Lavalle's Remains: The Political Uses of the Body in Exile and Return

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes through the prism of exile and return the journey of General Juan Lavalle's remains from the battlefield to Bolivia, Chile, and then Buenos Aires. After the death of Lavalle at the hands of Federalist militias in Jujuy province in 1841, his followers carried his bones and heart with them to Bolivia. His remains became a focal point of exile politics in Bolivia and Chile, where republican funerals were held in Lavalle's honor. The return of Lavalle's remains, sponsored by the Buenos Aires government and organized by émigrés in Chile, became part of the conflict between the province and the Argentine Confederation in the 1850s. Exile and return, embodied by the remains, were important yet conflictual experiences that legitimized the post-Rosas order. The role played by émigrés in the repatriation of Lavalle and the debates over his memory highlight the politics of transnational exile at the heart of the new republic's organization.