page_title: José Félix Uriburu
section_title: Military Government
hierarchical_section_title: José Félix Uriburu / Military Government
caption_attribution_description: Español: Ernesto Bosch (1863-1951), un abogado y político argentino.
context_page_description: Lieutenant General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu was the first de facto President of Argentina, ousting president Hipólito Yrigoyen by means of a military coup and declaring himself president. From September 6, 1930, to February 20, 1932, he controlled both the Executive and Legislative branches of government. Under the title of "President of the Provisional Government," he acted as the de facto Head of State of Argentina. His was the first of a series of successful coups d'état and unconstitutional governments that came to power in 1943, 1955, 1962, 1966, and 1976.
context_section_description: On September 10, 1930, Uriburu was recognized as President of the Nation by means of an infamous and controversial ruling by the Supreme Court, which gave rise to the De facto government doctrine. This doctrine legitimized the new government, "as long as it executes the administrative and political function derived from its possession of the force as guarantee of order and social security." He dissolved the National Congress, declared a state of siege, replaced the governors of the provinces with radical governors through federal intervention, and attempted to establish a neo-corporatist government. In this system of government, similar to fascism, Uriburu saw an example of peace and political order. On September 18, 1930, the ambassadors from the United States and England (a country Uriburu had served as an attaché), recognized his provisional government.
  
  Though Uriburu publicly claimed to respect the Constitution, he personally felt that it was necessary to return the country to the rule of a conservative government as was the case prior to the Law of Sáenz Peña, which had established a secret vote for all men over 18. In a speech given to the Superior School of War, Uriburu expressed his opposition to universal suffrage: 
  We must try to achieve a political authority based in reality rather than purely theory... Aristotle defined democracy as a government by those best fit to rule. The difficulty is in making those who are best fit the rulers. It is difficult to make that happen in any country where, like ours, there is a 60% illiteracy rate, therefore it is clear and evident that it is those 60% that govern the country, because in legal elections, they are the majority.
  He established a repressive regime that included for the first time the systematic use of torture against political opponents, particularly anarchists, communists, and radical yrigoyenists, using the Sector of Public Order of the Capital Police, with Leopoldo Lugones, Jr. at the helm. He declared martial law and secretly executed anarchist militants such as Severino Di Giovanni, Gregorio Galeano, José Gatti, Joaquín Penina, Paulino Scarfó and Jorge Tamayo Gavilán. He imprisoned several political leaders, such as former president Hipólito Yrigoyen; censured news publications; and took over the nation's universities, eliminating the autonomy and co-government that they had enjoyed since the University Reform of 1918. Once the coup had taken place, the newly-founded General Confederation of Labor (CGT) adopted an attitude of complacency towards the military regime.
  In the economic sphere, the Great Depression had an impact on the country and caused a significant decrease in revenue, a decline in consumption, and an increase in unemployment. In the political sphere, Uriburu attempted a highly repressive model of government, with martial law and military courts to try civilians who opposed the de facto government. His idea was to establish a corporative regime in the style of Italian fascist Benito Mussolini, but the result of the elections demonstrated that it did not have popular support and he was unable to follow through with the plan.
  In early 1931, he called elections in the Province of Buenos Aires, but later annulled them after the Radical Civic Union (UCR) won. In November of that year, he again called elections after prohibiting UCR candidates and organizing a system that was broadly recognized as fraudulent, marking the beginning of the so-called Infamous Decade in Argentina. It was under these conditions that General Agustín P. Justo was elected President, representing the party that had earlier been wiped out by the Sáenz Peña Law.
  In March 1931, Uriburu received Edward Windsor, then Prince of Wales and later King Edward VIII, with whom he visited the Campo de Mayo, the National Hippodrome, and the seaside resort of Mar del Plata to inaugurate the British Exposition of Arts and Industries at La Rural.
caption: Ernesto Bosch, Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Uriburu
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