Carlos Pellegrini

Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini (Buenos Aires, October 11, 1846-d. July 17, 1906) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, public translator and politician who worked in the National Legislature and the Ministry of War and Navy and was elected vice president of the Argentine Nation in 1886. He was the eleventh president of the Argentine Nation for being the acting vice president in 1890, when he assumed the presidency of the country as a result of the resignation of Miguel Juárez Celman after the events known as the Parque Revolution, until completing his mandate in 1892.

As president, Pellegrini had to face a deep economic crisis in the midst of a reigning chaos, product of the revolutionary outbreaks. During his twenty-six-month tenure, he brought the country out of a serious, fundamentally economic, crisis by cleaning up its finances and founding the Banco de la Nación Argentina. Such measures gave rise to a very prosperous economy in the years immediately following, and for this reason he was known as "the storm pilot".

During his administration, censorship and the state of siege that had been in force since the government of Juárez Celman were eliminated. He was one of the first politicians who supported an industrial position for Argentina, at a time when the country's business it was exclusively the export of raw materials and the import of manufactured goods. He was also one of the first supporters of civil rights for women in Argentina, requesting that they be recognized the right to vote politically.

He was Julio Argentino Roca's most trusted man, and both traced the destiny of the so-called Generation of 80. However, that strong union broke when Pellegrini moved away from Roca around 1901, to demand an electoral reform that would guarantee the secret and free vote.

Biography

Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini was born in the city of Buenos Aires on October 11, 1846, during the Rosas era; He was the son of the British María Bevans and the Savoyard engineer (of French and Italian descent) Carlos Enrique Pellegrini, a native of Chambery (Kingdom of Sardinia).

The engineer Carlos Enrique Pellegrini had arrived in the country from Italy in 1828, being hired by President Bernardino Rivadavia, for the construction of the port of Buenos Aires. Upon arrival in the country, the project was suspended due to the change of government. Without the possibility of taking care of his profession, Pellegrini's father began working, already in Argentina, as a portrait painter, and soon became the painter most requested by Buenos Aires society. He always maintained a great interest in the political and social debates that took place on the European continent, noting that in his private library there were a large number of British magazines specialized in the subject, such as The Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly Review and The Westminster Review. On her mother's side, María Bevans was the daughter of the British engineer Santiago Bevans who had also arrived at the Río de la Plata in circumstances similar to those of her future son-in-law. Maria was the niece of British liberal politician John Bright, co-founder of the Manchester League and a close associate of William Gladstone. These characteristics of the Pellegrini family ended up placing them in a central place in the social life of the city of Buenos Aires.

His father was the first to introduce him to his first letters in a small ranch owned by the family in Cañuelas. A maternal aunt taught him English classes at an early age, a language that Carlos mastered perfectly, and that he would handle fluently throughout his life. At the age of eight he entered the school of Ana Bevans, his aunt. It is possible that the early teaching of the English language may have been the reason for a slight imprint on his pronunciation, and from there comes the nickname el Gringo , as his classmates at the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires called him. He graduated from this educational center in 1862.

He entered the Law School of Buenos Aires in 1863, but two years later he dropped out to join the army and fight in the Paraguayan War, where he was artillery lieutenant, and reached the rank of officer. Pellegrini had an outstanding performance in the battle of Tuyutí, as well as in other combats, however he fell ill and had to leave the army permanently. After being cured, he returned to Buenos Aires, finished his law studies in 1869 and entered the recently founded newspaper La Prensa. With his university degree, he began working for the State as undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, of the constituent Benjamín Gorostiaga, during the government of Domingo F. Sarmiento, and during the last three years of the latter's government there was a struggle between the autonomists and the nationalists, Pellegrini joined the Autonomist Party, led by Adolfo Alsina. He was a candidate for deputy in the 1870 and 1871 elections, but was defeated by the nationalists led by Bartolomé Mitre. Only after Alsina's triumph, and thanks to the election of Governor Mariano Acosta for the province of Buenos Aires, did Pellegrini obtain his first legislature. He was the youngest among the provincial deputies, only twenty-six years old, and his first speech was about the conversion of paper money, he always participated in all debates regarding monetary and economic issues. In his thesis Electoral law he criticized the system in force at that time, proposing a great campaign of civic education.A brief quote:

The protection of the government is necessary for the industrial development of the Argentine Republic.

He was an autonomous candidate during the 1874 elections, where there was no freedom of suffrage and only a minority of citizens who were addicted to the government could vote. The fight of the autonomist committee of Adolfo Alsina and Leandro Alem against the 'nacional' de Miter and Eduardo Costa, had its moments of tension, largely as a result of the fraud and violence that reigned during the elections. The Sarmiento government ended up accepting the "most scandalous and bloody" that recorded electoral history up to that moment. This electoral fraud would serve as a precedent for the 1874 revolution. Although the revolt was put down, it produced similar consequences to that of 1852, continuing with the abstention and conspiracy of the nationalist liberals. Alsina, governor of Buenos Aires at that time, disputed the presidential succession with Miter, and when he did not obtain his contest, he resigned from his candidacy and instead supported that of Nicolás Avellaneda, Pellegrini also supported Avellaneda's candidacy. During the 1878 mixed elections, Pellegrini was re-elected as a national deputy. After Alsina's death, the Autonomist Party was disoriented and divided into two currents, on the one hand, one that embodies Tejedor's localism, while the other tends to link up with the provinces to create a national party. Pellegrini defended the federal doctrine, opposing the abuse of national interventions. During the confrontation between Buenos Aires and provincials, Pellegrini actively supported the national crusade led by the young general Julio Argentino Roca, who had the support of a large part of the interior of the country, moving away from Tejedor's Buenos Aires idealism. From here dates the friendship between Pellegrini and Roca. The general would take advice from the doctor for some of the most important documents of him that he produced during that political struggle. It was also a product of his relationship with Roca that the general ended up completely abandoning Tejedor's localist ideas. This union was the epicenter of political activity for at least twenty years, few institutional, economic or political issues were resolved without the assistance of Roca and Pellegrini. Referring to this, Roca said: "I find myself (in the Capital) with a great party... provincial, crude and net, succeeding and collecting the dispersed party of Alsina".

Pellegrini was one of the first supporters of women's civil rights in Argentina, requesting that they be recognized as having the right to vote politically. It is possible that these ideas came to her through family tradition, since her great-aunt Priscila Bright, wife of the Lord Provost, was one of the promoters of the women's vote in England.

In 1871, a sad year in Buenos Aires as thousands of people died victims of yellow fever, Pellegrini married Carolina Ignacia Lagos García, a union that had no children. That year saw his approach to politics through the Autonomist Party of Alsina, when he ran in the legislative elections of 1871 and 1872, although he lost in both.Finally in 1873 he was elected deputy for the province of Buenos Aires.

Deputy (1873-1877)

Previously said, in 1873 he was elected national deputy, and in 1878 Governor Carlos Casares appointed him Minister of Government of the province of Buenos Aires. His work as a deputy for six years was characterized by his great oratory capacity and clarity in their reported concepts. His fellow legislator, José Manuel Estrada, although he was in the opposition, expressed the qualities in the speech that Pellegrini had, when he said: "If you do not understand me, I will ask Deputy Pellegrini to clarify it for you as only he knows how to do it".

During his years as a congressman, he adopted a position in favor of free education, taking as an example (like Domingo Faustino Sarmiento) the American educational model. During the debate between liberalism or protectionism (around the year 1875), Pellegrini was in favor of the implementation by the national State in policies for the protection of the national industry, in addition to being one of the main actors in the founding of the Industrial Club.

The following excerpt from a parliamentary speech by Pellegrini shows his tendency towards industrialization:

If free change develops the industry that has acquired some vigor and allows it to achieve all the possible splendor, free change kills the nascent industry. Agriculture and livestock are two major industries; but no nation on earth has reached the summit of its economic development with only these industries. The industries that have led them to the maximum of power are the fabril industries, and the fabril industry is the first in merit and the last one that is reached, because it is the highest expression of industrial progress.

Fragment of a parliamentary speech by Carlos Pellegrini.

Minister of War and Navy (1879-1886)

Carlos Pellegrini (first) with Julio A. Roca (third), photo circa 1880.

On October 9, 1879, President Nicolás Avellaneda appointed Carlos Pellegrini Minister of War and Navy to replace Julio Argentino Roca (a position he also held during Roca's government until October 12, 1886). In that position he had to face the rebellion of Carlos Tejedor of 1880, governor of Buenos Aires at that time: he refused to accept the Federalization Law, which took away the territory of the Federal Capital from the province of Buenos Aires. He took charge of dissolving that rebellion, this episode gave Pellegrini more relevance within Argentine politics.

During his Ministry of War he helped create a depoliticized body, which would serve solely to defend the government and order, without conspiring against it, which would respect and defend constituted bodies.

Working for the Naval School, he created the bodies of: Naval Artillery, Navy Pilots and Machinists. He also built a gunpowder factory in Luján. He imposed the regulations of the Naval School and the code of maritime signals.

Senator (1881-1883)

In 1881 he was elected national senator for the province of Buenos Aires to complete the term of Dardo Rocha, he held this position until April 30, 1883. During his term as senator he managed to get an approval voted in Congress for resume the construction of the port of Buenos Aires, which had remained unfinished since the presidency of Bernardino Rivadavia. He adopted Eduardo Madero's old project, and through financing and with British technicians, the port was completed nine years later (when he was vice-president).

Pellegrini undertook a trip to the United States and Canada in 1883, with the objective of observing and learning about the industry in the first world, he visited factories, laboratories and workshops. Like Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, he also traveled to the north of the continent to see how education was organized in those nations.

He was commissioned by the government of Julio Argentino Roca to carry out a delicate business of a loan before creditors in Europe in 1885.

Vice Presidency (1886-1890)

Pellegrini in a bouquet of wood in Mar del Plata with his wife.

In 1886, when his term as senator ended, he was a candidate for vice president. Carlos Pellegrini had already given his support to the idea of the candidacy of Miguel Juárez Celman as president for the National Autonomist Party (PAN), as a continuation of liberal politics. Juárez Celman had the support of most of the rulers of the interior and of Julio A. Roca himself. As Pellegrini remained in the Ministry of War until the day of the election (to ensure some order in the elections), he did not give any speech or participate in the electoral campaign, and ended up winning the vice presidency like Sarmiento, without doing campaign or appear before their constituents.

During the administration of Juárez Celman, more precisely in March 1890, the Argentine peso ("peso moneda nacional") began to lose its value sharply with respect to gold (international means of payment). Bankruptcies began to occur, the stock market crashed, and the cost of living rose sharply.

As the government strengthened its influence on customs duties and the strength of the national army, its power extended to the provinces, affecting their autonomy. This ended up constituting a single party under the orders of the president, which became known as the "unicato", which produced intense popular rejection. At that time, Pellegrini began to distance himself from Juárez Celman when he proclaimed the "unicato" and centered in his person the authority of the state and the presidency of the party. When the first revolutionary events of 1890 took place, Vice President Pellegrini was the support of authority and in charge of commanding the troops to quell the revolution. At the moment that Juárez Celman went to Retiro to embark for Campana, Pellegrini, mounted on a horse, rode to Plaza Libertad to inspect the command of General Nicolás Levalle. He settled in the house of José Luis Amadeo and led the final attack on the Park from there. The growing accusations of corruption, authoritarianism, and the acute economic crisis led to an outbreak in Buenos Aires known as the Park Revolution, when on In July 1890, a civic-military group led by the recently formed Unión Cívica, under the leadership of Leandro Alem, Bartolomé Mitre, Aristóbulo Del Valle and Bernardo de Irigoyen, among others, tried to force the government out. Although they failed in their attempt, President Juárez Celman resigned. Previously, on April 11 of that year many ministers had resigned in view of the problematic situation that was coming. Just two days later, a crowd of thirty thousand people gathered manifested in the Buenos Aires Frontón, taking over Córdoba Avenue, between Libertad and Cerrito streets. The President changed the cabinet on April 18, as a reinforcement in the face of the crisis. The situation worsened even more when on June 28 Senator Aristóbulo Del Valle denounced various irregularities in public finances, especially fraudulent currency issues. On August 5, the same pro-government legislators called for the resignation of Juárez Celman. The next day the request was conceived and approved by 61 against 22, Carlos Pellegrini took office as president. Pellegrini had kept a low profile until then, but now he had become the new Head of State, and consequently, in the center of Argentine politics, plunged into a crisis as a result of the bankruptcy of various financial institutions.

He undertook a trip to Europe in 1889 as an Argentine representative at the Universal Exposition held in Paris, to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution, the Argentine pavilion was the surprise, to seek financial support in London and Paris, and also to solve the economic problems that were approaching. Pellegrini was decorated in Spain, the United Kingdom and France.

In a correspondence to his brother, Pellegrini explained about the recent crisis:

They'll tell me what to do then? But what the farmer who loses his harvest does: endure; he tightens the belly and saves everything he can, while he sows again. Protect the industry by all means; and leave Bolsa and Treasures and bimetalism and heavenly music!

Carlos Pellegrini.

Crisis of 1890

To force progress, the State made use of the loan policy, and encouraged immigration, distributed public land, and guaranteed the investment of foreign capital, to such an extent that at some point the country was full of money, but these finances were negligible in comparison with the debts of the contracted services. Added to this was the abuse of credit, exaggerated speculation, over-exploitation of State resources, a prompt devaluation of the currency, a deficit in budgets and in the trade balance. Until now, most governments had spent more in Argentina than it was capable of paying, this characteristic was not exempt in young nations, since they tended to catch up with already developed nations.

