EL CAUDILLO
MARTIN MIGUEL DE GUEMES
(1785 – 1821)
Cuando en 1810 detonó en Buenos Aires la Revolución de Mayo y se formó el primer gobierno independiente de la metrópoli española, Salta no tardó en adherir al movimiento.
Ubicada entre Lima, ciudadela realista, y una Buenos Aires rebelde, Salta se hallaba entre dos fuegos. Los patriotas porteños entendían que el movimiento independista debía extenderse hacia el norte del país, puerta natural de ingreso de las tropas realistas acantonadas en Lima. Los realistas, por su parte, debían retener la llave de acceso a todo el Alto Perú; controlando ese territorio podrían abrirse paso y caer sobre Buenos Aires.
Por aquel entonces, Martín Miguel de Guemes contaba con 25 años. Hijo de Doña Magdalena, una criolla descendiente de los fundadores de la ciudad de Jujuy, y de Don Gabriel, un español ilustrado que cumplía funciones de tesorero real, era el segundo de nueve hermanos.
Su infancia había transcurrido entre la ciudad y las fincas de su familia, alternando entre la instrucción formal y las enseñanzas de aquellas gentes del campo con quienes había aprendido a enlazar, arrear ganado, domar un potro o atravesar a la carrera los tupidos montes como correspondía a todo buen hacendado.
La carrera militar era un destino común para muchos jóvenes de su clase, por lo que a los 14 años ingresó en el Regimiento Fijo de Buenos Aires, radicado en Salta. Su instrucción militar incluyó el reconocimiento de toda la provincia, la que recorrió a caballo atravesando sus distintas geografías, desde la exuberante selva hasta la aridez de la puna. A los 20 fue destinado a Buenos Aires donde participó en la defensa de la ciudad durante las invasiones inglesas.
Habiendo estallado la revolución, Guemes se incorporará al ejército patriota. Ya por aquel entonces, desde su cuartel en Humahuaca y luego en Tarija, convulsionaba a las poblaciones rurales a favor de la independencia, y su ímpetu alcanzaba popularidad.
Corría el año 1814, y el Ejército del Norte se hallaba debilitado luego de dos grandes derrotas. Las tropas realistas se habían instalado en Salta y recurrían al saqueo de ganado y caballadas. Abandonados por las huestes patriotas, algunos hacendados organizan la resistencia conformando con el gauchaje, milicias voluntarias, que lideran con bravura.
El Gral. San Martín será el encargado de instruir y restablecer la moral del maltrecho Ejercito del Norte. Y viendo en Guemes a un militar inteligente, gran conocedor del territorio y de la idiosincrasia de su gente, le encomienda la custodia de la costa del Río Pasaje.
El ascendente y el carisma de Guemes son tan notorios que rápidamente los líderes locales con sus fuerzas irregulares se disciplinan bajo su mando, constituyéndose en el único jefe indiscutido de las milicias gauchas. Por otro lado, el gauchaje se suma a sus partidas, esperanzados en lograr reivindicaciones sociales ante las arbitrariedades del dominio español y el orden social de la colonia.
Los triunfos logrados en los embates contra los realistas hablan del éxito de la estrategia de Guemes, basada en el permanente hostigamiento al enemigo con tácticas guerrilleras y la aparente retirada con tierra arrasada. En cada rancho, en cada lomada, en cada arboleda, en cada recodo del camino había ojos que espiaban para él, sus montoneras atacaban en los lugares más inesperados y se perdían en el monte con la misma velocidad con que habían aparecido.
Su prestigio militar se acrecienta, y en 1815 el Cabildo lo nombra Gobernador Intendente de Salta, cargo que ejercerá hasta 1820. En ese año, Martín Miguel se casa con Carmen Puch, “la niña más linda de Salta”, una deliciosa joven de 18 años con quien tendrá dos hijos. Dicen que cuando Carmencita perdió a su amado esposo, murió de pena.
En las Provincias Unidas han surgido focos que reaccionan frente al abusivo centralismo porteño, disidencias que con el tiempo derivarán en una guerra civil. En razón a ello, el poder de Guemes inquieta a las autoridades de Buenos Aires, que intentan debilitarlo, pero el caudillo no se doblega y desobedece órdenes. Sus ideales nada tienen que ver con los de los caudillos segregacionistas, Guemes brega por el logro de una organización nacional y cree en una campaña emancipadora continental.
