Manuel Dorrego (11 June 1787 – 13 December 1828) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

statesman and soldier. He was governor of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828.

Early life and education

Dorrego was born in Buenos Aires on 11 June 1787 to José Antonio do Rego, a Portuguese merchant, and to María de la Ascensión Salas. He enrolled in the '' Real Colegio de San Carlos'' in 1803, and moved to the '' Real Universidad de San Felipe'' in the

Captaincy General of Chile The General Captaincy of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ), Governorate of Chile, or Kingdom of Chile, was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1818 that was, initially, part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. It comprised most of mod ...

to continue his studies. He supported the early steps of the Chilean War of Independence in 1810, which led to the removal of the Spanish colonial authorities and the establishment of the first Chilean Government Junta.Galasso, p. 257

Career

He moved to the

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America (), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán for the region of South America that declared independence in 1816, with the Sove ...

(modern Argentina), and joined the

Army of the North The Army of the North (), contemporaneously called Army of Peru (), was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...

, under the command of

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...

. He fought in the battles of Tucumán and

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, being injured in both. He was sanctioned by Belgrano for promoting a duel. As a result, he did not take part in the battles of Vilcapugio and Ayohuma, two defeats of the Army of the North, and Belgrano regretted later the absence of Dorrego from them.

Ideology and exile

Dorrego opposed the

Luso-Brazilian invasion The Portuguese conquest of the Banda Oriental was the armed-conflict that took place between 1816 and 1820 in the Banda Oriental, for control of what today comprises the whole of the Uruguay, Republic of Uruguay, the northern part of the Mesopo ...

of the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), or more fully Banda Oriental del Río Uruguay, was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay, the modern state of Ri ...

, encouraged by Juan Martín de Pueyrredón to counter the influence of

José Gervasio Artigas José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a soldier and statesman who is regarded as a national hero in Uruguay and the father of Uruguayan nationhood. Born in Montevideo, Artigas enlisted in the Spanish ...

. He was exiled by Pueyrredón, and stayed some time in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

(

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). He studied

federalism in the United States In the United States, federalism is the constitutional division of power between U.S. state governments and the federal government of the United States. Since the founding of the country, and particularly with the end of the American Civil W ...

, and thought that each state of a country should have some autonomy, rejecting the strong

centralization Centralisation or centralization (American English) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making, and framing strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular ...

into a single government sought by Pueyrredón. During this time he wrote the ''Cartas apologéticas'', criticizing the support of Pueyrredón to the Luso-Brazilian invasion.

Return, interim governor, second exile

He returned to Buenos Aires in 1819, following the departure of Pueyrredón. He was appointed as interim governor, and fought against the armies of Alvear, Carrera and Estanislao López. Still, he was resisted in the city, and the stable appointment as governor was given to Martín Rodríguez instead. He was banished again, and moved to

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

. He met

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

, and supported his ideas of unifying all the continent into a giant federation.

Second return and governorship

Dorrego returned to Buenos Aires a short time afterwards and worked in the legislature of Buenos Aires in the 1826 Constituent Assembly. He strongly supported a federal system of government and criticized the qualified suffrage. However, the 1826 Constitution promoted a strong centralized government and qualified suffrage. Fusilamiento de Dorrego

Dorrego opposed the government of the unitarian

Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at th ...

, who was appointed as the first

president of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

, and voiced his criticism in the newspaper ''El Tribuno''. Resisted by all the provinces, Rivadavia resigned as president, and vice president Vicente López y Planes resigned as well. No longer having a national head of state, the legislature appointed Dorrego as governor of the Buenos Aires province. He took measures to support the poor, promote a federal organization of the country, and ended the Argentine–Brazilian War.

Coup and death

The Argentine troops were discontented with Dorrego because he accepted the conditions imposed by the British diplomacy despite their military victories in the conflict. Encouraged by the Unitarian party, Juan Lavalle led a coup against Dorrego on 1 December 1828. Dorrego left the city and organized his forces in the countryside. He was defeated, and then executed by Lavalle.

Aftermath

Lavalle closed the legislature and began a period of political violence against the Federals, but he was defeated and forced to resign by

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

, who restored the institutions that existed before Lavalle's coup.Galasso, pp. 265–271

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorrego, Manuel 1787 births 1828 deaths Leaders ousted by a coup Governors of Buenos Aires Province Executed politicians Foreign ministers of Argentina Argentine military personnel killed in the Argentine Civil War People from Buenos Aires People of the Argentine War of Independence People executed by Argentina by firing squad Argentine people of Portuguese descent Extrajudicial killings Federales (Argentina) Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata