ARGENTINA 205
dom. This ideological change refl ected the material
transformation of the Mexican bourgeoisie from
a revolutionary class into a ruling class that was
more predatory and acquisitive than the old cre-
ole aristocracy. The remnants of that aristocracy
speedily adapted to the ways of the new ruling class
and merged with it. The interests of the old and the
new rich required political stability, a docile labor
force, internal improvements, and a political and
economic climate that was favorable to foreign in-
vestments. The mission of Porfi rio Díaz’s “honor-
able tyranny” was to achieve those ends.
Argentina
In 1816 delegates to the congress of Tucumán pro-
claimed the independence of the United Provinces
of the Río de la Plata. “Disunited,” however, would
have better described the political condition of the
La Plata area, for the creole seizure of power in Bue-
nos Aires in 1810 brought in its train a dissolution
of the vast viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
THE LIBERATION OF PARAGUAY,
URUGUAY,AND UPPER PERU
Paraguay was the fi rst to repel the Buenos Aires
junta’s efforts to “liberate” it, and, under the dictato-
rial rule of the creole lawyer José Gaspar Rodríguez
de Francia, it declared its own independence. There-
after, Francia effectively sealed it off from its neigh-
bors to avoid submission and payment of tribute to
Buenos Aires, which controlled Paraguay’s river
outlets to the sea. Francia did permit a limited li-
censed trade with the outside world by way of Bra-
zil, chiefl y to satisfy military needs.
Francia’s state-controlled economy brought
certain benefi ts: the planned diversifi cation of ag-
riculture, which reduced the production of such
export crops as yerba maté, tobacco, and sugar,
ensured a plentiful supply of foodstuffs and the
well-being of the indigenous and mestizo masses.
An interesting feature of Francia’s system was the
establishment of state farms or ranches—called
estancias de la patria—that successfully specialized
in the raising of livestock and ended Paraguay’s
dependence on livestock imports from the Argen-
tine province of Entre Ríos. Those who suffered
most under Francia’s dictatorship were Spaniards,
many of whom he expelled or penalized in various
ways, and creole aristocrats, who were kept un-
der perpetual surveillance and subjected to severe
repression.
The gaucho chieftain José Artigas also resisted
the efforts of the Buenos Aires junta to dominate the
area and led Uruguay, then known as the Banda
Oriental, toward independence. In 1815 the junta
abandoned these efforts, evacuated Montevideo,
and turned it over to Artigas. No ordinary caudillo,
Artigas not only defended Uruguayan nationality
but sought to achieve social reform. In 1815 he
issued a plan for distributing royalist lands to the
landless, with preference shown to blacks, indig-
enous peoples, zambos, and poor whites. But he
was not given the opportunity to implement this
radical program. In 1817 a powerful Brazilian
army invaded Uruguay and soon had a secure grip
on the Banda Oriental. Occupied by foreign armies
until 1828, Uruguay became independent only af-
ter Great Britain, unwilling to see it fall under the
control of either Brazil or Argentina, intervened to
negotiate its liberation.
Upper Peru, the mountainous northern corner
of the old viceroyalty of La Plata, also escaped the
grasp of Buenos Aires after 1810. Three expeditions
were sent into the high country, won initial victo-
ries, and then were rolled back by Spanish coun-
teroffensives. Logistical problems, the apathy of the
native population, and the hostility of the creole
aristocracy, which remained loyal to Spain until it
became clear that the royalist cause was doomed,
contributed to the patriot defeats. Not until 1825
did General Antonio José de Sucre, Bolívar’s lieu-
tenant, fi nally liberate Peru. Renamed Bolivia in
honor of the liberator, it began its independent life
the next year under a complicated, totally imprac-
tical constitution drafted by Bolívar himself.THE STRUGGLE FOR PROGRESS
AND NATIONAL UNITY
Even among the provinces that had joined at
Tucumán to form the United Provinces of La Plata,
discord grew and threatened the dissolution of the