JUAN JOSÉ PASO: BIOGRAPHY AND POLITICAL LIFE - HISTORY - 2024

Juan José Paso (1758-1833), was a lawyer, jurist, politician and legislator of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, also called United Provinces of South America, today known as Argentina. He lived in Buenos Aires leading an active public life in the changing political situation of his region. He became famous for reading the Declaration of Independence Act.

The son of a wealthy Galician immigrant, he had an advantageous education in schools in Buenos Aires, while his university studies were in the city of Córdoba, where he obtained degrees in philosophy and theology. Later he studied law.

Ernest Charton, via Wikimedia Commons

He participated in the political changes of the transition from the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata to the Argentine Republic. In that journey he never had armed participation, but he did have a decisive influence on most of the events that shaped the birth of the new republic.

He was a member of the Governing Board and after two Triumvirates that directed the destiny of the nation temporarily before independence.

He was a protagonist in the most momentous events of the time, such as the reading of the Act of Independence. He was also a legislator, advisor and deputy in several of the first Argentine governments.

He died at the age of 75, in his native Buenos Aires, under the care of his brothers and nephews, enjoying the respect of all society.

Biography

Juan Joseph Esteban del Passo Fernández y Escandón Astudillo (later known as Juan José Paso), was born in Buenos Aires, on January 2, 1758, and was baptized in the city's Cathedral on January 7, just 5 days old..

He was the son of Domingo del Passo Trenco, who was originally from a small village in Galicia, and María Manuela Fernández y Escandón.

After moving to Buenos Aires, Domingo del Passo dedicated himself to the bakery, which at that time was a rare business. But after the government of the time applied restrictions on the distribution of wheat and flour to the people, the bakeries benefited, achieving much success and fortune.

Juan José Passo studied in Catholic schools in Buenos Aires. Then he traveled to Córdoba, where he began, on March 3, 1774, to study at the Convictorio de Monserrat.

Higher education

This Institution belonged to the University of Córdoba where he continued his studies. He obtained the degrees in Philosophy and Sacred Theology with honors, on July 15, 1779, with just 21 years of age.

He stated in writing his priestly vocation to the Bishop, however, his entry into the seminary never materialized. He also did not get married, although he was always closely linked with his brothers and nephews.

In February 1780, he returned to the city of Buenos Aires, where he competed for a 3-year position as Professor of Philosophy at the Royal College of San Carlos. Right there, he managed to teach courses in Logic, Physics and Metaphysics, with a large influx of students.

He was one of the founders of the town of Flores, which today is a famous neighborhood in the city of Buenos Aires. At the end of the 3-year contract, Paso was vacant.

In 1874, he decided to start his law studies at the University of San Francisco de Charcas. There he obtained the degree in Canons and Laws. According to the rules of the time, he was finally registered as a lawyer on May 4, 1787, after two years of practice.

Trip to Peru

At the end of his studies he traveled to Lima, capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru, where there was a school with a great tradition in Law. It is believed that he tried to join the school without success.

Around that time, he began doing business in the Yabricoya mine, in Pica, currently a territory in the north of Chile. He was unsuccessful in the mines, spent a good part of the family fortune and had to face many debts for years.

He decided to return to Río de la Plata in 1802. By that time he was ill, as they considered at that time, he had a type of dropsy, which was acquired by the change of climate in the mining areas of Peru.

He had a fragile health but a great solidity in his ideas and great intelligence, which served him throughout his prestigious public career.

He became interested in the movements that promoted independence. He was never a military man, nor did he wield weapons, but he knew that his strength was his word and his wisdom.

He registered as a lawyer in Buenos Aires appearing in the Araujo Guide, which included all public officials. From 1803 to 1810 he worked as a fiscal agent for the Treasury of Buenos Aires.

Political life

Paso had to live a long period of his life amid the great social and political turmoil of his country. He always participated in the legal field, as a legislator and as a great speaker. He never joined the army, he did not volunteer for the militia or the reserve.

He had a great participation in the so-called May Revolution, whose culminating moment was on May 22, 1810, when the separation of Viceroy Baltazar Hidalgo de Cisneros from his position and the appointment of a Governing Board was decided in an open council.

At the time there were several groups of insurgents. A patriot group that fought to achieve complete independence from the kingdom of Spain and another group that sought to achieve an administrative separation from the colony, but recognizing the monarchy as the main figure of power.

