“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

coexistence of these provincial and national identities. On the one hand, the 1853
Constitution consolidated a substantial amount of power in the executive. This could
provide Urquiza with the means to resolve local conflicts and impose order on the national
territory. At the same time, however, Urquiza’s federalist credentials and vast network of
reciprocal relationships with local elites provided assurances that provincial autonomy would
be respected. Where Urquiza would intervene much more directly was in Buenos Aires. He
could use his broad powers to check the political and economic predominance of the port
and its provincial hinterlands. The new constitution also promised to sever the city of
Buenos Aires from its surrounding territories so as to weaken the porteño position further.
Collectively, these measures were designed to restore balance and order to a revived
confederation. 179
For its part, Buenos Aires refused to accept the loss of its special status within
Urquiza’s proposed federalist system. Bartolomé Mitre emerged as the leader of porteño
opposition to Urquiza’s confederation. Mitre was born in 1821. Like many unitarists, he
had fled Buenos Aires for Montevideo in 1837. Having lived much of his life in opposition
to Rosas, Mitre was now determined to erect an institutional framework that could prevent
the rise of a new generation of “lawless” caudillos from the interior. Immediately upon his
return to Buenos Aires, Mitre began to advocate for a strong central government that could
impose order on the rebellious provinces. While his idea of a strong executive appeared to
square with Urquiza’s own constitutional vision, Mitre believed that Buenos Aires had to
remain in control of the country’s reunification. This reflected an old porteño conception that
179 Scobie, La Lucha por la Consolidación, 32-51.
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