Miguel de Azcuénaga Miguel de Azcuénaga ( June 4 , 1754 – December 19 , 1833 ) was an Argentine brigadier . Educated in Spain , at the University of Seville , Azucuenaga began his military career in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and became a member of the Primera Junta , the first autonomous government of modern Argentina . He was shortly exiled because of his support to the minister Mariano Moreno , and returned to Buenos Aires when the First Triumvirate replaced the Junta . He held several offices since then , most notably being the first Governor intendant of Buenos Aires after the May Revolution . He died at his country house ( the modern Quinta de Olivos ) in 1833 . Biography . Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata . Miguel de Azcuénaga was born in Buenos Aires on June 4 , 1754 . He was the son of Vicente de Azcuénaga Iturbe , a Spanish businessman from Biscay , and María Rosa de Basavilbaso y Urtubia , from Buenos Aires . The Azcuénaga - Basavilbaso had 4 sons and 3 daughters . Miguel de Azcuénaga was sent to Spain at an early age , to complete his elementary studies in Málaga and then attend the University of Seville . He returned to Buenos Aires in 1774 , and made a new journey to Spain to oversee the business of his father . He began his military career in the artillery of Buenos Aires , during the Spanish – Portuguese War , staying in that unit until the signing of the First Treaty of San Ildefonso that incorporated the Banda Oriental to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata . With the war concluded , he became a " regidor " of the Buenos Aires Cabildo . He took the arms again in 1778 , during an attack of the natives , and directed the operations at the fort in San Miguel del Monte . As Spain fought the American Revolutionary War , it was feared that Britain may launch a counteroffensive against the Spanish colonies . Azcuénaga led an artillery unit with 4 cannons in 1781 , but no British attack took place . He was appointed to several offices within the Buenos Aires Cabildo in the 1781 - 1794 period . On April 7 , 1789 , he helped a number of shoemakers to establish a guild . Although there were several in Spain , no guild constitution from Spain was used as a model . He promoted the pavement of the streets , and the improvement of the buildings . Supported by the viceroy Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo , he collected $ 8 , 000 and provided 500 cattle to mine rocks from the Martín García Island for this work . He married his cousin Justa Rufina de Basavilbaso y Garfias on February 6 , 1795 . He was appointed lieutenant colonel in 1796 , leading a local militia from that year to 1802 . When he left , he granted all his military wages from that period to the soldiers of his unit . He was appointed colonel on march 24 , 1802 , and donated $ 2 , 435 for the clothing of the soldiers . He further donated $ 1 , 000 , 000 to build a navy , along with Juan Larrea and Domingo Matheu . He fought in the 1806 British invasions of the Río de la Plata , leading a resistance in the Gálvez bridge . He stood for 20 hours , with only 400 soldiers , against an overwhelming British force . He managed to escape with 50 soldiers , and aided the brigadier Hilarión de la Quintana . Argentine War of Independence . The Peninsular War in Spain , along with the capture of the king Ferdinand VII and the fall of the Junta of Seville , escalated political disputes in Buenos Aires that led to the May Revolution . Several criollos thought that the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros , appointed by the fallen Junta , did not have legitimacy , and requested an open cabildo to discuss it . Azcuénaga attended it , and voted for the creation of a Junta with deputies from all the provinces , with the Cabildo ruling in the interregnum . However , the majority agreed with the creation of a junta , but with another junta of people from Buenos ruling during in the meantime . The viceroy tried to stay in government as president of the Junta , which was resisted by the criollos . Azcuénaga lend his house to their secret meetings . Azcuénaga was appointed as a member of the new Primera Junta , and promoted to brigadier . The reasons of Azcuénaga ' s inclusion in the Junta are unclear , as with all its members . A common accepted theory considers it to be a balance between Carlotists , Alzaguists , the military and the clergy ; besides being from the armed forces , Azcuénaga had close ties with the rich people of the city . The Junta suffered from internal conflicts between the conservatives ( led by Cornelio Saavedra ) and the liberals ( led by Mariano Moreno ) . Azcuénaga was aligned with Moreno . Although he opposed the expansion of the Junta into the Junta Grande , he voted for the proposal , perhaps under pressure of Saavedra . Mariano Moreno resigned in December , and all his supporters were forced to resign in May 1811 . Azcuénaga was exiled to the Mendoza Province , and lost his military rank . His wife requested instead an exile to the closer Luján , which was declined . The Junta was replaced by the First Triumvirate . Azcuénaga still had a positive image among his peers , and the political change allowed his return and the restitution of his rank . However , a mistake with the documentation gave him only the rank of colonel ; he could only retrieve his rank of Brigadier in 1814 . He was appointed Governor intendant of Buenos Aires ( ruling over the province , whereas the Triumvirate had a national authority ) . The Assembly of the Year XIII replaced the Triumvirate with an unipersonal head of state , the Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata . Gervasio Antonio de Posadas was appointed Supreme Director , and Azcuénaga selected as one of his five advisors . In 1816 the Cabildo appointed him as protector of the freedom of the press . He became a member of the Congress of Tucumán in 1818 , when it was moved from San Miguel de Tucumán to Buenos Aires . He was elected vice - president of the Congress in September and reelected in May 1819 . The defeat of Buenos Aires in 1820 at the Battle of Cepeda , part of the Argentine Civil Wars , led to the closing of the Congress . Later life . In 1828 , aged 74 , he took part in the peace negotiations with the Empire of Brazil after the end of the Argentine - Brazilian War , which led to the creation of the state of Uruguay . Those negotiations took place in Montevideo . He managed the economy in 1829 and 1830 , and became a deputy in 1831 and 1832 . His fellow deputies pointed that he attended all the legislative sessions , despite of his old age . Azcuénaga died at his home on December 19 , 1833 . The governor Juan José Viamonte ordered the construction of a cenotaph at the Northern Cemetery ( modern La Recoleta Cemetery ) , which is still in place today . The official decree stated that " " the noteworthy services he gave to the nation at all times the brigadier general Miguel de Azcuénaga , and particularly in the days of the glorious independence , require a demonstration that takes to posterity the name of this patriot , and keeps the memory of his civic virtues " " . Azcuénaga ' s country house was built during the establishment of Buenos Aires in 1580 by Juan de Garay . After several generations it was inherited by Justa Rufina Basavilbaso , Azcuénaga ' s wife . Further generations of the family ( with ancestry of the viceroy Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú as well ) inherited it , until Carlos Villate Olaguer gave it to the Argentine state in 1913 , to be used as an official residence of the President of Argentina . It was renamed as " Quinta de Olivos " , and it was used by all Argentine presidents since Agustín Pedro Justo .