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Sovereignty and Federalism As Constituent Elements of Argentine Nationality

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Sovereignty and Federalism As Constituent Elements of Argentine Nationality 91 Sovereignty and Federalism as Constituent Elements of Argentine Nationality In my understanding, two nations have co- in his Historia del Derecho Argentino (1948) existed within the framework of Argentine na- [History of Argentine Law], in contradiction to tionality: the River Plate nation and the Andean Alberdi, proclaimed the existence of a »pre- nation. Both played a leading role in a history codified law of self-government« [»Derecho Pa- characterised by the quest for unity and, finally, trio Precodificado«] that pertains »… to a new both have lived fraternally sharing the same period that commenced with the revolution of nationality as of the acceptance, in 1860, of the 1810, whose plan consisted in declaring the constitution enacted in 1853. This nationality independence of a nation, thus turning the legal has henceforth been called Argentine Republic bond of vassalage into one of citizenship as a and, from that point of view – one nationality component of sovereignty and, in addition, or- bringing together more than one nation –, it ganising the democratic republic …«1 Also in sharesacommonpresentandpastwithallits 1948, Carlos Sánchez Viamonte wrote, »The neighbouring countries. Argentine nation was a unity in colonial times, Throughout the course of the construction during the Viceroyalty, and remained so after of our present nationality, some constant ideas the revolution of May 1810. […] The provinces common to our political thought have translated never acted as independent sovereign states, but into reiterated acts and constitute the basis of the as entities created within the nation and as present unity. By way of illustration, we shall integral parts of it, incidentally affected by inter- consider the evolution of the concepts of na- nal conflicts.«2 More recently, Jorge R. Vanossi tional sovereignty and federalism. It should be referred to our nationality as a unique national noted, however, that a similar analysis could be entity, successor to the Viceroyalty, which, after conducted with other political terms recurrently undergoing a long period of anarchy and dis- invoked in Argentine history. organisation, adopted a decentralised form in 1853–1860 under the constitution.3 Needless to say, the topic has been addres- Sovereignty sedwitha»patriotic«preconception.Itwasim- Were the founding provinces of the Republic portant to contribute towards the myth of the sovereign states that agreed to merge into a seniority of nationality by demonstrating that federal state or, on the contrary, were they enti- the successor state to the Viceroyalty of the River ties emerging as a consequence of their prior Plate was the current Argentine State. A histor- nationality? Until the last quarter of the 20th ical continuity had to be established between century, and even today, Argentine historians one state and the other, and in order to do so it and constitutionalists have focused on the pre- was necessary to sidestep the issue that, until existence of the nation as originator and founder the enactment of the constitution of 1853, the of nationality. Thus, for example, the father of Argentine Confederation was not a unified state, Argentine legal historiography, Ricardo Levene, and between 1853 and 1860 it was a state nei- 1 Ricardo Levene,Historiadel Derecho Argentino, Volume IV, (Desde la Revolución de Mayo a la Asamblea de 1813–15), Buenos Aires 1948, 11. 2 Carlos Sánchez Viamonte, Historia Institucional Argentina, 2nd ed., México, F. C. E. 1957, 196 and 197 (first edition 1948). 3 Jorge R. Vanossi, Situación ac- tual del federalismo, Buenos Aires 1964, 11. Debatte Alberto David Leiva 92 ther identical with, nor comprising the State of tion of a province without the approval of the Buenos Aires. These two states finally joined in government thereof. Provinces were sovereign 1860, thus giving birth to the present Argentine states, both de facto and de jure,andthefact Republic. However this state was not the suc- that they retained sovereign powers entailed they cessor to the Viceroyalty of the River Plate; in were sovereign subjects of international law, fact it was a new legal reality that ensued from a capable, inter alia, of delegating their represen- series of mergers following the total segmenta- tation. tion of the old colonial jurisdiction, yet at the Some years later, Juan Bautista Alberdi, same time the result of huge unifying efforts by Vicente Fidel López and Bartolomé Mitre, to the best men of each historical period. mention only three of the intellectual creators In the official language of the early 19th of what we now call the Argentine Republic, century, the term »province« was often used as encouraged the formation of national conscious- analogous to »state«, as evidenced by many ness. This Republic is not a long-standing po- official texts, a fact which should not be disre- litical entity, but a very young one – in histori- garded. The provinces, emerging from the colo- cal terms it is almost newly born – where the nial governorates and intendancies, declared affirmation of sovereignty and independence is a their independence and sovereignty, and started postulate by »intellectual founders« and, for referring to their congressional delegates as »dip- some, even a thesis subject to disproof by future lomatic agents« at the outset of the first unifying facts.5 attempts. In 1820, Cordoba affirmed that »as a free and sovereign Province we acknowledge no Federalism dependence upon or subordination to another; one of our main duties is fraternity and union In my opinion, a similar explanation should among all provinces as well as the closest friend- be provided for the use we have made of the ship ties with them, while all together convened terms »confederation« and »federation« during in General Congress negotiate the treaties of a the first half of the 19th century. In fact, the true federation, whether at peace or war, some- confusion between »confederation« and »federal thing we aspire to, in accordance with all the state« was very common in the 19th century. remaining provinces …«4 The numerous inter- Seldom do we reflect that Buenos Aires, provincial pacts and agreements entered into as identified with unitarianism for most of Argen- from that year 1820 confirm this assessment, tine historiography, was also the cradle of con- since they are mechanisms whereby sovereign federalism. This took place after Rivadavia had entities establish relations. made an attempt to fragment the territory by Following the dissolution of the 1824–27 expropriating the capital city and a large portion Congress, the language of jus gentium was ex- of territory, bringing about the resignation and plicitly adopted to govern the relations among exile of Governor Juan Gregorio de Las Heras. provinces, and it was accepted that congression- This position, needless to say, consolidated dur- al delegates acted in their capacity as »diplo- ing the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas, matic agents«. No supra-provincial entity could so much so in fact that it seems clear that, at make any decision directly affecting the popula- the time of the signature of the Federal Pact on 4 Archivo de la H. Cámara de Fundaçao Alexandre Gusmão and Diputados de la Provincia de the National Library of Argentina; Córdoba, Córdoba 1912, Volume Buenos Aires, 5–6 of December I, 1820–1825, »Sesión del 18 de 2000. Marzo de 1820«, 9 et seq. 5 José Carlos Chiaramonte. Paper given at the Symposium »Argen- tina – Brazil, Somebody Else’s View, an interdisciplinary ap- proach to the question of sover- eignty«, organised by Fundaçao Centro de Estudios Brasileiros, Rg16/2010 Sovereignty and Federalism as Constituent Elements of Argentine Nationality 93 4 January 1831, the provinces regarded them- tral government having direct jurisdiction over selves as sovereign states. Nevertheless this did the inhabitants of the provinces, whose govern- not prevent them from looking for the right ments could abide by the rules and regulations opportunity to create a new national state. of the different entities that tried to organise On the other hand, »the assumption that the them or not. The provinces continued having provinces are sovereign and have agreed on a their own armies, printing their own money, and confederal organisation, which therefore may delegating the exercise of their foreign affairs revert upon the will of those sovereign peoples, to the governor of Buenos Aires. The Argentine laid the foundations for the alliances forged by Confederation was not a unified state until 1853, some provinces with foreign countries, such as and between 1853 and 1860 it was also a differ- the one formed by the province of Corrientes ent state from that of Buenos Aires. with France in 1838 to fight against Rosas, or Just as in 1820 it was decided that our form also the one formed by the provinces of Cor- of government would be a republic and not a rientes and Entre Ríos with Brazil and Uruguay monarchy, in 1853 federalism was enshrined in to overthrow Rosas in 1851. Further, as we have our federal constitution as a form of state, but noted, it was the pretext used by Buenos Aires to resorting once again to assembling expressions it justify its rejection of the San Nicolás Agreement was stated that »the Argentine Nation adopts the and its secession between 1852 and 1860.«6 federal, republican, representative form of gov- In those years, the term »federal« was given ernment, as established in this constitution«. a completely different meaning from the one it In fact, we could assert that in our presi- had in the United States, synonymous with »na- dential republic, federalism has been one of the tional« and making reference to a »federation« paths to construct nationality, and that the pro- where, despite retaining a high level of auton- cess of de-federalisation which the Argentine omy, each State of the Union delegated the most Republic is undergoing at present is beginning essential part of its sovereignty to the central to threaten the country’s balanced development.
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