After his retirement, San Martín intended to live in Cuyo. Although the war of independence had ended in the region, the Argentine Civil Wars continued. The unitarians wanted to organize the country as a unitary state centered on Buenos Aires, and the federalists preferred a federation of provinces. San Martín had good relations with the federal "caudillos" and a personal feud with unitarian leader Bernardino Rivadavia, but tried to stay neutral. San Martín's wife, María de los Remedios de Escalada, died in 1823, so he returned to Buenos Aires. He took his daughter Mercedes Tomasa, who was living with her mother's family, and sailed to Europe.