Malón de la Paz
Encyclopedia
The Malón de la Paz was a march of indigenous peoples
of northwestern
Argentina
to the capital, Buenos Aires
, demanding the restitution of their ancient lands, in 1946. The participants marched about 2,000 km to present their claims to President
Juan Perón
.
malok, "invade". It refers to a surprise incursion, as often conducted by aboriginals when attacking creole
settlements. The expression Malón de la Paz therefore means "Peace Incursion"; it is a kind of oxymoron
. It was coined by one of the initial organizers of the march, the retired military engineer Mario Augusto Bertonasco.
).
Near the end of his term, President Hipólito Yrigoyen
planned to expropriate
lands and grant them to their former aboriginal inhabitants, but a coup in 1930 ousted him and killed the project.
On 31 August 1945, Kolla
communities in the northwestern Argentine provinces of Jujuy
and Salta
, through a group of representatives, sent a note to the National Agrarian Council demanding the restitution of their lands, in compliance with previous laws. On 17 January 1946 President Edelmiro Julián Farrell
signed the expropriation decree. But as funds for the necessary land surveys and paperwork were in progress, the direction of the Council passed to other people, who blocked them.
in land claims and then moved to Jujuy and to Orán, Salta
. It was he who coined the expression Malón de la Paz.
The march started on 15 May 1946 in Abra Pampa
, Jujuy, and arrived at the provincial capital San Salvador de Jujuy
on 24 May, where the Puneños (on foot) were joined by another column coming from Orán and Iruya, Salta (on mules). They were 174 in total. Two days later the marchers departed for Salta
and then passed by Tucumán on 9 June. They arrived at Córdoba
on 22 June, and marched on to Rosario
.
On 10 July the aboriginal leaders Valentín Zárate and José Nievas, who had come ahead of the march while the rest were in Rosario, were received in Buenos Aires by president of the Chamber of Deputies
at the National Congress
.
The march went on, passing by San Nicolás de los Arroyos
on 18 July and by Pergamino, Buenos Aires
on 21 July, where a Neighbors Commission greeted the marchers with offers of food and clothing. They were received by 60,000 people, including municipal authorities and farmers (who were additionally claiming for an agrarian reform
).
The Malón reached Luján
on 30 July, and Merlo
on 1 August, where it was met and received support by hundreds of residents.
on 3 August 1946. They were received by the head of the Aboriginal Protection department, and given accommodation (whether significantly or not) at the Immigrants' Hotel.
The marchers, joined by local residents, went up to Congress, where they were homaged, and then to Plaza de Mayo
. Former President Farrell, President Perón and other authorities greeted them from the balcony of the Casa Rosada
. Nationalist groups opposed to the aboriginals caused minor incidents, but were repelled by the people. Perón then paid a personal visit to the marchers.
were sent to force the marchers to get on a train. On encountering resistance, the Federal Police was called, and around midnight the Immigrants' Hotel was attacked with tear gas. Lieutenant Bertonasco refused to give the order of abandoning the hotel, and left. Once in the train, the marchers broke the windows and some of their leaders jumped off. The Kolla deputy for Jujuy, Dionisio Viviano, met with them and Bertonasco to intercede for the marchers, but were not heard.
The train passed by Rosario and Córdoba en route back to the northwest, with the stations surrounded by police forces to keep the passengers from coming out. On 3 September the train reached San Salvador de Jujuy.
On 30 November, President Perón declared that the Malón de la Paz "did not represent... the authentic indigenous inhabitants of our north", and claimed that they had come by train and motor vehicles rather than on foot. Moreover, he said, some were not even from the north of Argentina, but had been born in the north of the province of Buenos Aires and were unwilling to return.
, for them to be returned to their original inhabitants, but this was never done.
On 7 August 2006, sixty years after the first Malón, a march with similar goals (the Second Malón de la Paz
) was organized in Jujuy, to demand that the provincial government comply with a judicial order to grant the indigenous communities about 15,000 km² of land.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
of northwestern
Argentine Northwest
The Argentine Northwest is a region of Argentina composed by the provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán.-Geography:The region had 5 different biomes:* Sub-Andean humid Sierras of the east...
Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
to the capital, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, demanding the restitution of their ancient lands, in 1946. The participants marched about 2,000 km to present their claims to President
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
.
Origin of the name
Malón is an Argentine Spanish word derived from MapudungunMapudungun
The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian...
malok, "invade". It refers to a surprise incursion, as often conducted by aboriginals when attacking creole
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
settlements. The expression Malón de la Paz therefore means "Peace Incursion"; it is a kind of oxymoron
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms...
. It was coined by one of the initial organizers of the march, the retired military engineer Mario Augusto Bertonasco.
Background
The lands originally inhabited by indigenous peoples in Argentina were almost completely occupied by the initial European settlers and by their descendants. In some regions the aboriginals were assimilated as cheap workforce for creole landowners; in others they were displaced and then exterminated (see Conquest of the DesertConquest of the Desert
The Conquest of the Desert was a military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s, which established Argentine dominance over Patagonia, which was inhabited by indigenous peoples...
).
Near the end of his term, President Hipólito Yrigoyen
Hipólito Yrigoyen
Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Irigoyen Alem was twice President of Argentina . His activism became the prime impetus behind the obtainment of universal suffrage in Argentina in 1912...
planned to expropriate
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
lands and grant them to their former aboriginal inhabitants, but a coup in 1930 ousted him and killed the project.
On 31 August 1945, Kolla
Kolla people
The Kolla are an indigenous people of Western Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, living in Jujuy and Salta Provinces. The 2004 Complementary Indigenous Survey reported 53,019 Kolla households living in Argentina. They moved freely between the borders of Argentina and Bolivia...
communities in the northwestern Argentine provinces of Jujuy
Jujuy Province
Jujuy is a province of Argentina, located in the extreme northwest of the country, at the borders with Chile and Bolivia. The only neighboring Argentine province is Salta to the east and south.-History:...
and Salta
Salta Province
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
, through a group of representatives, sent a note to the National Agrarian Council demanding the restitution of their lands, in compliance with previous laws. On 17 January 1946 President Edelmiro Julián Farrell
Edelmiro Julián Farrell
General Edelmiro Julián Farrell Plaul was an Argentine military officer of Irish descent. He was the de facto president of Argentina between 1944 and 1946....
signed the expropriation decree. But as funds for the necessary land surveys and paperwork were in progress, the direction of the Council passed to other people, who blocked them.
Beginning of the march
The main organizer of the march was retired Lieutenant Engineer Mario Augusto Bertonasco, who had worked with the MapucheMapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
in land claims and then moved to Jujuy and to Orán, Salta
Orán, Salta
San Ramón de la Nueva Orán is a city in the north-west of the , about 270 km from the provincial capital, Salta...
. It was he who coined the expression Malón de la Paz.
The march started on 15 May 1946 in Abra Pampa
Abra Pampa
Abra Pampa is a town and municipality in Jujuy Province in Argentina., and is the capital of the Department of Cochinoca.-References:...
, Jujuy, and arrived at the provincial capital San Salvador de Jujuy
San Salvador de Jujuy
San Salvador de Jujuy , commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. It lies near the southern end of the Humahuaca Canyon where wooded hills meet the lowlands....
on 24 May, where the Puneños (on foot) were joined by another column coming from Orán and Iruya, Salta (on mules). They were 174 in total. Two days later the marchers departed for Salta
Salta
Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...
and then passed by Tucumán on 9 June. They arrived at Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
on 22 June, and marched on to Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
.
On 10 July the aboriginal leaders Valentín Zárate and José Nievas, who had come ahead of the march while the rest were in Rosario, were received in Buenos Aires by president of the Chamber of Deputies
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
at the National Congress
Argentine National Congress
The Congress of the Argentine Nation is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina. Its composition is bicameral, constituted by a 72-seat Senate and a 257-seat Chamber of Deputies....
.
The march went on, passing by San Nicolás de los Arroyos
San Nicolás de los Arroyos
San Nicolás de los Arroyos is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the western shore of the Paraná River, 61 km from Rosario. It has about 138,000 inhabitants . It is the head town of the partido of the same name...
on 18 July and by Pergamino, Buenos Aires
Pergamino, Buenos Aires
Pergamino is an Argentine city in the Province of Buenos Aires. It has a population of about 104.922 inhabitants as per the and is the seat of the partido of the same name. Its UN/LOCODE is ARPGO.-History:...
on 21 July, where a Neighbors Commission greeted the marchers with offers of food and clothing. They were received by 60,000 people, including municipal authorities and farmers (who were additionally claiming for an agrarian reform
Agrarian reform
Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land reform measures. Agrarian reform can include credit measures,...
).
The Malón reached Luján
Luján, Buenos Aires
Luján is a city in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina, located 68 kilometres north west of the city of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1755 and has a population of 94,000 ....
on 30 July, and Merlo
Merlo, Buenos Aires
Merlo is the head town of the eponymous partido of Merlo and seat of the municipal government, located in the Greater Buenos Aires urban area.The city was founded by Francisco de Merlo in 1755 and rebuilt by Juan Dillon in 1859....
on 1 August, where it was met and received support by hundreds of residents.
Entrance in Buenos Aires
The march entered Buenos Aires through LiniersLiniers
Liniers is a barrio of Buenos Aires on the edge of the city, centered on Rivadavia Avenue. It is also an important train station and bus hub, connecting western Gran Buenos Aires with the Buenos Aires Metro...
on 3 August 1946. They were received by the head of the Aboriginal Protection department, and given accommodation (whether significantly or not) at the Immigrants' Hotel.
The marchers, joined by local residents, went up to Congress, where they were homaged, and then to Plaza de Mayo
Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo is the main square in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is flanked by Hipólito Yrigoyen, Balcarce, Rivadavia and Bolívar streets....
. Former President Farrell, President Perón and other authorities greeted them from the balcony of the Casa Rosada
Casa Rosada
La Casa Rosada is the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina, and of the offices of the President. The President normally lives at the Quinta de Olivos, a compound in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. Its characteristic color is pink, and is considered one of the most...
. Nationalist groups opposed to the aboriginals caused minor incidents, but were repelled by the people. Perón then paid a personal visit to the marchers.
Forced return
After this reception, however, the government showed its true colours. On 27 August, forces of the Naval PrefectureArgentine Naval Prefecture
The Argentine Naval Prefecture, in Spanish Prefectura Naval Argentina or PNA, is a service of the Argentine Interior Ministry charged with protecting the country's rivers and maritime territory...
were sent to force the marchers to get on a train. On encountering resistance, the Federal Police was called, and around midnight the Immigrants' Hotel was attacked with tear gas. Lieutenant Bertonasco refused to give the order of abandoning the hotel, and left. Once in the train, the marchers broke the windows and some of their leaders jumped off. The Kolla deputy for Jujuy, Dionisio Viviano, met with them and Bertonasco to intercede for the marchers, but were not heard.
The train passed by Rosario and Córdoba en route back to the northwest, with the stations surrounded by police forces to keep the passengers from coming out. On 3 September the train reached San Salvador de Jujuy.
On 30 November, President Perón declared that the Malón de la Paz "did not represent... the authentic indigenous inhabitants of our north", and claimed that they had come by train and motor vehicles rather than on foot. Moreover, he said, some were not even from the north of Argentina, but had been born in the north of the province of Buenos Aires and were unwilling to return.
Legacy
Despite the reaction to the Malón, in 1949 the national government expropriated some lands in the Puna and the Quebrada de HumahuacaQuebrada de Humahuaca
The Quebrada de Humahuaca is a narrow mountain valley located in the province of Jujuy in northwest Argentina, north of Buenos Aires . It is about long, oriented north-south, bordered by the Altiplano in the west and north, by the Sub-Andean hills in the east, and by the warm valleys in the...
, for them to be returned to their original inhabitants, but this was never done.
On 7 August 2006, sixty years after the first Malón, a march with similar goals (the Second Malón de la Paz
Second Malón de la Paz
The Second Malón de la Paz was a protest march of aboriginals of northwestern Argentina, demanding the restitution of their ancient lands. It started on 7 August 2006 in the province of Jujuy....
) was organized in Jujuy, to demand that the provincial government comply with a judicial order to grant the indigenous communities about 15,000 km² of land.
See also
- Demographics of ArgentinaDemographics of ArgentinaThis article is about the demographic features of Argentina, including population density, ethnicity, economic status and other aspects of the population....
- History of ArgentinaHistory of ArgentinaThe history of Argentina is divided by historians into four main parts: the pre-Columbian time, or early history , the colonial period , the independence wars and the early post-colonial period of the nation and the history of modern Argentina .The beginning of prehistory in the present territory of...
- Indigenous peoples of the AmericasIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...