The Malón de la Paz was a march of
Indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
of
northwestern Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
to the capital,
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 ...
, demanding the restitution of their ancient lands, in 1946. The participants marched about 2,000 km to present their claims to
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
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Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...
.
Origin of the name
''
Malón'' is an Argentine and Chilean Spanish word derived from
Mapudungun
Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...
''malok'', "invade". It refers to a surprise incursion, as often conducted by aboriginals when attacking
criollo
Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to:
People
* Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system.
Animals
* Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America.
* Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
(Spanish) settlements. The expression ''Malón de la Paz'' therefore means "Peace Incursion"; it is a kind of
oxymoron
An oxymoron (plurals: oxymorons and oxymora) is a figure of speech that Juxtaposition, juxtaposes concepts with opposite meanings within a word or in a phrase that is a self-contradiction (disambiguation), self-contradiction. As a rhetorical de ...
. It was coined by one of the initial organizers of the march, the retired military engineer Mario Augusto Bertonasco.
Background
The lands originally inhabited by indigenous peoples in Argentina were almost completely occupied by the initial European settlers and by their descendants. In some regions the aboriginals were assimilated as cheap workforce for creole landowners; in others they were displaced and then exterminated (see
Conquest of the Desert).
Near the end of his term, President
Hipólito Yrigoyen planned to
expropriate lands and grant them to their former aboriginal inhabitants, but a coup in 1930 ousted him and killed the project.
On 31 August 1945,
Kolla communities in the northwestern Argentine provinces of
Jujuy and
Salta
Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...
, through a group of representatives, sent a note to the National Agrarian Council demanding the restitution of their lands, in compliance with previous laws. On 17 January 1946 President
Edelmiro Julián Farrell signed the expropriation decree. But as funds for the necessary land surveys and paperwork were in progress, the direction of the Council passed to other people, who blocked them.
Beginning of the march
The main organizer of the march was retired Lieutenant Engineer Mario Augusto Bertonasco, who had worked with the
Mapuche
The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
in land claims and then moved to Jujuy and to
Orán, Salta. It was he who coined the expression ''Malón de la Paz''.
The march started on 15 May 1946 in
Abra Pampa, Jujuy, and arrived at the provincial capital
San Salvador de Jujuy
San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...
on 24 May, where the Puneños (on foot) were joined by another column coming from Orán and Iruya, Salta (on mules). They were 174 in total. Two days later the marchers departed for
Salta
Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...
and then passed by
Tucumán on 9 June. They arrived at
Córdoba on 22 June, and marched on to
Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...
.
On 10 July the aboriginal leaders Valentín Zárate and José Nievas, who had come ahead of the march while the rest were in Rosario, were received in Buenos Aires by president of the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
at the
National Congress.
The march went on, passing by
San Nicolás de los Arroyos
San Nicolás de los Arroyos (usually shortened to ''San Nicolás'') is a city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the western shore of the Paraná River, from Rosario. It has about 133,000 ...
on 18 July and by
Pergamino, Buenos Aires on 21 July, where a Neighbors Commission greeted the marchers with offers of food and clothing. They were received by 60,000 people, including municipal authorities and farmers (who were additionally claiming for an
agrarian reform
Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution.
Lan ...
).
The ''Malón'' reached
Luján on 30 July, and
Merlo on 1 August, where it was met and received support by hundreds of residents.
Entrance in Buenos Aires
The march entered Buenos Aires through
Liniers on 3 August 1946. They were received by the head of the Aboriginal Protection department, and given accommodation (whether significantly or not) at the Immigrants' Hotel.
The marchers, joined by local residents, went up to Congress, where they were homaged, and then to
Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...
. Former President Farrell, President Perón and other authorities greeted them from the balcony of the
Casa Rosada. Nationalist groups opposed to the aboriginals caused minor incidents, but were repelled by the people. Perón then paid a personal visit to the marchers.
Forced return
After this reception, however, the government showed its true colours. On 27 August, forces of the
Naval Prefecture were sent to force the marchers to get on a train. On encountering resistance, the
Federal Police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...
was called, and around midnight the Immigrants' Hotel was attacked with
tear gas
Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
. Lieutenant Bertonasco refused to give the order of abandoning the hotel, and left. Once in the train, the marchers broke the windows and some of their leaders jumped off. The Kolla deputy for Jujuy, Dionisio Viviano, met with them and Bertonasco to intercede for the marchers, but were not heard.
The train passed by Rosario and Córdoba en route back to the northwest, with the stations surrounded by police forces to keep the passengers from coming out. On 3 September the train reached San Salvador de Jujuy.
On 30 November, President Perón declared that the Malón de la Paz "did not represent... the authentic indigenous inhabitants of our north", and claimed that they had come by train and motor vehicles rather than on foot. Moreover, he said, some were not even from the north of Argentina, but had been born in the north of the province of Buenos Aires and were unwilling to return.
Legacy
Despite the reaction to the Malón, in 1949 the national government expropriated some lands in the Puna and the
Quebrada de Humahuaca, for them to be returned to their original inhabitants, but this was never done.
On 7 August 2006, sixty years after the first Malón, a march with similar goals (the
Second Malón de la Paz) was organized in Jujuy, to demand that the provincial government comply with a judicial order to grant the indigenous communities about 15,000 km
2 of land.
The Third Malón de la Paz took place within the context of the
2023 Jujuy protests.
References
* Derecho de los Pueblos Indígenas
''El malón de la paz''
* Página/12. 9 August 2006
See also
*
Demographics of Argentina
*
History of Argentina
*
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malon de la Paz
History of Argentina (1943–1955)
Indigenous peoples in Argentina
Indigenous rights
Protests in Argentina
1946 in Argentina