiography.^[123] Año X by Hugo Wast is considered the harshest work against Moreno. Moreno was still considered an anglophile, but in a negative light. They blamed Moreno for the harsh policies of the Junta, considering him a terrorist^[124] or a predecessor of Marxism; liberal historians usually concealed these policies.^[125]

Modern authors like Ernesto Palacio, Norberto Galasso, and Jorge Abelardo Ramos attempt to rescue the image of Moreno by avoiding both extremes: the sweet liberal Moreno and the horrible one written by revisionists.^[126] Those historians do not consider Bernardino Rivadavia a successor of Moreno, and the proposals to seek an alliance with Britain are not seen as the product of anglophilia, but just an example of the limited options available to the Primera Junta.^[127] Similarly, they do not attribute much influence to the Representation..., considering it a mere work for a client^[128] that didn't really influence Cisneros, who would have allowed free trade for international contexts.^[129] The harsh policies are acknowledged, but not attributed specifically to Moreno, but rather to the whole Junta, and compared with similar royalist measures used to punish the Chuquisaca, the La Paz revolution, and the indigenous rebellion of Túpac Amaru II.^[130]

Journalism

Mariano Moreno is regarded as the first Argentine journalist, as he created the Gazeta de Buenos Ayres. June 7, the day this newspaper was first available to the public, is recognized in Argentina as "Journalist day" since 1938.^[131] The Gazeta, however, was not the first newspaper in Buenos Aires, but the first one since the May Revolution. The first newspaper was the Telégrafo Mercantil (1801), followed by the Semanario de Agricultura Industria y Comercio (1802) and the Correo de Comercio de Buenos Aires (1810), edited during the colonial period.

Moreno was the only one to sign the decree that established the newspaper, but the text implies that it was the result of a discussion of the whole Junta, and not just his initiative.^[132] Fellow member of the Junta Manuel Alberti was appointed director of the newspaper. However, Alberti never actually directed the newspaper; Moreno did. Historian Guillermo Furlong considers that it was really Alberti who directed the newspaper, but the memoirs of José Pedro Agrelo (a later director), Tomás Guido, and Saavedra confirm that the newspaper was managed by Moreno.^[133] Moreno has also been promoted as a supporter of the freedom of the press, but the Gazeta... was actually a state-sponsored newspaper, and the Junta allowed such freedom only for information that was not against the interests of the government. According to Norberto Galasso, that situation would today be considered media bias.^[134]

Personal life

María Guadalupe Cuenca, wife of Mariano Moreno

The Moreno family was poor, but could afford a house and some slaves. Ana María Valle y Ramos, Mariano's mother, was one of the few literate women in Buenos Aires. Mariano Moreno was the firstborn of fourteen children. Mariano moved to Chuquisaca with his brother Manuel Moreno and their friend Tomás Guido once the family raised the money.^[135] The long and difficult journey gave Mariano a rheumatism attack; he had to stay in bed for fifteen days on arrival. He had further attacks years later.^[136] Moreno met María Guadalupe Cuenca in this city, after seeing a miniature portrait of her at a silversmith's house. Both Moreno and María were expected by their families to follow religious studies, and Moreno's father did not authorize a change. Moreno studied laws all the same, and married María in secret to avoid family resistance. They had a single son, named Mariano like the father.^[137]

When Moreno left for Europe on a diplomatic mission in 1811, his wife and son stayed in Buenos Aires. María wrote many letters to Moreno, with descriptions of ongoing events in the city. Most of them were written when Moreno was already dead; she did not learn of his fate until the following August, when a letter arrived from Manuel Moreno. She requested a widow's pension from the First Triumvirate, which was in power by then; its value was thirty pesos.^[138]

Beliefs

Mariano Moreno studied French and Spanish authors of the Age of Enlightenment during his studies at Chuquisaca. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract was a main influence; he translated this work to Spanish and used it to justify the actions of the Primera Junta. Contemporary people as Ignacio Núñez and Tomás de Anchorena acknowledged him as the translator. However, as the main page said that the work was "reprinted in Buenos Ayres", some historians doubt whether it was actually Moreno's work. Vicente Fidel López claimed that Moreno reprinted the translation made by the Spaniard Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, but the two translations differ.^[139] Paul Groussac thought it was a reprint of an Asturian translation, and Ricardo Levene said that Moreno was not the translator, but neither gave any indication as to who they thought had completed it.^[140] Enrique de Gandía considers that the comments of contemporary people and the lack of an earlier similar translation of Rousseau's work allow us to conclude that Moreno must have been the translator, at least until an earlier translation is found.^[141]

Despite his interest in French authors, Mariano Moreno was not Francophile or afrancesado. He kept a strong Spanish cultural heritage, and both Levene and Abelardo Ramos agree in that his stay in Chuquisaca influenced him more than the books. In line with the Spanish Enlightenment, Moreno kept strong religious beliefs. He removed the chapter from Rousseau's work that is critical of religion, and never became a freemason.^[142] He gave up his religious studies to study law and get married, but never actually became a priest, so there was no defrocking. He studied with priests such as Terrazas, who approved and perhaps even encouraged the change of vocation.^[142]

Physical aspect

Portrait of Moreno made by painter Juan de Dios Rivera. It is thought to be a realistic representation.

The canonical image of Mariano Moreno is the one from the portrait Mariano Moreno en su mesa de trabajo (Spanish: Mariano Moreno at his work desk). It was done by the Chilean artist Pedro Subercaseaux during the centennial of the May Revolution in 1910. The historian Adolfo Carranza asked him to design various allegorical pictures of the event. Carranza belonged to the mainstream line of historians who professed great admiration for Moreno, who he described as follows: "He was the soul of the government of the revolution of May, his nerve, the distinguished statesman of the group managing the ship attacked the absolutism and doubt, anxious to reach the goal of his aspirations and his destiny. Moreno was the compass and that also grabbed the helm, as he was the strongest and the ablest of those who came to direct it". He asked for a picture that was consistent with this image. The portrait depicts him as a friendly man with an open and round face, a wide forehead, and a serene look. Subsequent interpretations, like those of Antonio Estrada, would follow this style, as would portraits of other members of the Junta. However, as this portrait was made a hundred years after the death of the subject, with no known depictions done during his lifetime, it was thus based on the artist's imagination. It was known that Moreno had clearly-visible smallpox scars from the age of eight, but not to the point where they disfigured his face.^[143]

Later a portrait of Moreno was discovered that had been done from life, by the Peruvian silversmith Juan de Dios Rivera. This portrait was painted between 1808 or 1809, before Moreno's appointment as secretary of the Junta. It is now considered to be the closest representation of Moreno's real appearance. In this portrait, he is depicted with an elongated face, abundant hair, long sideburns, big eyes, and a pointy nose.^[144]

Bibliography

• Balmaceda, Daniel (2010) (in Spanish). Historias de Corceles y de Acero. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana. ISBN 978-950-07-3180-5. 
• Chávez, Julio César (1957). Castelli, el adalid de Mayo. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Leviatan. 
• many authors (1968) (in Spanish). Crónica Histórica Argentina. Buenos Aires: Editorial Códex S.A.. 
• Ferla, Salvador (1974) (in Spanish). Historia argentina con drama y humor. Buenos Aires: Granica. 
• Galasso, Norberto (2004). Mariano Moreno – El sabiecito del sur. Buenos Aires: Colihue. ISBN 950-581-799-1. 
• Ibarguren, Carlos (1938). Juan Manuel de Rosas: su vida, su drama, su tiempo. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sopena Argentina. 
• Ibarguren, Federico (1964). Las etapas de Mayo y el verdadero Moreno. Argentina: Ediciones Theoría. 
• Lagleyze, Julio Luqui (2010). Grandes biografías de los 200 años: Mariano Moreno. Buenos Aires: Clarín. ISBN 978-987-07-0838-4. 
• Justo, Liborio (1968). Nuestra patria vasalla. Buenos Aires: Editorial Schapire. 
• Luna, Félix (2004) (in Spanish). Grandes protagonistas de la Historia Argentina: Mariano Moreno. Buenos Aires: La Nación. ISBN 950-49-1248-6. 
• Moreno, Mariano; Norberto Piñeiro, Paul Groussac (2008). Plan de Operaciones. Argentina: Ediciones Biblioteca Nacional. ISBN 978-987-9350-22-5. 
• National Academy of History of Argentina (2010) (in Spanish). Revolución en el Plata. Buenos Aires: Emece. ISBN 978-950-04-3258-0. 
• Núñez, Ignacio (1857). Noticias históricas de la República Argentina. Buenos Aires: Impr. de Mayo. 
• Pigna, Felipe (2007) (in Spanish). Los mitos de la historia argentina (26 ed.). Argentina: Grupo Editorial Norma. ISBN 987-545-149-5. 
• Pueyrredón, Carlos A. (1953). La revolución de Mayo según amplia documentación de la época. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Peuser. 
• Scenna, Miguel Ángel (2009). Mariano Moreno. Buenos Aires: H. Garetto Editor. ISBN 978-987-1494-05-4. 

References

1. ^ Luna, p. 31
2. ^ Luna, p. 31-32
3. ^ Luna, p. 35
4. ^ Luna, p. 13
5. ^ Luna, pp. 35–36
6. ^ Luna, p. 42
7. ^ Luna, p. 44
8. ^ Lagleyze, p. 11
9. ^ Luna, pp. 47–49
10. ^ "La guerra retórica de la Independencia": el caso del periódico The Southern Star (Spanish)
11. ^ Luna, p. 60
12. ^ ""Defensor de la América del Sur"" (in Spanish). Todo es historia (Buenos Aires: Todo es historia) (152): 36. 1980. 
13. ^ Scenna, p. 12
14. ^ Scenna, p. 15
15. ^ Scenna, p. 23
16. ^ Scenna, p. 30
17. ^ Scenna, pp. 33–34
18. ^ Balmaceda, pp. 22–23
19. ^ Scenna, pp. 46-47
20. ^ Galasso, p. 9
21. ^ Carlos Ibarguren, p. 18
22. ^ Galasso, pp. 10–11
23. ^ Mariano Moreno, prologue to the The Social Contract translation – Galasso, p. 65
24. ^ Galasso, p. 65
25. ^ "I don't know if someone had read any work of modern politics, neither that there was other than Rousseau's The Social Contract, translated to Spanish by the famous Mariano Moreno, whose work can only serve to disband the populations, turn them into great mobs of angry madmen and villains". (Tomás de Anchorena) – Carlos Ibarguren, p. 16
26. ^ Galasso, p. 100
27. ^ Galasso, p. 103
28. ^ "Imprudent man [Ferdinand VII], what do you discover in your person that makes you superior to us? Which would be your empire, if we hadn't give it to you? Have we released our powers on you so that you can use them for our misfortune? You had the duty to create by yourself our happiness, that was the sole price for which we placed the crown over your head. You allowed it to be stolen by an act of inexperience, capable of generating doubts, about whenever you were excluded from the number of men that nature seems to have shaped to lead others; lowered to prisons and incapable of filling your duties, we took the distasteful work of doing by ourselves what should had been done by those who call themselves our kings; if you oppose our good, you do not deserve to reign over us, and if you want to manifest yourself creditor to the high dignity we have conferred, you should be congratulated of leading a free nation." (Moreno) – Galasso, pp. 105–106
29. ^ "Can the king oppose the resolutions of the Congress? Such a doubt could be a crime. The king, at his return, would not be able to resist a Constitution that, even if he was leading the Courts, he would have had to accept... and if one day he achieve the freedom for which we yearn, a simple transmission would restore him to the throne of his elders with the variations and reforms that the peoples would have enacted to prevent the evil results of an arbitrary power." (Moreno) – Galasso, p. 106
30. ^ Galasso, p. 106
31. ^ "Capture and punish with rigor anyone who by work or word attempts to generate divisions or discontents... anyone who does not report any project or conspiracy against the authority or the security of individuals will be declared responsible before the government." (Decree of June 6, 1810) – Galasso, p. 10
32. ^ "The Junta could not see with indifference that the naturals were incorporated to the caste bodies excluded from the Spanish battalions where they belong. For their class and specific declarations of Your Majesty, from this day on there shall be no difference between the Spanish military and the Indian military, both are equal, and should had always been, because since the beginning of the discovery of these Americas the Catholic Monarchs desired that their peoples should have the same privileges as the vassals of Castilla." (speech of Mariano Moreno, detailed at Juan Manuel Beruti memoirs) – Galasso, p. 10
33. ^ Galasso, p. 11
34. ^ "The firmness of the government where your trust rests has been strongly attacked and it was needed that the Junta violated its moderation so that the people was not victim of a pusillanimous condescension." (Mariano Moreno, Gazeta de Buenos Ayres, June 23, 1810) – Galasso, p. 12
35. ^ "The Junta advises you to watch carefully the principles that influenced its establishment. The main reason for it was the doubt about the legitimacy with which the fugitive Central Junta, despised by the people, insulted by its own subjects and with public charges of traitor, appointed by itself a Regency Council without asking for the vote of the villages." (Mariano Moreno, June 8, 1810) – Federico Ibarguren, p. 215
36. ^ "Let's redouble our efforts to help the metropolis, defend their cause, watch their laws, celebrate their triumphs, cry their bad fortunes, and do what the provincial Juntas did before the establishment of the Central one.'" (Mariano Moreno, June 8, 1810) – Federico Ibarguren, p. 216
37. ^ "Both cities acknowledge a same monarch, the Junta has sworn for Ferdinand VII and will die keeping his august rights." (Mariano Moreno, June 8, 1810) – Federico Ibarguren, p. 216
38. ^ "The obstinacy of the magistrates and the former viceroy don Baltasar H. de Cisneros, despite of the solicitude and moderation with which the Junta has treated them, have exited the popular fury in such a way that it was imperative to remove them from the city and deport them to the Canary islands until your majesty disposes of these people who, by personal motives, have almost caused the loss of these kingdoms." (Primera Junta, June 21, 1810) – Federico Ibarguren, p. 39
39. ^ "The Junta does not have at the moment any further interest in independence, a system that Spanish America would only adopt as an alternative to escape from the greatest of all evils: to return to the former state of things." (Matías Irigoyen) – Federico Ibarguren, p. 36
40. ^ Galasso, p. 18
41. ^ "The Junta orders to shoot don Santiago de Liniers, don Juan Gutiérrez de la Concha, the bishop of Córdoba, don Joaquín Rodríguez, colonel Allende and royal officer don Joaquín Moreno. At the right moment in which they are captured, under whatever circumstances, this resolution will be executed..." (Mariano Moreno, July 28, 1810) – Galasso, p. 18
42. ^ "Most of this city would be shrouded in mourning, and they [would assume that the Junta] is dominated by force and not by love, which is the most secure base to strengthen the new system of government." (Ortiz de Ocampo) – Galasso, p. 19
43. ^ "Obedience is the first virtue of a general, and the best lesson he may give to his army, which must be demanded during a combat. The superior government gathers and concentrates relations that must not be communicated, and soldiers must not know them in order to obey what is commanded to them." (Mariano Moreno) – Galasso, p. 19
44. ^ Galasso, p. 19
45. ^ "Go you, Castelli, and I hope that you do not fail in the same weakness than our general. If the determination was not yet done, the vocal Larrea would go, whom I think is not lacking resolution, and finally I would go myself if needed." (Mariano Moreno) – Chávez, p. 167
46. ^ Galasso, p. 60
47. ^ Galasso, p. 76
48. ^ Galasso, pp. 77–80
49. ^ Chávez, p. 274
50. ^ Galasso, p. 87
51. ^ Galasso, p. 59
52. ^ "Take care against the creation of suspicious groups, nor the proclamation of rumors that may promote alienation or distrust of the government." (Mariano Moreno) – Galasso, p. 50
53. ^ "Any individual that leaves the city without government licence, will have his goods confiscated, without any other process needed than the confirmation of his departure." (Primera Junta Decree, art. 1, July 31, 1810) – Galasso, p. 50
54. ^ "Any person found with Royal weapons against the orders of releasing them, will be punished with any kind of punishment, not excepting even the capital one according to circumstances." (Primera Junta Decree, art. 3, July 31, 1810) – Galasso, p. 50
55. ^ "Anyone who promotes rumors against Europeans or Patriots promoting division will be punished according to the sedition laws." (Primera Junta Decree, art. 4, July 31, 1810) – Galasso, p. 50
56. ^ "Anyone found corresponding with individuals from other places promoting divisions, distrust or parties against the current government, will be shot without any other process than the confirmation of the fact." (Primera Junta Decree, art. 5, July 31, 1810) – Galasso, p. 50
57. ^ Galasso, p. 51
58. ^ "Moreno had cunning and ambition, he was unruly by nature. He invented the spartan ostracism against the Spanish Europeans, and politically against the Americans as well, which was the most secure way to hallucinate the peoples and have a party: anyone who does not follow his ideas will be reputed as antipatriot and it will be of public knowledge in his clubs. [...] But according to Moreno we are all equals now, maxim that being thus generalized has made so much evils, and there will be further sufferings by this cursed disorder." (Manuel Andrés Arroyo y Pinedo) – Galasso, p. 51
59. ^ "...he (Moreno) pointed the most respectable heads to die without any type of process." (Gregorio Funes, "Manifest about the events of April 5 and 6, 1811) – Carlos Ibarguren, p. 31
