WHAT WERE THE RIVADAVIAN REFORMS? - HISTORY - 2024

The Rivadavian reforms were a series of legislative changes approved in the Province of Buenos Aires between 1820 and 1924. The author of the reforms, and who gives them their name, was Bernardino Rivadavia, a politician who would become the first president of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, the seed of today's Argentina.

The battle of Cepeda ended the Period of Independence, ending the political order of the Directory. With this, the provincial autonomies were consolidated. For Buenos Aires, forced to create a Provincial State, the situation was not easy. Political instability meant that, in a few months, there were up to ten different governors.

Portrait of Bernardino Rivadavia, during his stay in London - Source: Turner

The arrival of General Martín Rodríguez put an end to this instability. As a strong man in the government, he appointed Rivadavia, who carried out an ambitious reform plan to create modern state structures.

Rivadavia's reforms affected all possible spheres, from the administrative to the economic, through the political and ecclesiastical. That time was known as "the happy experience." The politician, after calling a constituent convention in 1824, reached the presidency of the United Provinces.

Bernardino Rivadavia

Bernardino Rivadavia was born in Buenos Aires on May 20, 1780. Still very young, and without finishing his studies, he joined the militias during the English invasions.

In 1810, he played a prominent role in the May Revolution and participated in the Open Cabildo held on May 22 of that same year, voting to remove Viceroy Hidalgo de Cisneros.

During the first Triumvirate, in 1811, he held the position of Secretary of Government and War. However, his career suffered a major setback when the Northern Army, led by Belgrano, defeated the royalist troops in Tucumán after disobeying the orders of the Triumvirate.

That news caused the outbreak of the revolution of October 8, 1812, commanded, among others, by San Martín. After the rebel triumph, Rivadavia was arrested and had to go into exile.

Two years later, Rivadavia was called by the Supreme Director, Gervasio Posadas, to head a diplomatic mission in Europe to obtain support for the revolution. Despite his attempts, the mission was a complete failure.

His return to Buenos Aires occurred when Martín Rodríguez occupied the Buenos Aires government and managed to end the anarchy experienced in the area.

The happy experience

The new governor of the province of Buenos Aires, General Martín Rodríguez, appointed Rivadavia as Minister of Government and Foreign Relations in July 1821.

Soon enough, Rivadavia overshadowed the rest of his fellow cabinet members and even the governor himself. In practice, it was he who made the main political decisions, to the point of naming the set of reforms that were carried out.

This time of government received the name of “the happy experience”, characterized by the legislative changes influenced by the liberal ideas.

Reforms

According to historians, during his stay in Europe, Rivadavia came into contact with a series of philosophers and intellectuals who influenced his thinking. Thus, he befriended Antoine Destutt, who brought him closer to liberal political thought.

On the other hand, in London he had some meeting with Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher who had founded utilitarianism.

Administrative reforms

Among the Rivadavian reforms, those that affected the administration were the most drastic. To begin with, he decreed the elimination of all existing councils in the province. Its purpose was to modernize the political-administrative apparatus, which conserved part of the structures created in colonial times.

In addition, with these changes he tried to centralize the administrative structure, reducing the power of the provinces.

In the field of Justice, the reform introduced a mixed regime, This consisted of a first instance of payment and a free justice of the peace.

Other novel aspects were the promulgation of an amnesty law and the approval of an electoral law that imposed universal suffrage, although only for free men over 20 years of age. However, only owners could be candidates.

Military reforms

Rivadavia also enacted a Military Reform law. With it, the military apparatus inherited from the revolution was notably reduced. In this way, it was intended to reduce the enormous expense of the Army and, on the other, the troops were redirected towards new objectives.

Military forces were dispatched to the southern border, where indigenous attacks created constant problems. Rivadavia organized a campaign against the natives, in order to obtain new lands and secure those already occupied. However, the results of this campaign were unsuccessful.

Ecclesiastical reforms

One of the most controversial reforms was the one that affected religion, that is, the Catholic Church. The new regulations eliminated some religious orders, expropriating their assets. Furthermore, she enacted very strict conditions for those who wanted to enter convents and abolished tithes.

The State, from that moment on, took over the cult, with all ecclesiastical personnel subject to civil laws.

Cultural reforms

As in the rest of the fields, Rivadavia also displayed a great legislative activity related to culture and education. Among the most important measures is the founding of the University of Buenos Aires, in 1821.

For some years, the University also controlled elementary education through a department of First Letters.

On the other hand, he promoted the Public Library and supported the creation of different societies, including the Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Physical Sciences and Mathematics or the Department of Jurisprudence.

His work not only affected the intellectual elites, since he reorganized the Foundling House and founded the Society of Beneficence. The latter's function was to organize hospitals, nursing homes and other charitable works, a task that was assigned to women of high society.

Economic reforms

The main purpose of the economic reforms was to reorganize financial activities. For this, the government created the Mercantile Exchange and the Discount Bank, which was authorized to issue banknotes. However, despite the good initial data, the lack of control in the issue of currency ended up causing an insurmountable crisis.

Another focus of the economic reforms was the countryside and rural production. Rivadavia approved the emphyteusis law, which encouraged the installation of settlers on public lands and gave them preference if the State wanted to sell those lands.

Historians point out that the most important economic measure was the signing of a free trade agreement with England in 1825. Through this agreement, the English recognized their independence in exchange for Buenos Aires selling their raw materials and buying manufactured products from them.

Constituent Convention of 1824

In addition to all the aforementioned reforms, Rivadavia's work included the convocation of a Constituent Convention of 1824. The decisions taken by this body favored the politician being appointed first president of the United Provinces.

From that position, Rivadavia promoted the centralization of the country, with the State Capital Law as the maximum exponent of his unitary ideas.

However, that attempt to reorganize the country ended in failure, for which Rivadavia had to leave office on June 27, 1827.

Reforms

1. Lettieri, Alberto. The "Rivadavian Reforms". Obtained from evista.elarcondeclio.com.ar
2. The historian. Rivadavia and its reforms. Obtained from elhistoriador.com.ar
3. Discover Corrientes. The Rivadavian reform. Goals. Economic and international policy. Obtained from discovercorrientes.com.ar
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Bernardino Rivadavia. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Bernardino Rivadavia. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com
6. Shumway, Nicolas. The Invention of Argentina. Recovered from books.google.es