Ricardo López Jordán
Encyclopedia
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
s" (Spanish for "leaders", or military or political strongmen) in the history of Argentina. He thrice rebelled against the government of Buenos Aires and was defeated in each attempt.
Beginnings
López Jordán was born in PaysandúPaysandú
-Transportation:The city is served by Tydeo Larre Borges International Airport.-Climate:Paysandú has a humid subtropical climate, described by the Köppen climate classification as Cfa. Summers are warm to hot and winters are cool, with the occurrence of frosts and fog...
, in present-day Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, in August 1822, son of the Argentine general of the same name, a former governor of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
who found himself living in Paysandú as an exile. Young Ricardo Ramón López Jordán's uncle Francisco Ramírez, another political strongman, was also active in the life of the region. The father returned to Entre Ríos with his son in 1824, but in 1827 was again obliged to seek refuge in Uruguay. When, in 1830, the father tried (with the support of fellow strongman Juan Lavalle
Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo de Lavalle was an Argentine military and political figure.-Biography:Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José de La Vallée y Cortés, general accountant of rents and tobacco for the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.In 1799, the family moved to...
) again to recover power in the province, he sent Ricardo to study at the Colegio San Ignacio in Buenos Aires.
Justo José de Urquiza
Justo José de Urquiza y García was an Argentine general and politician. He was president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860.He was governor of Entre Ríos during the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas, governor of Buenos Aires with powers delegated from the other provinces...
in the defense of his province against an invasion from the Argentine province of Corrientes
Corrientes
Corrientes is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12...
. On December 6, 1842, López Jordán fought in the battle of Arroyo Grande under the command of the Uruguayan general Manuel Oribe
Manuel Oribe
Manuel Ceferino Oribe y Viana was the fourth president of Uruguay.-Biography:Manuel Oribe was the son of Captain Francisco Oribe and María Francisca Viana, a descendant of the first governor of Montevideo, José Joaquín de Viana...
, against the forces of Fructuoso Rivera
Fructuoso Rivera
José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana was an Uruguayan general and patriot who assisted in the efforts to force Brazilians out of the Banda Oriental.-Founder of Colorado Party and President of Uruguay:...
; he was sent to Buenos Aires with news of Oribe's victory. López Jordán spent the following months in convincing Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
to free his father, the erstwhile governor of Entre Rios, who complied with his son's promise to Rosas that he would not involve himself in politics again.
Ricardo Ramón López Jordán accompanied Urquiza in his campaign in Uruguay (where he fought in the battle of India Muerta) and in the compaign in the Argentine province of Corrientes (fighting in the battles of Laguna Limpia, against José María Paz
José María Paz
Brigadier General José María Paz y Haedo was an Argentine military figure, notable in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil War.-Childhood:...
on February 14, 1846, and Vences). In 1849, López Jordán was named military commandant of Concepción del Uruguay
Concepción del Uruguay
Concepción del Uruguay is a city in Argentina.It is located in the Entre Ríos province, on the western shore of the Uruguay River, some 320 kilometers north from Buenos Aires. Its population is about 65,000 inhabitants .-History:...
, the home town of his family, of his uncle Francisco Ramírez, and of Urquiza.
After Urquiza's pronouncement against the Argentine dictator, Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
, on May 1, 1851, and the invasion of Uruguay, Urquiza sent López Jordán, now a captain, to receive the surrender of Manuel Oribe
Manuel Oribe
Manuel Ceferino Oribe y Viana was the fourth president of Uruguay.-Biography:Manuel Oribe was the son of Captain Francisco Oribe and María Francisca Viana, a descendant of the first governor of Montevideo, José Joaquín de Viana...
, who with Rosas's support had for eight years besieged the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
(it was in this city that Amadeo Gras painted López Jordán's portrait in oils). As a soldier in the "Great Army" that Urquiza formed, López Jordán took part in the victorious campaign that ended with Rosas's overthrow at the Battle of Caseros
Battle of Caseros
The Battle of Caseros was fought near the town of Caseros, more precisely between the present-day train stations of Caseros and Palomar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas...
, in which he fought as one of the commanders of the cavalry. He then returned to his post as commandant of Concepción del Uruguay.
On November 21, 1852, after the revolution of September 11, the province of Buenos Aires invaded Entre Rios from two directions. The column under command of General Manuel Hornos landed at the river town of Gualeguaychú and managed to defeat a Colonel Galarza of the army of Entre Rios. The invaders then reached the outskirts of Concepción del Uruguay, where they were defeated by López Jordán's forces, principally comprising students at the Colegio (secondary school) of the city.
In 1858, López Jordán made a brief incursion into Uruguay in order to protect the Uruguayan government from an invasion supported from Buenos Aires. That same year, he was elected deputy to the national legislature and moved to the city of Paraná
Paraná, Entre Ríos
Paraná is the capital city of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province...
. He again took up his post as commandant of Concepción del Uruguay at the end of 1859 and took no part in the Battle of Cepeda
Battle of Cepeda (1859)
The Battle of Cepeda of 1859 took place on October 23 at Cañada de Cepeda, Santa Fe, Argentina. The Republic of the Argentine Confederation army, led by Federal Justo José de Urquiza defeated the Province of Buenos Aires forces, led by Unitarian Bartolomé Mitre.-The battle in context:Before the...
, having been left in charge of the defense of the border formed by the Uruguay River
Uruguay River
The Uruguay River is a river in South America. It flows from north to south and makes boundary with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of the Mesopotamia from the other two countries...
. After the battle, Urquiza advanced toward Buenos Aires and signed the Treaty of San José de Flores, in which the dissident province of Buenos Aires strongly conditioned its reluctant reincorporation into the Argentine republic. In this moment, López Jordán began to doubt the firmness of his chief; the situation led inevitably toward a new confrontation.
When Urquiza left the presidency of Argentina and resumed the governorship of Entre Ríos, he made López Jordán one of his ministers on May 1, 1860. During this time, López Jordán bought a ranch, Arroyo Grande, near the Uruguay River.
Enmity toward Urquiza
In 1861, Argentine president Santiago DerquiSantiago Derqui
Santiago Rafael Luis Manuel José María Derqui Rodríguez was president of Argentina from March 5, 1860 to November 5, 1861. He was featured on the 10 Australes note, which is now obsolete....
named López Jordán chief of one of the two cavalry columns that fought in the battle of Battle of Pavón
Battle of Pavón
The Battle of Pavón was a key battle of the Argentine civil wars fought in Pavón, in Santa Fé Province, Argentina, on September 17, 1861, between the Army of Buenos Aires, commanded by Bartolomé Mitre, and the National Army, commanded by Justo José de Urquiza...
on September 17 of that year. In the battle, López Jordán, Juan Saá, and Benjamín Virasoro completely defeated the cavalry of the city of Buenos Aires, while the Federalist infantry was repulsed. But Urquiza, without putting his whole army into action, retired with all his infantry, artillery, and reserves. All the Federalists thought that Urquiza had passed to the side of Buenos Aires, which is fairly certain: he appears to have come to a tacit accord with Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...
, a future president of Argentina, to permit Urquiza to control his own province without interference while abandoning the Confederation to its fate.
Derqui promoted his two victorious military chiefs, Saá and López Jordán, to general on September 20, but the two generals were not able to defend him. López Jordán turned back to Entre Ríos, obeying Urquiza's order, and renounced his governmental and military duties. A little later, Derqui resigned his own office and the Argentine Confederation
Argentine Confederation
The Argentine Confederation is one of the official names of Argentina, according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35...
was dissolved. The following year, after nearly all the provincial governments had changed, Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...
was elected president.
López Jordán never forgave Urquiza for having retreated from Pavón and blamed Urquiza for the national government's remaining under the control of centralists from the city of 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...
. But, for the moment, López Jordán did not make up his mind to take action: he still believed in Urquiza, even if less and less.
From his province in the years that followed, López Jordán observed how the Federalists in the western reaches of Argentina and in the province of Corrientes
Corrientes Province
Corrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by : Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil, Uruguay, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.-History:...
were destroyed without the leader of the Federalist party, Urquiza, doing a thing to aid them. He also saw how an invasion supported by the province of Buenos Aires and by Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
overthrew the lawful president of Uruguay and how a Brazilian fleet destroyed his native city, Paysandú. Urquiza still did nothing.
In 1864, López Jordán stood as a candidate to succeed Urquiza as governor of Entre Ríos, but Urquiza declared himself to be in favor of the candidacy of his nephew José María Domínguez, a man completely subordinated to his political leader and who, in the end, was elected.
The war in Uruguay provoked a Paraguayan reaction which led to the War of the Triple Alliance
War of the Triple Alliance
The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
. Urquiza called the people of Entre Rios to the war against Paraguay; López Jordán accompanied him but later told Urquiza that
Urquiza ordered the mobilization of the forces of Entre Ríos at the encampment of Basualdo, in the northern part of the province. Eight thousand men presented themselves there, but nearly all believed that they were to unite with the Paraguayans against the Brazilians. When the citizens learnt on whose side they were to fight, they simply went home. López Jordán supported and cheered the desertions and was accused of having instigated it. When Urquiza again tried to gather his army, this time at the encampment of Toledo, the men again deserted. In the end, only eight hundred citizens of Entre Rios went to war; and very few returned from it.
In 1867, a revolution organized by Juan Saá, Juan de Dios Videla, and Felipe Varela broke out in the Argentine provinces of Mendoza
Mendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
and La Rioja
La Rioja Province (Argentina)
La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...
. These leaders invoked the name of Urquiza and begged him to support the revolution. Urquiza did not move, and the revolution was quickly defeated. A powerful opposition censured Urquiza, but the power of the caudillo was greater, and there were many arrests.
In 1868, Urquiza lost the election for president of Argentina but, chosen by the provincial legislature in April of that year, again became governor of Entre Ríos, in spite of the popular support for López Jordán's candidacy. On July 31 of that same year, López Jordán and Justo Carmelo Urquiza, son of the caudillo, defeated national forces invading in support of a revolution in Corrientes even while rumors were circulating that López Jordán might start a rebellion against Urquiza in Entre Rios.
The war against Paraguay ended the following year; the cost to Argentina was more than ten thousand deaths. A few months later, at his lavish country seat, San José palace
Palacio San José
The San José Palace is the former personal residence of Justo José de Urquiza, Argentine caudillo, general, politician and President of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860...
, Urquiza received the Argentine president, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a wide range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy and history...
, whom the Federalists regarded as the chief of their enemies, the embodiment of all they opposed. López Jordán prepared himself for revolution.
That revolution erupted on April 11, 1870. As a first step, a party of fifty men under the command of Simón Luengo penetrated San José palace with the object of seizing Urquiza; but he defended himself by shooting and ended up dead. That same day, in the city of Concordia, Entre Ríos
Concordia, Entre Ríos
San Antonio de Padua de la Concordia is a city in the north-east of the province of Entre Ríos in the Argentine Mesopotamia. It has about 142,000 inhabitants as of the , and is the head town of the department of the same name.Concordia lies on the right-hand shore of the Uruguay River, opposite...
, Urquiza's sons Justo Carmelo and Waldino, both íntimate friends of López Jordán, were killed, too.
Three days later, the provincial legislature chose López Jordán as provisional governor of Entre Rios, to complete Urquiza's term as governor. In his inaugural address, López Jordán supported the revolution and in passing scarcely mentioned that he had "deplored that . . . no other way might have been found than that the illustrious víctim sacrificed himself." Later, López Jordán was sought to head a rebellion against the national government. He did not rebel and, indeed, he lacked the time in which to do so.
The Jordanist Rebellion
Sarmiento, the Argentine president, treated the revolution in Entre Rios and the murder of Urquiza as provocative acts against himself and on April 19, 1870, sent an "Army of Observation" to Entre Ríos. This force, composed of veterans of the war against Paraguay, posted itself at Gualeguaychú. Sarmiento never declared that the national government would intervene in matters in Entre Rios (which intervention the Argentine congress was opposing) but, instead, issued a presidential decrees on April 25 in which he declared war, as against an enemy country, and declared that López Jordán and those who accompanied him were "accused of rebellion". Three generals attacked Entre Rios at the same time: Emilio Mitre disembarked at Gualeguaychú; Emilio Conesa, at Paraná; and Juan Andrés Gelly y Obes entered from Corrientes.A series of engagements followed, ending at last with the defeat of López Jordán in the Battle of Ñaembé in the province of Corrientes. He fled to Brazil with 1,500 supporters.