60. ^ "Moreno, Castelli and Vieytes, inside the government Junta, were the representatives of the doctrine of that political sect that intended, as an example of its model, regenerate the political and social order of those countries through blood and crime." (Dámaso Uriburu) – Galasso, p. 51
61. ^ "We must secure the continental system of our glorious insurrection. Never before had the South America a better chance to establish a republic." (Mariano Moreno, "Escritos políticos y económicos") – Galasso, pp. 56–57
62. ^ ^{a b} Mariano Moreno, Gazeta de Buenos Ayres, November 22, 1810 – Galasso, p. 58
63. ^ Groussac, p. 103-143
64. ^ Piñeiro, p. 33-103
65. ^ "Moderation out of time is no sanity, nor is a truth; on the contrary, it is a weakness to adopt a system whose circunstances do not require; never in any time of revolution was moderation or tolerance adopted by governors, the mere thought of a man who opposes the new system is a crime because of the influence and harm he may cause with his example, and punishment is unavoidable" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 276
66. ^ "My Nation, how many mutations you must suffer! Where are, noble and great Washington, the lessons of your politics? Where the laborious rules of the architecture of your great work? Your principles and your regime could be capable to guide us, giving us your lights, to fill the goals we have proposed to ourselves" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 273-274
67. ^ "Let's talk with frankness: so far we have only seen the speculation of conspiracies, and as such when we try to approach practical matters we are deterred. Well, no: these are not the lessons taught by the masters of the great revolutions; fix your view over the annals of the histories of the North, of France, etc; and even Spain itself, and you shall see the plots and political cunning, aiming only to get by that way the goals they had proposed themselves (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 281-282
68. ^ "All true patriots, whose conduct is satisfactory and had given notable proof of it, if they made a crime which does not concern the system, they must receive consideration and kindness; in a word, during revolutionary times no crime shall be punished save for infidelity and rebellion" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 283-284
69. ^ "With the seconds (N: the enemies of the government) at the slightest semiproof of deeds, words, etc. against the cause, they shall be punished with capital punishment, specially when they convene with the circumstances of being people of skill, wealthpersonality and some opinion, but when they do not convene in such a man, it may be possible to have consideration and moderate the punishment, but never having any trusting on them" (Mariano Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 284-285
70. ^ "The government must [...] keep some spies, not of the first or second skill level, but of a known loyalty to the cause, secretly instructed to sneak into the most dubious people, talk with them and manifesting themselves in an opposing manner to the real cause they defend, to discover thus the thoughts of our enemies or any plot they may try" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 285
71. ^ "...it would be advisable to draw two men by any interest or promise, because of their knowledge, which we know is great in the countryside, as for their skill, opinion, concept and respect, as it is the captain of dragoons don José Rondeau and the captain of blandengues don José Artigas" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 294-295
72. ^ "...they must receive issues of Gazetas from the Capital and Montevideo, as often as possible, with speeches about the rights of men, [...] the happiness, freedom, equality and benevolence of the new system, [...] insulting in turn the old despots" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 325
73. ^ "Those speeches and Gazetas must be printed and delivered in Portuguese..." (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 326
74. ^ "...we must not stop assisting them [Britain] with as many interests as needed, to persuade them to support our projects, always considering proposals that may benefit the [...] as we know about that nation, first, to be the most plotting for their supremacy in the seas, and second, that all their relation are always directed by the principle of expanding their merchant goals, whose ambition never allowed to conceal, and those principles must guide our enterprises for their success in that court" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 320-321
