A Brief History of ArgentinA second edition JonAtHAn c. Brown University of Texas at Austin A Brief History of Argentina, Second Edition Copyright © 2010, 2003 by Lexington Associates All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brown, Jonathan C. (Jonathan Charles), 1942– A brief history of Argentina / Jonathan C. Brown. — 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8160-7796-0 1. Argentina—History. I. Title. F2831.B88 2010 982—dc22 2010004887 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Excerpts included herewith have been reprinted by permission of the copyright holders; the author has made every effort to contact copyright holders. The publishers will be glad to rectify, in future editions, any errors or omissions brought to their notice. Text design by Joan M. McEvoy Maps and figures by Dale Williams and Patricia Meschino Composition by Mary Susan Ryan-Flynn Cover printed by Art Print, Taylor, Pa. Book printed and bound by Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group, York, Pa. Date printed: June 2010 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Contents List of Illustrations iv List of Maps v List of Tables and Charts v Acknowledgments vii Introduction: The Argentine Riddle ix 1 Ancient Argentina and the European Encounter 1 2 The Colonial Río de la Plata 27 3 Imperial Reform and Conflict in the Río de la Plata 51 4 Crisis of the Colonial Order and Revolution 79 5 Agrarian Expansion and Nation Building (1820–1880) 103 6 The Liberal Age (1880–1916) 138 7 The Decline of Liberalism (1916–1930) 167 8 The Rise of Populism (1930–1955) 188 9 The Failure of De-Peronization (1955–1983) 218 10 The Neoliberal Age Begins 253 11 Argentina on the Rebound? 275 12 Conclusion: History as Predator 296 Appendixes 1 Basic Facts about Argentina 302 2 Chronology 306 3 Bibliography 315 4 Suggested Reading 328 Index 338 List of illustrations Basilica of Salta cover Adolfo Cambiaso xii Ruins of a Diaguita Village 6 Indigenous people of the Gran Chaco 13 The Charrúa 15 Buenos Aires, ca. 1536 21 Mule train crossing Bolivian cordillera 28 Women working in Santiago del Estero 35 Plaza of Mendoza 36 An indigenous toldería 49 Buenos Aires, ca. late 18th century 52 Mounted indigenous warriors of the Pampas 54 Indigenous chief, or cacique 57 José de San Martín 98 A saladero 107 Cattle branding on an estancia 117 A portrait of General Rosas on a bedroom wall 123 Indigenous raid on a cart train 132 Immigrant housing in Buenos Aires, ca. 1910 151 Gauchesque musicians today 156 Rural woman with montero 160 Criollos of the countryside 163 Buenos Aires, ca. early 20th century 169 Train station on Western Argentine Railway 176 Crowd cheers September 1930 coup 185 Demonstrators at National Congress, September 1930 187 Carlos Gardel 191 Pro-Perón demonstration, October 17, 1945 204 Juan and Evita Perón addressing a 1947 rally 207 Striking rail workers, 1953 211 Pro-Lonardi demonstrators 215 A villa miseria in Buenos Aires 228 The Cordobazo, May 1969 231 Marching Montoneros, May 1973 235 iv El Proceso junta members 240 Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, 1983 246 Argentine troops in the Malvinas 248 Argentine medics in the Islas Malvinas 250 Members of Carapintada commando unit, 1987 258 Looted supermarket, 1989 263 Raúl Alfonsín and Carlos Saúl Menem, July 1989 264 Demonstrators at Salta, 1997 271 “The Night of the Saucepans,” December 2001 273 Inauguration of President Fernández 280 Piqueteros at the Plaza de Mayo 286 Farmers’ strike of 2008 293 List of MAPs Modern Argentina 2 Indigenous Peoples of the Southern Cone on the Eve of the Conquest 11 The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, 1790 65 Buenos Aires Autopistas Planned by the Military Government of the Late 1970s and Early 1980s 242 List of tables and charts Estimated Population of Indigenous Peoples of the Southern Cone, 1492 3 Population Estimates for Buenos Aires, 1615–1770 46 Slaves and Livestock on the Jesuit Ranches of Córdoba, ca. 1748 60 The Racial Composition of the Population of Mendoza, 1812 67 Yearly Tax Revenues of the Royal Treasury in Buenos Aires, 1770–1808 69 Population Growth in Colonial Argentina, 1777–1809 75 v Destination of Ships Leaving the Port of Buenos Aires, 1849–1851 108 Rural Population in Buenos Aires Province, 1854 116 Indicators of Economic Growth in Argentina, 1880–1914 142 Cargo and Passengers Carried on Argentine Railways, 1880–1914 144 Major Argentine Grain Exports, 1880–1915 145 Spanish and Italian Immigration to Argentina, 1880–1930 149 Nationality of Foreigners Residing in Argentina, 