As a consequence of the accelerated pace that the government took to change institutions, build excessive public works, receive immigrants that saturated the power of assimilation of the country, everything ended up producing the political crisis and the revolution of 1890, and consequently the resignation of President Miguel Juárez Celman. It was the first time since the sanction of the Constitution twenty years ago, that a president did not finish his term, in addition, the practice of coup attempts was opened in Argentina, revealing the impatience of certain social sectors to take power and carry out reforms to satisfy public opinion. Despite the fact that Pellegrini was the acting vice president, Miguel Ángel Cárcano suggests that the financial and social crisis that Pellegrini had to face was not the result of his own mistakes, the new President sent for outstanding personalities such as Rufino Varela and Wenceslao Paunero to collaborate.. Everyone noticed the symptoms and causes of the crisis, but no one saw a solution in the short term. The process would continue with the natural course of its evolution. The country came to a standstill, speculation stopped, credit closed, bad deals were liquidated, and the government and private individuals cut spending, colossal public works stopped, until the country's production once again created confidence and prosperity. economy and work the wealth of the country.

Presidency (1890-1892)

Carlos Pellegrini casts his vote in an outdoor church court.

As a result of the revolution, Miguel Juárez Celman resigned, for which Pellegrini succeeded him as president on August 6, 1890, ending his term on October 12, 1892, as agreed in the Constitution. The new president took office in a country struck down by the crisis, with tax revenues that fell 30% compared to previous years, banks were paralyzed, gold was on the rise, leading the economy into a deep recession that " froze" financial entities When he assumed he was forty-four years old, he had already maintained an active political career as a representative and minister, positions that he held on several occasions.

Pellegrini appointed among his ministers men of recognized public reputation, coming from the most important party centers of the time, such were the cases of the National Autonomist Party led by Roca, the civic party led by Mitre, and even a certain nucleus of Civic Union. Former President Julio Argentino Roca was appointed Minister of the Interior, he was the most influential person in the cabinet, and managed to prevent the triumph of the German revolution. Eduardo Costa was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was a close friend of Miter and a renowned jurist. Vicente Fidel López was a defender of the policy of General Urquiza and the San Nicolás Agreement, despite his advanced age, he accepted the position to amend the national finances. Lieutenant Nicolás Levalle, a close associate of Roca, continued as Minister of War and Navy. José María Gutiérrez took charge of the Justice, Cult and Navy portfolios, he was also a friend of Mitre, as a journalist he was a collaborator in the newspaper La Nación . There were three ministers linked to the revolutionary party.

Minister Vicente Fidel López presented several laws to Congress in order to improve and expand tax collection. Another measure that completed the plan to get out of the crisis was the project that he presented with Aristóbulo Del Valle in 1881, during his time as national senator for the province of Buenos Aires. This new scheme consisted of the creation of the Bank of the Republic. Consequently, in 1891 the Banco de la Nación Argentina was founded, with mixed capitals and with the sum of fifty million pesos; its first president was Vicente Casares. After the Argentine currency regained support, the Currency Board was created. These measures, added to the increase in the currency in circulation, were the ones that ended the crisis. The government had sought funds to found the bank that would satisfy the commercial and industrial needs. In order to obtain the capital, he had to end up requesting internal credits, after some failed attempts to order abroad. Until this was covered, in order for it to start its operations immediately, this is how the Banco de la Nación Argentina was founded, promoted by the government as a private bank, it needed the latter to provide it with the capital, it did so by issuing a loan for fifty million pesos by the Currency Board against a government bond. The new bank was prohibited from carrying out operations with governments and municipalities, with the exception of the national government, but with which it could not agree more than two million pesos. General Lucio V. Mansilla was one of the defenders of the new Banco de la Nación. His debates in Congress ended up convincing a large part of the opposition to carry out such a project, despite the fact that his oratory did not show great economic knowledge, he ended up convincing the opposition to create a Bank to put the monetary circulation.

Upon taking office, Pellegrini gathered a group of merchants, ranchers and bankers to ask them to sign a short-term loan of fifteen million pesos to pay the first service on the foreign debt that was due in a week. The loan was quickly covered. Before completing a month of government, the new president sent to the Senate a "complete financial plan". Given the scarcity of the fiduciary medium, the government had to resort to issuance, through a bill that authorized the issuance of treasury bills up to the sum of sixty million pesos to cancel the bank issuance. While another authorized the alienation of public funds that guaranteed the sixty million from the National Bank. A third regulation created the Currency Board and a national debt liquidation commission. The Minister of Finance calculated that in ten years he would produce a benefit of twenty million pesos, which would make it possible to meet other guarantees and withdraw the amounts that he had to amortize from circulation, producing as a consequence the appreciation of the currency. A fifth law required guaranteed banks to convert their issues. The sixth authorized a loan of twenty million gold pesos in order to service the foreign debt and alleviate the budget. The concessions of railways and public works with a guarantee of the nation, whose concessionaires had not complied with the contractual conditions, were declared expired. 0

La Casa Rosada on the day of the assumption of Carlos Pellegrini, 1890.

Minister Lucio V. López energetically defended his plan before the Senate, recalling similar situations through which the country had already gone through, according to his point of view, those crises had been successfully faced with means similar to those he proposed. He proposed a balanced budget, lowering the value of imports and increasing exports in the following year, he declared himself a non-supporter and affirmed his nationalist ideas. Congress quickly approved the most urgent projects, while the Executive Power extended the sessions of the Chambers to approve the budget and other measures. The loan of twenty million gold pesos was converted into law together with the Currency Board; this last measure was the most effective remedy for the stabilization of the legal tender. But such measures did not have an instantaneous effect: the situation of the Baring house had worsened, the country's bankers in London were unable to sneak Argentine securities into the European market, which ended up depriving the Argentine government of the necessary capital to settle commitments. The Minister of Finance turned the fifty million pesos into gold to give the financial system a breather, and sent them to Baring to pay the debt services. But this operation ended up exhausting the metallic capital that existed and the banks were presented in a state of liquidation. The minister placed more emphasis on addressing the foreign credit problem, not listening to those who advised him to temporarily suspend debt service to study what measures to adopt. The biggest problem was the devaluation of the currency in relation to Treasury obligations. When the rent was collected in despised paper money, and when paying the obligations in metallic money, there was a point where the means were insufficient to meet the expenses. The bill had depreciated from 247 pesos in August to 307 pesos in December, and the government could not pay administration salaries on time.

Victorino de la Plaza was selected to negotiate the debt and had to embark for London, where he received refusals from that country's banks. But he managed to get the Rothschild Bank to admit a moratorium before the cessation of payment by the Argentine government. Once this first step was achieved, Pellegrini applied austerity and adjustment measures, such as the suspension of public works such as the Government House, Congress, the post office building (which started up again at the end of his government), and nationalized the waterworks privatized by Miguel Juárez Celman. De la Plaza also solved the problem in London involving the Baring Brothers house, who They were the holders of the Argentine titles that were impossible to place, and they advised a pact with the French and Germans, and the contracting of a loan in sufficient quantity to service the external debt for three years. The loan would prevent the external debt from weighing on the budget and the new taxes would increase the income of the State. The loan amounted to seventy-five million national gold pesos in titles with 6% interest under very severe conditions: its proceeds had to be dedicated exclusively to the payment of the external debt, the country promised not to contract new loans for three years. To balance the budget, the minister ordered the creation of new taxes and apply an increase to the existing ones. 7% was imposed on the profits and dividends of private banks and corporations, whose management and capital were not located in the country, except for preserved meat factories, refrigerators and railways. The Minister of Finance increased customs duties that were debated in Congress, they mainly revolved around luxury items. He established the payment of rights in gold, export taxes were increased by 2% and the tax on stamping was also increased.

Some newspapers opposed to the government were allowed to circulate. Through a project presented by Dardo Rocha, the government granted amnesty to those members of the army who had participated in any way during the 1990 revolution. The preparation of a new civic registry was ordered throughout the territory of the Republic, renewable every two years. and the electoral register was opened to allow the registration of citizens. The electoral law was reformed to elect the Deliberative Council of the Federal Capital, in addition, elections were held to install the Elective Council, trying to improve the deficiencies and suppress abuses in public spending. Personal credit had practically disappeared, and bankruptcies of corporations increased, and the Banco Hipotecario Nacional suspended payment of interest on bonds and the value of gold rose to 446 pesos. The president called a "meeting of notables" in the Government House, where there was a representation of all sectors of the economy, commerce, industry, livestock and agriculture, in order to listen to all the opinions of members of parliament and other leaders other than the government. This was done when a high state of popular tension had been revealed after an attempt on the life of the Minister of the Interior. The president sent a project for the issuance of metallic bills through the Conversion Board, which the government and the Mortgage Bank would receive as gold. Simultaneously, he negotiated with the bankers of the capital a loan that would provide the banks with instant resources. The commission made up of Gorostiaga, Uriburu, Romero, Paats, Varela and Anderson finished and presented their office to the president, that night the head of state met with his ministers and they approved it, they resolved to issue a loan for the sum of one hundred million pesos nationals, a product that had to be delivered to the Currency Board to help official banks and avoid bankruptcy.

Pellegrini suppressed the official agrarian colonization by private companies, which had only given good results in the province of Santa Fe, revised the application of the laws that granted large dimensions of public land to individuals. But the administration that was dedicated to studying the old files did not review the reform projects that remained on file. He also did not decisively face the alienation and population of the vast areas under the control of the State. Livestock farming gave way to agriculture. The plow improved the work of the field. Exportable grains increased in geometric proportion in relation to meat and leather. The construction of railway networks, the immigration and establishment of foreign capital had changed the economic and social physiognomy of the country. The sale of 17 million hectares of public land was the result of pressure from the forces of expansion of the country's economy, despite the disorder with which it was alienated, it did not complicate the wealth of the State. Pellegrini's management tried to put the administration of public land in order, affirming that the 30 million leagues recently alienated had not yielded production. Under the attributions of the Land Office, it was regulated that only the president of the Nation could sign the deeds of sale, and an investigation into the rights of the owners was decreed, according to the 1882 law. hectares. But shortly after, 3.5 million hectares returned to speculation. The government's intentions to offer public land for sale, explored, measured, marked out and already subdivided to true farmers was only a statement, since in reality abuses continued to occur with land prizes and bearer certificates, in favor of members of the army, while the alienation of large areas without consultation did not stop. Government land had always been lavishly distributed, governments were often implicated in these policies, and subsequent ones as well.

The National Historical Museum was built and what would bear the name of the Carlos Pellegrini Higher School of Commerce, work began on the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden. Land held by railway companies, which the concessionaires had not come to pay on time, was rescued. Because of these policies, Pellegrini was considered protectionist, he himself said: "When necessary, the State must interfere in economic life, and if it is not essential, it should not do so. It's that simple".

An anarchist plot whose mission was to assassinate the President was discovered. He submitted his resignation in August 1892, after a serious crisis in his government, however, he was convinced to continue until October 12, 1892. The presidential elections of 1892 were the first to be held after many years without any type of fraud, resulting in the election of Luis Sáenz Peña as president, and enabling the election of senators such as Aristóbulo del Valle and Leandro N. Alem. Sáenz Peña offered Pellegrini the position of Minister of War and Navy, but he did not accept it. After Pellegrini gave up the presidency, he went to his residence in Florida and Viamonte, walking, without any custody.

Cabinet

Ministries of the Government of Carlos Pellegrini
Portfolio	Owner	Period
Ministry of the Interior	Julio Argentino Roca José Vicente Zapata	6 August 1890 – 1 May 1891 1 May 1891 – 12 October 1892
Ministry of External Relations and Worship	Eduardo Costa Severo Zeballos isola	7 August 1890 – 22 October 1891 22 October 1891 - 12 October 1892
Ministry of War and Marina	Nicolás Levalle	6 August 1890 – 12 October 1892
Ministry of Finance	Vicente Fidel López Emilio Hansen	6 August 1890 – 22 October 1891 22 October 1891 – 12 October 1892
Ministry of Justice and Public Instruction	José María Gutiérrez Juan Carballido Juan Balestra	6 August 1890 – 28 October 1891 28 October 1891 – 23 October 1891 24 October 1891 – 12 October 1892

Political work after the presidency

At the end of his presidency he temporarily withdrew into private life and tried to venture into the world of business, but it didn't take long for him to return to politics. The leaders of the National Autonomist Party, Carlos Pellegrini and Julio Argentino Roca, they had doubts about the effectiveness of President Luis Sáenz Peña, who had been a magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice and a legislator on several occasions, but had had no experience governing. Although the economic situation was quite prosperous as a result of the gold that exports of raw materials such as leather, wool and oilseeds brought, the political situation at that time was complicated.

The new government soon began to have problems, after the resignation of several ministers, Miguel Cané proposed to remake the cabinet. For this, he asked Luis Sáenz Peña to call three key figures in Argentine politics at the time: Pellegrini, Miter and Roca. There was a meeting to bring the three politicians together, but the agreement did not work, to the point that Roca resigned. Luis Sáenz Peña called - under Pellegrini's prior advice - Aristóbulo del Valle so that he could convince Leandro N. Alem to calm the situation. Del Valle was appointed Minister of the Interior on July 4, 1893 and formed an anti-roquist orientation cabinet. He tried to convince the Alemist radicals to join the body, but without any success, and almost immediately uprisings led by the Radical Civic Union began to break out in Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, San Luis and Tucumán, while the National Civics did the same. in Corrientes and a parallel one in Buenos Aires. Pellegrini at that time was in Rosario de la Frontera, he tried to return quickly to Buenos Aires to collaborate in the repression of the revolutionaries. An anecdotal event that occurred was that the train that was taking Pellegrini to Buenos Aires came across revolutionary troops in Haedo, for which reason it could have been stopped, but Hipólito Yrigoyen ordered it to be allowed to pass. Such a decision caused great discomfort in the Alemist circle, but the episode demonstrated the good relationship that existed between Yrigoyen and Pellegrini. He accompanied the loyal troops who left to quell the rebellion in Tucumán, a successful task considering that he did not have the support of Congress or the president. In 1894 Luis Sáenz Peña resigned and José Evaristo Uriburu replaced him.

Alem had completed his law degree together with Pellegrini, so there was a friendship between them, but after the civil uprisings, this union broke up, to such an extent that around the year 1894 both challenged each other to a duel after exchange some correspondence, however a commission of arbitrators prevented the outcome.

In 1893 elections were held for governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Pellegrini was a candidate for the Provincial Union, the name that the PAN had in that district, however he was defeated by the Radical Civic Union, and the mitristas They were in third place, this time under elections without fraud and somewhat adjusted. But since no candidate had obtained an absolute majority, it fell to the provincial legislature to decide. There he turned his influences in favor of the mitrista Guillermo Udaondo, lowering the radical candidate that he had won. The legislature also resolved to designate Pellegrini as a national senator. Returning to the legislature, Pellegrini did not take long to become the central figure of the Senate, something that irritated President Uriburu, who came to accuse the senator of tyrannizing the upper house.

Senator (1895-1904)

Pellegrini departs from the Constitution station in Buenos Aires to the Port of La Plata, to travel to Europe in 1900.

When his presidential term ended, he was a senator for the period from 1895 to 1904. He had an outstanding performance so that a law that ensured the payment of Argentina's foreign debt was approved in 1896. He had many offers to run for president in the 1898 election, but he turned them down.

In 1904 he made a trip to the United States where he witnessed the inauguration of President Theodore Roosevelt. Pellegrini recounted the experiences of this trip in six letters that later appeared in the newspaper La Nación , where, among other things, he spoke of strengthening relations with the North American country.

The anti-rock movement

The political alliance between Carlos Pellegrini and Julio Argentino Roca weakened in July 1901, without yet completely disappearing, due to differences over a financial project. The rupture had occurred when Roca, during his second government, asked Pellegrini to draw up a legislative initiative for the consolidation of the public debt of 392 million gold pesos, into a single loan for 453 million gold pesos. Pellegrini drew up a project for the unification of the external public debt, through a single loan at 4% annual interest and 0.5% amortization, in the long term, and with obligations guaranteed by customs revenues. The proposal obtained the half sanction of the Senate. But the project had garnered great rejection within public opinion, a presentation by José Terry at the Faculty of Law led to street riots at the beginning of 1901, and the government ended up dictating a state of siege, for a few days there were bullfights in the center of the city and demonstrations that the police dispersed, there was even a demonstration in rejection of the measure in front of the house of Pellegrini himself, who was stoned. Roca ended up withdrawing the project without Pellegrini's consent, action that irritated the senator, to the point of cutting personal relations with the president, still remaining within the National Autonomist Party.

Starting in July 1902, there was a division in the PAN in the Argentine Republic around the succession of President Julio A. Roca. The "convention of notables", established since 1903 as an informal body for the selection of the dominant party's presidential candidate, fractured around the breach of the commitment to nominate former president Carlos Pellegrini and Roca's decision to promote the lawyer Manuel Quintana in the 1904 election. From then until his death, Pellegrini demanded a law that guarantees a profound electoral reform to put an end to fraud and promote civic liberties.

From there were born two political expressions within the conservative ideology: the "national autonomists" or rockists, with their intransigent policy of maintaining electoral fraud, and the "autonomists" or pellegrinistas, split sectors of the PAN influenced by the radical revolutions, the anarchist attacks and the workers' strikes. One of the main concerns of the Pellegrinistas was to transpose the protests from the streets to parliament, giving political space to the new social actors. For this, it was necessary to give spaces of representation to the main opposition party, the Radical Civic Union, but also to the moderate Socialist Party. In this way, the two great emerging social forces of the time would be weakened: workerism and anarchism.

When the PAN broke up and Manuel Quintana's candidacy was confirmed on October 12, 1903, Sáenz Peña organized a banquet to make amends for Pellegrini two days later at the Café de París. There, the former president announced the reasons for the new antiroroquist political movement: "The political party to which we belong has disappeared, replaced by a single thinking head, a will that resolves, a voice that orders, an elector who chooses."

In this context, the autonomists stood for the elections for national senator for the City of Buenos Aires on March 6, 1904. Sáenz Peña resigned his candidacy and in his place Carlos Pellegrini ran as a candidate facing the pro-government deputy Benito Villanueva, president of the Capital Committee of the National Autonomist Party, and Emilio Mitre, candidate of the Republican Party. The pro-government triumph was devastating: Villanueva prevailed with 11,516 votes and 28 voters, followed by Pellegrini with 9,075 votes and 6 voters, and Miter with 7,547 votes and 10 voters. For his part, Quintana obtained a majority of voters on April 10 and in the complementary elections for deputy vacancies, Pellegrini comfortably prevailed on June 16, 1905, returning to the Chamber of Deputies after twenty-eight years.

Between the institutional ups and downs of Manuel Quintana's presidential policy and the radical revolution of 1905, Julio A. Roca's enemies outnumbered his friends and allies. Thus, in the election of March 11, 1906, again under the complete list system, the Popular Concentration coalition prevailed over the official list amid scandals and protests over vote buying. A political front of autonomists, Mitristas, the conservative Benito Villanueva and Bernardista radicals that nominated Pellegrini, Emilio Mitre, Roque Sáenz Peña and Ernesto Tornquist in the first places.

On January 9, 1906, Bartolomé Miter died. Although he had announced his retirement from politics at the age of 80, he continued to enjoy some influence, at least in the Capital and the province of Buenos Aires; and on March 12, less than twenty-four hours after the defeat of the ruling party in the Capital, President Manuel Quintana died. In this context, Carlos Pellegrini had chances to be a "natural" of the reformist conservatives for the presidency in 1910, due to his national prestige acquired in his brief presidency, his knowledge of public finances, his position regarding the reform of the electoral system and his close political ties with the new president of the Republic, José Figueroa Alcorta.

Last years

I'm looking for Carlos Pellegrini.

During the last years of his life, Carlos Pellegrini had very deteriorated health due to a disease that Miguel Cané in his private correspondence called neurasthenia. He returned from Europe and took the legislator's seat that he had just won. In the session of May 9, 1906, he pronounced fiery words on the occasion of challenging the diplomas of the elected deputies of the Buenos Aires ruling party:

I come with less illusions, with less enthusiasm, with more experience. I bring the tired machine because the day has been long and the road many times rugged and thorny. But I come with the same blind faith in the future of my country and the same resolution to serve it as far as my forces reach.

Pellegrini and Figueroa Alcorta had taken note of the teachings of the radical Revolution of 1905, and promoted a Law of Oblivion, to grant amnesty to the radicals exiled in Montevideo and Santiago, who were in hiding or imprisoned. On June 11, in his last speech, he denounced the errors and excesses of a declining political regime:

The only thing that has been forgotten and forgotten is the lessons of our history, our sad experience. It is forgotten that this is the fifth amnesty law that is dictated in a few years and that the facts happen with a painful regularity: rebellion, repression, forgiveness... It's in everyone's consciousness that this amnesty is supposed to be the last one, it won't be the last one. Maybe very soon, the penultimate. And why, Mr. President? Because the causes of these events remain and not only in all their integrity, but are compounded every day.

During the last years of his life, he tried to adapt the PAN to the political changes that were taking place in the country. To achieve this, he was convinced that it was necessary to carry out a reform in electoral practices. But his early death, in Buenos Aires, on July 17, 1906 at the age of 59, did not surprise his friends and colleagues, due to the deterioration of his health, but produced a deep national impact due to the expectations generated around him. the need for electoral reform, and created a political vacuum that would later be filled by Roque Sáenz Peña, considered his political heir, who projected the secret ballot electoral reform that would lead Hipólito Yrigoyen to the presidency in 1916. However, Sáenz Peña died in 1914.

In his tomb in La Recoleta Cemetery, President Figueroa Alcorta, already enrolled in a reformist position, found the perfect note in his elegy:

Let's learn the ranks, because the strongest fell.

Tributes

Bust of Carlos Pellegrini in the Busts Hall in the Casa Rosada, work of Hernán Cullen Yesterday.

The monument to Pellegrini in the square that bears its name.

In addition to various monuments and streets named after him, he has given his name to three Argentine towns (Pellegrini -Buenos Aires province- and Colonia Carlos Pellegrini -Corrientes province- Carlos Pellegrini -Santa Fe province), the Torre Unión Industrial Argentina, the Superior School of Commerce that he himself founded in 1890, the Carlos Pellegrini Grand Prize, and also a subway station on line B bears his name.

A square at the beginning of Avenida Alvear bears his name, it also has a monument made of Carrara marble and bronze by the French sculptor Félix Coutan.

between 1989 and 1991 it appeared on the 10,000 Austral bill. Later, and as a result of the enactment of the Austral Convertibility Law, the current Argentine peso was created, and it was chosen to illustrate the bill (Navy blue color) of a weight of the first series was the image of Carlos Pellegrini, until it was withdrawn from circulation in 1994.