Elections were held in Entre Rios in his absence, but without Federalist candidates, who were barred, and with very few voters. The new governor, Emilio Duportal, through all Federalists out of office, even out of the governmental positions of priests (the Roman Catholic Church being the established church) and teachers. Public lands were sold at supposedly public auctions, but actually reserved for friends of the government; many settlers were ejected from their lands, and the police, recruited from outsiders, committed all manner of assaults and other crimes against the citizenry. Ashamed, Duportal resigned and the province fell into the hands of Leónidas Echagüe, son of the former governor Pascual Echagüe, who had none of the moral qualms of his predecessor.
López Jordán returned to Entre Ríos on May 1, 1873. On the 28th, Sarmiento sent to the lower house of the national congress, the Cámara de Diputados, proposed legislation offering a hundred thousand pesos for the head of López Jordán and ten thousands for that of Mariano Querencio, besides the sum of a thousand pesos for the head of each of the “authors of excesses committed for the revolution”.
On December 9, Generals Gainza and Vedia defeated López Jordán at the Battle de Don Gonzalo, in which Remington rifles made their first appearance among Argentine troops and ravaged the revolutionary ranks. On Christmas Day, December 25, 1873, López Jordán crossed the Uruguay River at the pass of Cupalén, exiling himself to Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. The province of Entre Rios was again subjected to rule by force, and the Federalist party was greatly weakened by hundreds of arrests.
López Jordán made new plans, which included a revolution in the entire country with the support of Brazil. He again returned to his province on November 25, 1876, but this time he had no support. On December 7, one of his detachments was annihilated by General Juan Ayala in combat at Alcaracito (in the departamento of La Paz in Entre Rios), after which many of López Jordán's partisans who had been taken prisoner (a colonel, the son of Genaro Berón de Astrada, a former governor of the Argentine province of Corrientes, among them) were shot. It was the end of the last Federalist adventure. On December 16, López Jordán fled toward Corrientes but, betrayed by a friend, he was subjected to governmental justice at Goya.
He was held at Curuzú Cuatiá, Goya, Paraná
Paraná, Entre Ríos
Paraná is the capital city of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province...
, and 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 ....
; during the course of three years, his trial was repeatedly postponed, until, disguised as a woman, he escaped from prison with the help of his wife, Dolores Puig, on August 12, 1879. On September 3, López Jordán sought asylum at Fray Bentos
Fray Bentos
Fray Bentos, the capital of the Río Negro Department of western Uruguay, is a port on the Uruguay River. It is close to the border with Argentina and about due north of Buenos Aires.-History:...
, Uruguay.
Later life
López Jordán stayed in voluntary exile at Montevideo, Uruguay, until the end of 1888, when, thanks to an amnesty decreed by Argentine president Miguel Juárez Celman in August of that year, he returned to his country and settled at Buenos Aires, whence he sought recommissioning into the Argentine army. But on June 22, 1889, López Jordán was shot and killed in the street by the young Aurelio Casas, who had been told that López Jordán had ordered the murder of his father, Zenón Casas, a military captain (although the killing had actually been ordered by a Uruguayan military officer, Cornelio Oviedo, in May 1873). The Urquiza family then presented the sum of thirty-five thousand pesoPeso
The word peso was the name of a coin that originated in Spain and became of immense importance internationally...
s to the wife of Aurelio Casas.
The remains of Ricardo Ramón López Jordán were brought back to Entre Ríos in 1989 and temporarily deposited in the pantheon of the Pérez Colman family, in Paraná. On November 29, 1995, the remains were transferred to a mausoleum erected in Carbó square in Paraná
Paraná, Entre Ríos
Paraná is the capital city of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province...
.