“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

In response, Sañudo returned to the courts. He appeared before Judge José Chirif
on behalf of Joaquim’s widow, Felizberta Benita da Mota, in order to challenge the seizure. 48
Chirif was Sañudo’s political ally, supporting the colorados locally in Salto. 49 To that end,
Chirif had resigned his position on Salto’s junta económica-administrativa in 1856 in protest over
political disputes between the two factions in connection with that year’s national elections. 50
By 1858, however, he was back in a judicial post and ready to help Sañudo defend his
partnership’s assets from José.
In connection with the new litigation, Sañudo returned to the language of citizenship
to defend his property rights against violent, factional incursions. Benita, probably speaking
through Sañudo, wrote a letter detailing the events following her husband’s death. In it, she
emphasized her status as both a women and a foreigner in warranting protection from the
court: “Weak and defenseless by the nature of my sex, I seek [busco] the protection of the
laws of this country under which I am living as a foreigner, along with the security that the
Constitution accords my person and my interests.” 51 Not surprisingly, the national divisions
she invoked were much more hazy than her letter implied. Benita (and Sañudo) drew upon
her foreign status to protect her estate from the violent conduct of her Brazilian brother-in-
law and his local allies. She further did so in order to protect Sañudo’s commercial assets.
Everyone involved in the litigation no doubt understood these ambiguities. Yet, by framing
her position in terms of citizenship, Benita effectively nationalized her family’s cross-border
dispute. In making this move, Benita and Sañudo once again situated their own conflict as
48 Felizberta Benita de Mota por la Casa de Joaquin Gonzaga Ferreira.
49 Chirif also possessed connections to Venancio Flores. Flores wrote to Chirif in
1865, referred to him as his “esteemed friend” and thanking him for his help with the war
effort. Venancio Flores al Señor Don J. Cherif, AGN. Salto. Jefatura (September 7, 1865).
50 AGN. Particulares. Archivo de General Lucas Piriz, Caja 9, Carpeta 5, Carta
Confidencial de Lucas Piriz al Exmo. Sor. D. Gabriel Antonio Pereyra, No. 30 (August 8, 1856).
51 Felizberta Benita da Mota por la casa de Joaquim Gonzaga Ferreira, 5bis.
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