Abstract

ETCHECHURY BARRERA, Mario. The Chiaroscuro of Loyalty. The United Army of the Argentine Confederation and the Practices of Political-Military Pacification (1839-1842). Secuencia [online]. 2022, n.113, e1909.  Epub June 06, 2022. ISSN 2395-8464.  https://doi.org/10.18234/secuencia.v0i113.1909.

This article analyzes the political role played by the commanders of the United Army of the Argentine Confederation during the campaign against the armies opposed to Juan Manuel de Rosas, in the so-called “crisis of the federal system” (1839-1842). To this end, we’ll explore the function as social intermediates that the military chiefs played during the campaign: attending pleas and claims from the opposing side and intervening in the conflicts inside the federal camp itself. As a consequence of this dynamic, the officers had serious difficulties in applying punitive measures, due to the ignorance of the local politics, crossed by factious disputes, and to the pressure of the provincial political-military groups. We’ll conclude that both aspects led to the relaxation of the repression and to the establishment of a form of “negotiated violence” as a way to restore the altered order. For this approach, we’ll use military archives and edited documentary collections.

Keywords : civil war; violence; pacification; army; Rio de la Plata.