“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

following the order designated by the Laws that govern us.” 20 If Mendoza acceded to the
intervention of outside authorities, therefore, he “would demonstrate . . . bias against the
Laws and dignity and impartiality that he observes in all of his acts.” 21 In penning this letter
to the JEA and national officials, Mendoza framed the neutral application of the law as a
firm limit on the ability of the central government to interfere in the local dispute. Like
Guimaraens, Mendoza did not directly challenge national officials or rule out a contradictory
verdict in the event of an appeal. Rather, he used local fealty to national laws to articulate
the boundaries between local and national power. Local officials had the bulk of the say in
the current matter. In this sense, the law and control of courtrooms permitted Guimaraens
and his allies to proclaim simultaneously their loyalty to the nation, but also their autonomy
from it when it came to important issues of local justice. This was precisely the balance
Urquiza had fatally labored to construct a decade earlier across the river.
In response, officials in Montevideo accepted Mendoza’s arguments about their
respective spheres of authority. The fiscal in Montevideo concluded that “the denounced
irregularities did not in [his] judgment demand any remedy.” 22 He continued that the sole
actions by national officials should be to “order Salto’s [JEA] that from here forward it
strictly comply with current regulations.” Regarding any prior violations, the fiscal opined
that any of these could be litigated “before those Tribunals to which those actions properly
correspond.” That is to say, before the local courts. In case there was any doubt in the
matter, the fiscal concluded:
20 B. Mendoza al Sor. Presidente de la Junta E. Administrativa del Departamento Francisco
Guimaraens, AGN. Sección Administrativa. Salto: Junta Económico-Administrativa (August
31, 1874), 1.
21 Ibid.
22 Fiscal al Ministero de Gobierno, AGN. Sección Administrativa. Salto: Junta Económico-
Administrativa (October 1, 1874), 1.
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