1914 150 Population of the City of Buenos Aires, 1914–1936 151 Argentine Petroleum Consumption, Production, and Imports, 1922–1930 183 Growth of Manufacturing within Argentina’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 1900–1955 194 Growth of the Argentine Oil Industry, 1922–1940 195 Price Inflation, 1945–1984 223 Expansion and Contraction of Gross Domestic Product, 1956–1980 227 Price Inflation in Argentina, 1980–2001 266 Expansion and Contraction of Gross Domestic Product, 1981–2001 268 Gross External Debt, 1977–2001 270 China’s Trade with Argentina, 2001–2007 289 Argentina’s Economic Growth and Inflation Rates, 1999–2010 292 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS have benefited immensely from a wealth of literature on the history I of Argentina in both Spanish and English. The Argentines have developed one of the most lively and professional historical tradi- tions in Latin America, and they have a talent for seeing themselves with clarity and wisdom. They practice their studies at a number of fine institutions of higher learning and research institutes both in Argentina and abroad. Moreover, the Argentine historical community has welcomed foreign scholars to its archives and libraries so that the English-language literature ranks among the richest for any country of Latin America. In addition, my students and former students assist me—indeed, they challenge me—in staying on top of the latest research. They themselves have contributed five doctoral dissertations and 19 master’s research projects about Argentine history that have enriched my knowledge and understanding of that country. They will recognize in these pages where I am beholden to their research. I owe special thanks to Joan Supplee, Gil Ramírez, Ricardo Salvatore, Rukhsana Qamber, Greg Hammond, and Adrian Hawkins for their doctoral work. Among those who have turned out fine master’s projects are Kevin Kelly, Barbara Boczek, John Rochford, Andrea Spears, Lisa Cox, Barbara Pierce, Alfredo Poenitz, Yao-Sung Hsiao, Matthew Faddis, Wayne Magnusson, Jesús Gómez, Byron Crites, Cyrus Cousins, Jen Hoyt, Sabina Mora, Brian Teplica, Peter Toot, and Josie Engels. I am indebted to María Celina Tuozzo for her keen insights on Argentine labor history. Michael Snodgrass gra- ciously permitted me to draw from his superb analysis, especially on the relationship between Juan Perón and his working-class followers, which appears in chapter 8. In Buenos Aires, I profited from the expert assistance of Daniel V. Santilli of the Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana “Dr. E. Ravignani.” He searched among several different sources in Buenos Aires to find many of the illustrations that grace this book. During the past decade, I have corresponded frequently with Torcuato Di Tella, Ricardo Salvatore, and Cuatro Tolson, who keep me abreast of events. I benefited also from the Reuters news dispatches from Argentina vii A BRIEF History OF ARGENTINA that were written by a former student, Brian Winter. In addition, Gil Ramírez has shared jokes and insights over the years, and Byron Crites donated a critical labor document. Li He gave me the statistics on Chinese-Argentine trade; Jen Hoyt and Cyrus Cousins contributed photos and illustrations. I have been fortunate to have had the advice and counsel of my own in-house editor and muse, Lynore Brown. Finally, Josie Engels served as my research assistant for this second edition. Her attention to detail keeps me informed of the most important twists in Argentina’s current events. Unless otherwise noted, translations that appear in this book are my own. All the above contributed to making this a better book, though they cannot be faulted for its shortcomings. viii Introduction: The Argentine Riddle ust a year ago, when I accepted the commission to update A Brief JHistory of Argentina, I thought that I would be able to finish the second edition on a positive note. The first edition had concluded with an analysis of the 2001 economic crisis, during which the country defaulted on its foreign debt, citizens lost about two-thirds of their bank deposits, and four different presidents served in the last two weeks of December. Last year, the Argentine economy had rebounded and was producing annual growth rates of 8 percent. Then bad news hit Argentina. Wall Street suffered a near financial collapse, and world markets began to purchase fewer Argentine agricultural products. As President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said, “We were registering the most important growth in the last 200 years .