Carlos Tejedor (politician)
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Carlos Tejedor (November 4, 1817 – January 3, 1903) was an
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
jurist and politician, Governor of
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
between 1878 and 1880. Tejedor was a prominent figure in the movement against the
Federalization of Buenos Aires Federalization, in Argentine law, is the process of assigning federal status to a territory with the purpose of making that territory the national capital. Federalization of Buenos Aires politically separated the city from the Buenos Aires Provinc ...
.


Life and times

Tejedor born in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to Antonia Carrero and Antonio Tejedor, in 1817. He enrolled at the
University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...
, where he earned a
law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...
in 1837, and married Etelvina Ocampo. He became a prominent supporter of the interests of Buenos Aires, and joined Ramón Maza in an 1839 plot against Governor
Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Althoug ...
. The group protested what they saw as too many concessions on the part of Rosas toward other provincial ''
Caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...
s'' in order to buttress the fragile
Argentine Confederation The Argentine Confederation (Spanish: ''Confederación Argentina'') was the last predecessor state of modern Argentina; its name is still one of the official names of the country according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35. It was the name ...
. Following Maza's execution, however, Tejedor joined
Unitarian Party Unitarianists or Unitarians (in Spanish, ''Unitarios'') were the proponents of the concept of a unitary state (centralized government) in Buenos Aires during the civil wars that shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in 1 ...
leader General
Juan Lavalle Juan Galo Lavalle (17 October 1797 – 9 October 1841) was an Argentine military and political figure. Biography Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José Lavalle, general accountant of rents and t ...
, and fled to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, where he resumed his law practice and became a friend and ally of future Chilean President
Manuel Montt Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres (; September 4, 1809 – September 21, 1880) was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861. Biography Montt was born in Petorca, Valparaíso R ...
. He returned to Buenos Aires following Rosas' overthrow after the
Battle of Caseros The Battle of Caseros ( es, Batalla de Caseros) was fought near the town of El Palomar, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas and the Grand Army (''Ejército ...
of 1852, and became a central figure in the movement led by
Valentín Alsina Valentín Alsina (December 16, 1802 – September 6, 1869) was an Argentine lawyer and politician. Biography Early life Alsina was born in Buenos Aires and studied law at the University of Córdoba. He occupied diverse posts in government, an ...
against the
Federalization of Buenos Aires Federalization, in Argentine law, is the process of assigning federal status to a territory with the purpose of making that territory the national capital. Federalization of Buenos Aires politically separated the city from the Buenos Aires Provinc ...
as the national capital through his position of editor-in-chief of ''El Nacional''. He opposed the
San Nicolás Agreement The San Nicolás Agreement () was a pact signed on May 31, 1852 and subscribed by all but one of the 14 provinces of Argentina, provinces of the United Provinces of the River Plate (the exception was Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires). The treat ...
, Entre Ríos leader
Justo José de Urquiza Justo José de Urquiza y García (; October 18, 1801 – April 11, 1870) was an Argentine general and politician who served as president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860. Life Justo José de Urquiza y García was b ...
's bid for national unity, and plotted the assassination of Urquiza with the ''Logia Juan-Juan''. The attempt on Urquiza a failure, a revolt erupted in Buenos Aires on September 11, 1852, and the latter province became independent of the Confederation for the remainder of the decade. Tejedor then collaborated with
Dalmacio Vélez Sarsfield Dalmacio Vélez Sarsfield (February 18, 1800 – June 30, 1875) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who wrote the Civil Code of Argentina of 1869, which remained in force until 2015, when it was replaced by the new ''Código Civil y Co ...
in the drafting of a Provincial Constitution for Buenos Aires, the following year. Tejedor negotiated the surrender of Buenos Aires forces at the
Battle of Cepeda (1859) The Battle of Cepeda of 1859 took place on October 23 at Cañada de Cepeda, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The Argentine Confederation army, led by Federales (Argentina), federalist Justo José de Urquiza defeated the State of Buenos Aires for ...
, leading to the
Pact of San José de Flores The Pact of San José de Flores (''Pacto Unión San José de Flores'', or ''Pacto de Unión Nacional'') was a treaty signed between the Argentine Confederation and the State of Buenos Aires on November 11, 1859, on the aftermath of the Battle of ...
and to Buenos Aires' recognition of the
Argentine Constitution The Constitution of the Argentine Nation ( es, Constitución de la Nación Argentina) is the basic governing document of Argentina, and the primary source of existing law in Argentina. Its first version was written in 1853 by a constitutional ...
. Tejedor, however, rallied opposition to the treaty, and in particular, its provisions for the
