Mariano Moreno

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Mariano Moreno bigraphy, stories - politician

Mariano Moreno : biography

September 23, 1778 – March 4, 1811

Mariano Moreno (September 23, 1778 – March 4, 1811) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution.

Moreno was born in Buenos Aires in 1778. His father was Manuel Moreno y Argumosa, born in Santander, Spain, who arrived in the city in 1776 and married María del Valle. Mariano was the firstborn of the Moreno family, and had thirteen brothers. During his youth he studied Latin, logic, and philosophy at San Carlos Royal College, followed by college studies of law at Chuquisaca. During these studies, he learned the new ideas of the Spanish Enlightenment. He married María Guadalupe Cuenca and returned to Buenos Aires, becoming a prominent lawyer for the Cabildo. Unlike most other criollos, he rejected the Carlotist project and the administration of Santiago de Liniers, joining instead the ill-fated mutiny of Álzaga against him. He worked for the next viceroy, Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. He wrote the economic paper The Representation of the Landowners, which persuaded the viceroy to open trade with Britain.

Although he was not prominently involved in the May Revolution that deposed Cisneros, he was appointed as secretary of war of the new government, the Primera Junta. Along with Juan José Castelli, he promoted harsh policies against the supporters of the former government and the strengthening of the new one. These policies were detailed at a secret document, the Operations plan; some historians dispute its authorship. Moreno organized military campaigns to Paraguay and Upper Peru, and ensured the execution of Santiago de Liniers after the defeat of his counter-revolution. He established the first Argentine newspaper, La Gazeta de Buenos Ayres, and translated Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract into Spanish.

When the Junta achieved the first military victories, President Cornelio Saavedra opposed Moreno, favoring moderate policies instead. Allied with Gregorio Funes, Saavedra expanded the number of members of the Junta to leave Morenism in a minority. With disputes still going on, Moreno was appointed to a diplomatic mission to Britain, but died at sea on the way there. His brother Manuel Moreno alleged that he was poisoned. His supporters were still an influential political party for some years after his death. Historians hold several perspectives about the role and historical significance of Moreno, from hagiography to repudiation. He is considered the precursor of Argentine journalism.

Birth and studies

Mariano Moreno was the son of poor parents, Manuel Moreno y Argumosa and Ana Maria Valle, he had fourteen siblings. He studied at Colegio Grande de San Carlos, but without living in it, as his family could not afford the price.Wiñaski, p. 18 He graduated with an honor diploma.Luna, p. 31 He met influential people within the literary field, who helped him to continue his studies at the University of Chuquisaca, even when his father could not afford the cost.Luna, p. 31-32 This was the only big university in South America at the time. He studied the books of Montesquieu, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and other European philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. He studied English and French languages as well, to understand authors from Britain and France.Luna, p. 35 This allowed him to work as a translator, and he spent several years working with Rousseau’s The Social Contract. Moreno was convinced that society could be changed by the power of intelligence and reason.Luna, p. 13 He also studied philosophical texts of the Spanish Enlightenment under the tutelage of the priest Terrazas, and aspired to implement the new ideas in his country. He wrote a thesis with strong criticism of the native slavery at the mines of Potosí, influenced by the Spanish jurist Juan de Solorzano Pereira,Luna, pp. 35–36 the foremost publisher of Indian Law, and Victoria Villalva, fiscal of the Audiencia of Charcas and defender of the indigenous cause.Luna, p. 42