“Men of Bad Faith”: Political Conflict, Denunciations, and Local Justice in Córdoba, Argentina during the Rosas Era

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article examines the shifting views among Argentina’s leaders on political informing during the civil wars of the early nineteenth century. During the late 1830s and early 1840s, several Unitarian rebellions threatened Juan Manuel de Rosas, the governor of Buenos Aires, and his Federal allies within the interior of the country. One of the most significant of these occurred in Córdoba, Argentina’s second largest province, in late 1840. The Federals defeated the Unitarian uprising and unleashed local campaigns of repression, or what some scholars have called the Terror. Federals actively encouraged communities under their jurisdictions to assist their efforts in pursuing Unitarian suspects by accepting political denunciations. However, problems began to emerge as jurists realized that personal motives more often crept into allegations of political misconduct. In addition, some of the accused fought back and challenged their accusers’ claims. These problems cast doubt on the idea of relying on communities for political information, and Federals eventually sought to regulate and even discourage denunciations.