Juan José Esteban Paso, (January 2, 1758,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

– September 10, 1833) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

politician who participated in the events that started the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...

known as

May Revolution The May Revolution () was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, ...

of 1810.

Biography

Early life

Juan José Paso is the son of Domingo de Passo. Domingo left Spain and moved to Buenos Aires in 1750. He worked as a baker; Buenos Aires had a scarce production of bread at the time. Domingo got married with María Manuela Fernández Escandón on March 8, 1755. Domingo became a ''

vecino 'Vecino' means either " neighbour" or resident in modern Spanish. Historically in the Spanish Empire it referred instead to a householder of considerable social position in a town or a city, and was similar to "freeman" or "freeholder." Histo ...

'' after his marriage. Their son Juan José Esteban Paso was born on January 2, 1758, and baptized five days later. The place of Paso's initial education is unknown, but it was not the Real Colegio San Carlos, as he is not among its recorded list of students. Paso studied at the University of Córdoba and graduated in Theology in 1779. Back in Buenos Aires, he was named professor of philosophy at the Colegio Real de San Carlos (Royal School of San Carlos). In 1783 he moved to the

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

and studied law in the University of Chuquisaca; only to return to Buenos Aires as a lawyer in 1803. After the

British invasions of the Río de la Plata The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argenti ...

he pursued a political career as a revolutionary leader moved by the new national identity that was growing among the '

criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...

'. Like many other nineteenth century Argentines prominent in public life, he was a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

.The list includes

Juan Bautista Alberdi Juan Bautista Alberdi (August 29, 1810 – June 19, 1884) was an Argentine political theorist and diplomat. Although he lived most of his life in exile in Montevideo, Uruguay and in Chile, he influenced the content of the Constitution of Argen ...

, Manuel Alberti,

Carlos María de Alvear Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewher ...

Miguel de Azcuénaga Brigadier Miguel de Azcuénaga (4 June 1754 – 19 December 1833) was an Argentine army officer and politician. Educated in Spain, at the University of Seville, Azcuénaga began his military career in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ...

Antonio González de Balcarce Antonio González de Balcarce (June 24, 1774 – August 15, 1819) was an Argentine military commander in the early 19th century. González de Balcarce was born in Buenos Aires. He joined the armed forces as a cadet in 1788. In the battle for Mo ...

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...

, Antonio Luis Beruti,

Juan José Castelli Juan José Castelli (19 July 176412 October 1812) was an Argentina, Argentine lawyer who was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which led to the Argentine War of Independence. He led an ill-fated military campaign in Upper Peru. Juan Jo ...

, Domingo French, Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid,

Francisco Narciso de Laprida Francisco Narciso de Laprida (October 28, 1786 in San Juan – September 22, 1829) was an Argentine lawyer and politician. He was a representative for San Juan at the Congress of Tucumán, and its president on July 9, 1816, when the Declara ...

, Juan Larrea,

Juan Lavalle Juan Galo Lavalle (; 17 October 17979 October 1841) was an Argentine military and political figure from the Unitarian Party. Early life and education Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José Laval ...

Vicente López y Planes Vicente López y Planes (May 3, 1785 – October 10, 1856) was an Argentine writer and politician who acted as interim President of Argentina from July 7 to August 18, 1827. He also wrote the lyrics of the Argentine National Anthem adopted ...

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre (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 Argentine Civil Wars#National unification, unified Argentina. Mitre i ...

Mariano Moreno Mariano Moreno (; September 23, 1778March 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 bor ...

, Juan José Paso,

Carlos Pellegrini Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini Bevans (October 11, 1846 – July 17, 1906) was Vice President of Argentina and became President of Argentina from August 6, 1890 to October 12, 1892, upon Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation (see R ...

, Gervasio Antonio de Posadas,

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the '' Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19th-century Argent ...

, and

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 bor ...

;

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...

is known to have been a member of the

Lautaro Lodge The Lautaro Lodge () was a revolutionary secret lodge active in Latin American politics in the 19th century. It was initially known as the Lodge of Rational Knights (). Its initial purposes were to apply the goals of the Spanish Enlightenment, ...

, but whether that lodge was truly masonic has been debated:

Juntas

Paso assisted with the '' Cabildo Abierto'' of May 22, 1810 and supported the faction that sought the dismissal of

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros y de la Torre (6 January 1756 – 9 June 1829) was a Spanish Navy officer and colonial administrator. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against ...

, convincing many others with a fervent speech. He participated in the creation of the First Junta (''

Primera Junta The Primera Junta ("First Junta") or ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' ("Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata"), is the most common name given to the first government of what ...

'') government on May 25 and was named Secretary of the Junta along with

, with whom he shared political points of view. He was sent by the Junta to

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

(today's

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

capital city) to spread the ideas of the revolution. Paso was also part of the

First Triumvirate The First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic: Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gaius Julius Caesar. The republican constitution had many veto points. ...

and the

Second Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created at the end of the Roman republic for Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November ...

that ruled the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) between 1811 and 1814. During this period he participated in the

Asamblea del año XIII The Assembly of the Year XIII, () also known as the General Constituent and Sovereign Assembly of the Year 1813 (''Asamblea General Constituyente y Soberana del Año 1813''), was a congress of deputies of the United Provinces of the Río de la P ...

and was sent to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

as a representative. But the negotiations with Chilean patriots failed and the Capitaincy of Chile refused to take part in the Union.

Congress of Tucumán

In 1815 Paso was named assistant to the Supreme Director and war consultant. He was later elected a representative to the

Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, ...

that declared the Argentine Independence on July 9, 1816. As Secretary to this Congress, Paso had the honor of reading the independence act. However, he was then imprisoned and charged of treason for supporting the monarchist faction that wanted a monarchy as government for the new nation. He was quickly released along with the other monarchist deputies.

Buenos Aires' legislature

Elected a member of the

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

Legislature in 1822, Paso later became president of that body. In 1824, he was again elected representative for the National Congress and supported the nomination of

Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at th ...

as the first

President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

. He retired from politics in 1826 disgusted with the violent disagreements among the provinces that divided themselves between Unitarians and Federalists.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paso, Juan Jose 1758 births 1833 deaths Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Members of the Buenos Aires Province Chamber of Deputies Politicians from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Spanish descent National University of Córdoba alumni Members of the Congress of Tucumán Members of the Assembly of the Year XIII Members of the Primera Junta Members of Argentine triumvirates Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Argentine Freemasons People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata