“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

law ended at the port city’s gates. The interior was a “barbarous” region that threatened the
rule of law. It had to be controlled by the civilized elites in Buenos Aires. 180
To carry out his vision, Mitre turned his considerable intellectual and military skills to
the task of combating Urquiza’s rival confederation. Mitre took to the press to oppose
Urquiza’s plans to reorganize the Argentine state. He railed that Urquiza was nothing more
than a “despot” who lacked “law, norms, or any entity to serve as a counterweight to his
powers.” 181 Eventually, Urquiza cracked down on Mitre and his allies. In June of 1852, he
ordered their newspapers closed. He further ordered Mitre to leave Buenos Aires or face
arrest. This repression, however, only confirmed the fears of many porteño elites that Urquiza
intended to impose his rule – and that of the peripheral provinces – on Buenos Aires by
force. The fragile coalition between Buenos Aires and interior elites that had defeated Rosas
collapsed. On 11 September 1852, Buenos Aires rose up in an open revolt. 182
The entrerriano leader worked to quell the opposition, particularly through the
enactment of the 1853 Constitution. Urquiza’s hesitancy to use his advantageous military
position to crush the rebellious porteños reflected the interior’s economic weakness. To
sustain a national project, Urquiza required access to customs revenues from Buenos Aires.
He also needed the support and capital of Buenos Aires’ prosperous merchant community.
Without the acquiescence of the porteño elite, he could only maintain his putative national
project through his personal fortune, reciprocal ties and military prowess. Fiscal weakness
and internal divisions would plague the Confederation throughout its brief existence. 183
180 Adelman, Republic of Capital, 198.
181 Scobie, La Lucha por la Consolidación, 44-45.
182 Ibid., 56-59.
183 Ibid., 153.
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