federalization Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments ( provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single p ...
of the
Buenos Aires Customs The Buenos Aires Customs House (''Aduana'') is a government building and architectural landmark in the Montserrat section of Buenos Aires. Overview The French neoclassical building housing the Argentine General Customs Directorate (DGA) was commi ...
. Ultimately, these disputes led to the
Battle of Pavón The Battle of Pavón, a key battle of the Argentine Civil Wars, was fought in Pavón, Santa Fé Province, Argentina on 17 September 1861 between the Army of the State of Buenos Aires, commanded by Bartolomé Mitre, and the Army of Republic of ...
(1861), where General
Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre Martínez (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of unified Argentina. Mitre is known as the most versatile ...
's victory allowed Tejedor and other Buenos Aires leaders to impose terms for the province's readmission into Argentina. Following Mitre's 1862 election as
President of Argentina The president of Argentina ( es, Presidente de Argentina), officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation ( es, Presidente de la Nación Argentina), is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Ar ...
, Tejedor was charged with codifying the nation's
penal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
. He was elected to the
Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de Diputados de la Nación), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress ( es, Congreso de la Nación). It is made up of 257 ...
in 1866, and was appointed
Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
in 1870 by President
Domingo Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing sp ...
. His tenure in the post was highlighted by international boundary negotiations following the
Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...
. Allegations of
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...
in the elections of 1874, in which Mitre was defeated for the Presidency, led to another revolt by the former president; its prompt defeat led to his exile, however, and Tejedor was sworn in as Congressman in his replacement. Viewed as a die-hard proponent of Buenos Aires privileges by lawmakers from the hinterland, he resigned, and served briefly as director of the
National Library of Argentina The Mariano Moreno National Library ( es, Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno) is the largest library in Argentina. It is located in the barrio of Recoleta in Buenos Aires. The library is named after Mariano Moreno, one of the ideologists of the ...
, and as Ambassador to Brazil. He accepted the post of Solicitor General for President
Nicolás Avellaneda Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva (3 October 1837 – 24 November 1885) was an Argentine politician and journalist, and President of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education ...
in 1875, contributing to the advancement of the
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and
civil code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...
s. He then served as Dean of the
University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...
Law School in 1876 and 1877. Returning to politics, he was elected
Governor of Buenos Aires The Governor of Buenos Aires Province ( es, Gobernador de la Provincia de Buenos Aires) is a citizen of the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, holding the office of governor for the corresponding period. The governor is elected alongside a vic ...
in 1878, and in 1880, ran for the Presidency in opposition to
National Autonomist Party The National Autonomist Party ( es, Partido Autonomista Nacional; PAN) was the ruling political party of Argentina from 1874 to 1916. In 1880, Julio Argentino Roca assumed the presidency under the motto "peace and administration". History The ...
leader
Julio Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the Generation ...
. Winning only in Buenos Aires and
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s, Tejedor organized an uprising, forcing the temporary relocation of Federal Government offices to Belgrano (then a suburb of the capital). His defeat led to his resignation as governor, and negotiations begun in his stead by Mitre with the victor, President Roca, led to the definitive establishment of Buenos Aires as the nation's capital. He published a memoir of the events, ''La defensa de Buenos Aires'', in 1881, and returned to academia and private law practice. Tejedor was again elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1894 for Buenos Aires, serving until 1898. He died in Buenos Aires in 1903, at age 85, and was buried in the
La Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de la Recoleta) is a cemetery located in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, includi ...
. The
Carlos Tejedor Partido Carlos Tejedor Partido is a Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido in the north-west of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 11,500 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Carlos Tejedor ...
of Buenos Aires Province is named after him.


References

*''Historical Dictionary of Argentina''. London: Scarecrow Press, 1978. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tejedor, Carlos 1817 births 1903 deaths Lawyers from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Spanish descent University of Buenos Aires alumni 19th-century Argentine lawyers Governors of Buenos Aires Province Ambassadors of Argentina to Brazil Foreign ministers of Argentina Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Province Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery