Federales (Argentina)

Federales was the name under which the supporters of federalism in Argentina were known, opposing the Unitarios that claimed a centralised government of Buenos Aires Province, with no participation of the other provinces of the custom taxes benefits of the Buenos Aires port.

The "Federales" supported the autonomy of the provincial governments and the distribution of external commerce taxes among the provinces. In general, the Federals were provincial governors and leaders, some of which became caudillos, such as Juan Facundo Quiroga.

The several armed conflicts between "Federales" and "Unitarios" that started after the May Revolution of 1810 diminished with Justo José de Urquiza's defeat over Juan Manuel de Rosas at the Battle of Caseros in 1852, and ended in 1862 when Bartolomé Mitre was named president.