75. ^ "'...as long as their alliance with her stands, [the British-Portuguese alliance] or better said, the shameful and ignominious slavery in which they had her... (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 321
76. ^ "...it is clearly seen that her purpose is to suck the blood of their state, extenuating it so much that perhaps their American colonies may become British someday..." (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 322
77. ^ "It shall be seen that a number of two or three hundred million pesos, given to the state to promote the arts, agriculture, navigation, etc. will produce in few years a working, educated and virtuous continent" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 314
78. ^ "...they may be in risk of bankruptcy, which when managed by the state itself are in little risk..." (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 314
79. ^ "...it shall be absolutely forbidden that any man works the mines of gold or silver, with the duty of working it and managing its resources reserved for the state, for more or less ten years..." (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 315
80. ^ "I estimate that, even if in those vast provinces we must aggravate at least five or six thousands as the advantages are perceived by eighty or a hundred thousand people, nor the government should doubt, nor lost anything in public perception, when after achieving the desired purposes we reward those aggravated, with graces or privileges" (Moreno) - Operations plan, p. 314
81. ^ Galasso, p. 36
82. ^ Galasso, 39-41
83. ^ Núñez, p. 174
84. ^ Galasso, pp. 12–13
85. ^ Núñez, p. 177
86. ^ Galasso, pp. 66–67
87. ^ Galasso, p. 67
88. ^ "It's needed to condemn Leiva and his henchmen, as example to the enemies of the country and our system" [...] "Do you (Saavedra) forget that Leiva is with the Montevideo Cabildo, and surely with the Regency Council to plot this reactionary coup?" (Moreno discussing with Saavedra) – Crónica Histórica Argentina, p. 198
89. ^ "The proposal excedes the sentiments of leniency that the government should promote. [...] If it's insisted to give death penalty, I deny right now the involvement of my troops to apply it!" (Moreno discussing with Saavedra) – Crónica Histórica Argentina, p. 198
90. ^ Crónica Histórica Argentina, p. 198
91. ^ Galasso, p. 69
92. ^ "The son of a colonel has worn cords since the crib, and a soldier of seventy years old would lift a kid that he could never equal in honours and wages. This kid could be badly raised, without habits, without talents, but he would eventually become general... because with a long life, he would count many years and those would prepare a seniority that would open the door to promotions... The Junta will follow an entirely different conduct: it is convinced that it cannot be a good official who has never been a good soldier, and will never allow the scars of a brave to be dressed with tatters while the sad relics of a rotten soldier are concealed with galloons." (Primera Junta decree, September 19, 1810 – Galasso, p. 70
93. ^ Galasso, p. 70
94. ^ "Not only the peoples of the villages have displayed a patriotism that doesn't stop in personal sacrifices, but also the inhabitants of our countrysides with pure and simple offerings as their hearths display the most respectful kindness and acknowledgement when they talk about the Junta. From here springs the abundance of resources that multiply a thousands ways to fill our urgent tasks. This explains the fast marchs of our troops, which in a single week cross spaces that the former viceroys could not defeat in a month and a half. The peoples from the countryside give their cattle without interest, give the soldiers their own personal horses, and save nothing to the little fortunes of their sons when it is requested for the nation and the government." (Mariano Moreno, Gazeta de Buenos Ayres, September 15, 1810) – Galasso, p. 71
95. ^ "Don't neglect the levy of creoles and make them take a personal interest in this work. Let no one rule, save for the sons of the country, let them know the advantages." (Mariano Moreno, mail to Chiclana) – Justo, p. 160
96. ^ Galasso, p. 72
