Juan Lavalle

Juan Lavalle
11.º Governor of Buenos Aires Province
In office 1 December 1828 – 26 June 1829
Preceded by	Manuel Dorrego
Succeeded by	Juan José Viamonte
Personal details
Born	October 17, 1797(1797-10-17) Buenos Aires, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Died	October 9, 1841(1841-10-09) (aged 43) San Salvador de Jujuy
Nationality	Argentine
Political party	Unitarian
Profession	Soldier
Military service
Allegiance	United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
Rank	General
Unit	Army of the Andes

Juan Galo de Lavalle (October 17, 1797 – October 9, 1841) 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 Santiago de Chile, to return to Buenos Aires in 1807. In 1812 he joined the Grenadiers' mounted regiment as a cadet, spelling his surname as only Lavalle, which, as La Vallée - French for The Valley -, had a French origin , supposedly to minimize his Spanish origin, something common among young patriots of those days.

Lavalle reached the grade of lieutenant in 1813, and moved to the army that, under the orders of Carlos María de Alvear, besieged Montevideo. He also fought José Gervasio Artigas in 1815, and the Battle of Guayabos under the command of Manuel Dorrego. A year later he moved to Mendoza to join the Army of the Andes of "liberator" José de San Martín, to fight in Chacabuco and Maipú. He continued with San Martín on his way to Peru and Ecuador, and took part in the battles of Pichincha and the Riobamba, after which he became known as the Hero of Riobamba.

Because of disagreements with Simón Bolívar, Lavalle returned to Buenos Aires by the end of 1823. He would later govern Mendoza Province for a short time. He then fought in the war against Brazil in command of 1,200 cavalry, with great episodes of valour in the battles of Bacacay and Ituzaingó in February 1827, beating the forces of General Abreu and being himself proclaimed General on the field of battle itself.

By the time he returned to Buenos Aires the Unitarian president Bernardino Rivadavia had resigned, and Dorrego was the federal governor of Buenos Aires. Lavalle would execute Dorrego and conduct a coup to take the government of Buenos Aires. The unitarians would start a reign of terror, aiming to destroy all Federals. In 1829 the demographic growth was negative, as there were more deaths than births. During that time, José de San Martín had returned from Europe, but when he learned of the new political situation, he refused to leave the ship and returned to Europe.

The other provinces did not recognize Lavalle as a legtimate governor, and supported the rosist resistance instead. Lavalle would be defeated a short time later at the Battle of Márquez Bridge by the forces of Rosas and López. López returned to Santa Fe, which was menaced by José María Paz, while Rosas kept Lavalle under siege and forced him to resign with the Cañuelas pact. Juan José Viamonte was designated as governor, and the legislature removed during Lavalle's revolution was restored. This legislature would elect Rosas as governor. Lavalle would then retire to the Banda Oriental.

During the French blockade to the Río de la Plata, Fructuoso Rivera was reluclant to take military actions against Rosas, aware of his strength. Unitarians, who thought that the whole Confederation would raise against Rosas at the first chance, urged Lavalle to lead the attack, who requested not to share command with Rivera. As a result, they led both their own armies. His imminent attack was backed up by conspiracies in Buenos Aires, which were discovered and aborted by the Mazorca. Manuel Vicente Maza and his son were among the perpetrators, and were executed as a result. Pedro Castelli also organized an ill-fated demonstration against Rosas, and was executed as well. Rosas did not wait to be attacked, and ordered Pascual Echagüe to cross the Parana and move the fight to Uruguay. The Uruguayan armies split: Rivera returns to defend Montevideo, and Lavalle moves to Entre Ríos alone. He expectd that local populations would join him against Rosas and increase his forces, but he found severe resistance, so he moved to Corrientes. Ferré defeated López, and Rivera defeated Echagüe, leaving Lavalle a clear path towards Buenos Aires. However, by that point France had given up the trust on the effectiveness of the blockade, as what was thought to be an easy and short conflict was turning into a long war, without clear security of a final victory. France started to negotiate peace with the Confederation and removed financial support to Lavalle. He didn't find help at local towns either, and there was strong desertion in his ranks. Buenos Aires was ready to resist his military attack, but the lack of support forced him to give it up and retire from the battlefield, without starting any battle.

Moving of Lavalle's corpse.

Persecuted, his troops suffered constant attacks and Lavalle was forced to move further north, being defeated by Oribe at La Rioja and Tucuman. Escaping with a small group of 200 men, he was accidentally shot by a Montonera detachment which spread-shot a reputed Unitarian's house, not realising that Juan Lavalle, the very chief of the Unitarians, was staying there. This was in 1841 in San Salvador de Jujuy.

Afraid that his body would be desecrated by the Federales, his followers fled to Bolivia carrying Lavalle's decomposing remains with them. Hurrying over the Humahuaca pass, they were finally obliged^{[citation needed]} (by whom??) to strip the skeleton by boiling it and, after burying the flesh in an unmarked grave, carried off the bones, which is what is today buried at the La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.

A statue of the general standing on top of a long, slender column, commemorates the figure of Lavalle at Plaza Lavalle in Buenos Aires.

Bibliography

The classic source on Lavalle is "History of Argentina" by Vicente Fidel López. See also Ernesto Sábato's Sobre héroes y tumbas.

External links

• Juan Lavalle at Find a Grave

Preceded by José Albino Gutierrez	Governor of Mendoza 1824	Succeeded by Juan de Dios Correas
Preceded by Manuel Dorrego	Governor of Buenos Aires Province 1828 – 1829	Succeeded by Juan José Viamonte