Due to the great changes that took place in Europe, with Napoleon's invasion of Spain and the imprisonment of the royal couple, Juntas were created in the main cities, which replaced the king.

Copying the Spanish pattern, America began to promote the creation of these Boards in the provinces and main urban centers.

This laid the foundations for the progressive separation of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata from Spain, culminating in the May 1810 Cabildo. There, with 166 votes in favor and 69 votes against, the viceroy was removed.

First Governing Board

His participation in the Board focused on a technical and balanced collaboration basically in the economic field. It did not represent the independentistas or those who supported the crown, called Carlotistas.

The latter supported the claim of Princess Carlota, resident in Rio de Janeiro and sister of the imprisoned King of Spain. She wanted to be recognized as the top leader in America on behalf of the Spanish crown.

From May 25, 1810, he was part of the first Governing Board chaired by Saavedra, as Secretary of the Treasury, thus becoming the Prime Minister of the Economy of Argentina.

Representing the Governing Board, he signed in Montevideo on September 20, 1811, the Armistice and Pacification treaty, with Viceroy Francisco Javier de Elío, which facilitated a conciliation with Uruguay.

The viceroy under monarchical indications had ordered a blockade to prevent the passage of English fleets of cargo and supplies to the port of Buenos Aires.

The two triumvirs

First Triumvirate

In 1811, the First Board was replaced by a Triumvirate, of which JJ Paso was a part along with Feliciano Chiclana and Manuel de Sarratea.

Shortly after, the government was in the hands of Bernardino Rivadavia, who acted in a very repressive manner, which caused much disturbance and unrest in the population. Finally, General San Martín, leading the military, forced the resignation of that First Triumvirate in 1812.

Second triumvirate

The second Triumvirate was made up of Paso along with Antonio Álvarez and Nicolás Rodríguez Peña. The most valuable achievement was to resume the war of independence and to convene the National Constituent Assembly.

Paso ended his participation in the Second Triumvirate, in April 1813. Between 1813 and 1816, he remained active, relating to the activities that led to the definitive Independence in 1816.

Trip to Chile

In January 1814 he traveled to Chile as a diplomatic representative, with the intention of supporting the Chilean independence group. In this way, he tried to prevent the monarchy from taking over again in the south of the continent. By October of that year, however, he had to leave Chile in a hurry back to Buenos Aires.

In 1815 he was appointed General Auditor of the Army, then Advisor to the government of the province of Tucumán and later a deputy.

Independence

He proposed that Congress be established in the city of Tucumán. With this, the constant claims of the representatives of the provinces against the centralism of Buenos Aires were avoided.

He was appointed deputy in the Congress of Tucumán in 1816. He had the honor of reading the Act of Independence.

On July 25, 1816, as Secretary of Congress, he authorized the use of the blue and white flag as the national flag. Between 1817 and 1818, he participated in the elaboration of a new Constitution, being appointed president of the Congress in 1818.

In May 1819 elections were held for congressmen where he was not elected.

Latest public functions

In 1822 and 1823 he was again elected deputy, managing to incorporate important laws:

• Protection of life, honor and freedom.
• Obligation of due process at the criminal level.
• Private property laws.
• The foundation of the first printing press in Buenos Aires.
• Laws of organization of military institutions.
• He was drafter of the new Constitution of 1826.

He served as a deputy until August 1827, after which he remained in advisory and consultative roles.

Death

He died on September 10, 1833. He received great tributes and heartfelt words from the government and the community.

A privileged space was reserved in the Recoleta Cemetery for his remains.

References

1. Tanzi Héctor José. (2016). Juan José Paso and independence. Annals Magazine of the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences UNLP. Extraordinary number.
2. Tanzi, Héctor J. (1998). Juan José Paso, the politician. Buenos Aires. Argentina.
3. Saguí, Francisco (1960-1974). The last four years of Spanish rule, in: Biblioteca de Mayo. Buenos Aires: Senate of the Nation.
4. Wikipedia contributors. (2016, March 3). Juan José Paso. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:26, October 28, 2018
5. Whittemore, Charles. (2015). Notes on the history of Argentine Independence. Gutemberg project.
6. Adams, Evan. (2016). Argentina history: British invasion, The people revolution, The consolidation of Independence. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.