97. ^ "As all things have changed their circumstances, by the reunion of the provinces of the viceroyalty, thus it's also need to change the resolutions, this is, lower the rigors adopted so far." (Cornelio Saavedra) – Crónica histórica Argentina, p. 226
98. ^ Núñez, p. 175
99. ^ ^{a b} Núñez, p. 176
100. ^ (Primera Junta decree, December 6, 1810) – Galasso, p. 90
101. ^ "The body of Patricians took this as a personal offense, and was near a break of relations. This commotion has placated, but I believe it grows in secret. Saavedra is very cautious and will contain everything. I have been told that he questioned himself the officer of the brindis." (Gregorio Funes, mail to his brother, December 10, 1810) – Galasso, p. 90
102. ^ "The last procedures of the Junta in respect of Liniers and his companions are in little comformity with the spirit of moderation that enacted your first measures and have given, to those who had a good mood towards you, reasons to be against." (Lord Strangford, mail to Mariano Moreno, November 17, 1810) – Galasso, p. 91
103. ^ ^{a b} Galasso, p. 92
104. ^ ^{a b c} "Moreno is the Robespierre of the day and the other are null for good and fiery tools of the tirany. All of them pretend to establish a Republic. [sic] Among their favourite projects is the one to extend the revolution to Brazil." (Carlos Guezzi, memoirs) – Pueyrredón, p. 475
105. ^ "...Saavedra said then that there was no room for doubt, and even if the whole nation had another opinion, the peoples of Buenos Aires and the Junta would have been the first ones to offer their weapons for the conservation of her rights." (Carlos Guezzi, memoirs) – Pueyrredón, p. 469
106. ^ "...recognize the eventual rights of the princess or allow the mediation of Brazil to solve the differences in the viceroyalty." (Carlos Guezzi, memoirs) – Pueyrredón, p. 469
107. ^ "The divisions of the provinces and the differences of opinion worry the Court of Brazil, who has all forces ready to extinguish or contain any revolutionary movement that may manifest at the La Plata basin." (Carlos Guezzi, memoirs) – Pueyrredón, p. 470
108. ^ "The Junta does not consider convenient to send a representative to the Court of Brazil. She must be declared satisfied with the token of confidence given when they received the mails from the Marquis of the Irujo house destined to viceroy Cisneros." (Mariano Moreno, Carlos Guezzi memoirs) – Pueyrredón, p. 471
109. ^ "The Junta does not work for the interests of Brazil, but for those of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata." (Mariano Moreno, Carlos Guezzi memoirs) – Pueyrredón, p. 471
110. ^ "The Court of Brazil may want to employ the force, and by that way mediation is inadmissible." (Mariano Moreno, Carlos Guezzi memoirs) – Pueyrredón, p. 471
111. ^ "The excellency Provisional Government Junta of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata has decidedly resolved that you (Guezzi) in the first ship that sails to Río de Janeiro, return to that destiny; for this purpose, at this same date, there's an order for the captain of the port to see for the commitment of this rule and report so for the intelligence." (Carlos Guezzi, memoirs) – Pueyrredón, p. 472
112. ^ ^{a b c d} Galasso, p. 112
113. ^ Scenna, p. 97-98
114. ^ Scenna, pp. 98–99
115. ^ Scenna, pp. 99–100
116. ^ National... p. 348
117. ^ Galasso, p. 124-131
118. ^ Galasso, p. 136-137
119. ^ Ferla, p. 149
120. ^ Galasso, p. 137
121. ^ ^{a b} Scenna, p. 6
122. ^ Scenna, pp. 27–28
123. ^ Scenna, pp. 6–7
124. ^ Scenna, pp. 74–75
125. ^ Scenna, p. 74
126. ^ Scenna, p. 8
127. ^ Scenna, pp. 69–74
128. ^ Scenna, p. 29
129. ^ Scenna, p. 32
130. ^ Scenna, pp. 75–79
131. ^ Día del Periodista (Spanish)
132. ^ Scenna, p. 53
133. ^ Scenna, pp. 54–55
134. ^ Scenna, p. 56
135. ^ Lagleyze, p. 8
136. ^ Lagleyze, p. 9
137. ^ Lagleyze, p. 10
138. ^ Pigna, pp. 338–341
139. ^ Scenna, p. 37
140. ^ Scenna, pp. 57–58
141. ^ Scenna, p. 58
142. ^ ^{a b} Scenna, p. 60
143. ^ Scenna, p. 101
144. ^ Scenna, p. 102

External links

	Spanish American wars of independence portal
	Argentina portal
	Biography portal

• Biography by the Ministry of Education (Spanish)
• Biography of Mariano Moreno (Spanish)
• Writings by Mariano Moreno (Spanish)

Persondata
Name	Moreno, Mariano
Alternative names
Short description	politician
Date of birth	September 23, 1778
Place of birth	Buenos Aires
Date of death	March 4, 1811
Place of death	High seas