En 1816, declarada la independencia de las Provincias Unidas, el nuevo Director Supremo debido a la retirada del Ejército del Norte, le otorgará la responsabilidad de defender con sus solas fuerzas el frente desguarnecido.
Pero la tropa que tiene el gobernador Güemes –decía Belgrano en un oficio- “está desnuda, hambrienta y sin paga”. Sin recursos, Guemes clama por ayuda económica, pero Buenos Aires, envuelto en disensiones políticas, y las provincias todas, se manifiestan en imposibilidad material de contribuir.
Luego de más de 10 años de guerra permanente, la provincia de Salta se hallaba sumida en la miseria, y de ella, sin piedad, Guemes debió extraer los medios necesarios para continuar la lucha, tomando medidas que afectarán directamente a la clase acaudalada. Esta es obligada a contribuir con empréstitos, no puede cobrar los arriendos a quienes luchan en las milicias gauchas, como reconocimiento por los servicios prestados a la patria, y tampoco comerciar con las provincias del Alto Perú.
Por otro lado, la elite se espanta frente a la insurgencia del paisanaje, políticamente peligroso y difícil de controlar. Antes, respetuosos y serviciales, muchos de ellos se habían convertido en gauchos díscolos. Para más, sus excesos y delitos quedaban impunes, ya que no podían ser sometidos a la justicia local por la protección que les brindaba el fuero militar.
Los gauchos idolatran a Guemes, lo llaman “padre de los pobres”, el los protege, los halaga por su valor en la lucha, les reconoce igualdad de derechos y les otorga concesiones que fortalecen su fidelidad.
En cambio, para la clase acomodada, Guemes es un funesto caudillo que arrebata los bienes del decente para mantener el ocio y las pasiones del campesinado armado. Vulnerados en sus intereses y garantías, le endilgan todas sus desgracias, lo acusan de traidor de su clase, anarquista y tirano. Frente este repudio, el General se apoya cada vez más en los sectores populares cayendo en medidas demagógicas que exaltan los odios.
«Por estar a vuestro lado me odian los decentes; por sacarles cuatro reales para que vosotros defendáis su propia libertad dando la vida por la Patria. Y os odian a vosotros, porque, os ven resueltos a no ser más humillados y esclavizados por ellos. Todos somos libres, tenemos iguales derechos, como hijos de la misma Patria que hemos arrancado del yugo español. ¡Soldados de la Patria, ha llegado el momento de que seáis libres y de que caigan para siempre vuestros opresores!».
En 1820, luego de liberar Chile, el Gral. San Martín busca completar su plan continental avanzando hacia Perú. Nuevamente reconoce la valía de Guemes, nombrándolo General en Jefe del Ejército de Observación, y lo convoca a que con su ejército ingrese al Alto Perú. De esta forma, en coordinación con San Martín, caerían sobre Lima y terminarían con el dominio español.
En adelante un torbellino de situaciones le impedirán alcanzar la meta: la falta de recursos y de apoyo de las Provincias Unidas, la amenaza de un nuevo ataque español, y el hostigamiento del gobernador de Tucumán, aliado a los terratenientes salteños.
Son estos últimos, quienes desde sus cargos en el Cabildo de Salta, lo deponen como gobernador y luego no dudan en ofrecer su colaboración al enemigo para eliminarlo. Una partida realista ingresará a la ciudad amparada por la oscuridad y desatará una lluvia de balas sobre Güemes, hiriéndolo. El jefe gaucho muere luego de una larga agonía, y su muerte duele. Estalla en un enorme llanto colectivo. Apenas unas semanas después, sus gauchos le brindarán el mejor homenaje, derrotarán al ejército realista, expulsando para siempre a los españoles de Salta.
Guemes despertó entre sus contemporáneos ardientes adhesiones y enconados odios.
Rescatado a principios del siglo XX, luego de años de olvido, ingresó al panteón de los héroes patrios, y la historia oficial nacional tuvo que aceptarlo a regañadientes.
Los atributos del joven general tallaron su estatura mítica convirtiéndolo en héroe popular: personalidad carismática, noble y arrogante, consumado jinete, generoso y justiciero, admirado por sus fieles gauchos y amante esposo, padre de los pobres y azote de los ricos, que por añadidura fue muerto en forma violenta y a traición en la flor de la edad.
Lo cierto es que entre 1816 y 1821, Guemes, junto a jujeños y a salteños, rechazó siete invasiones realistas. Bajo su liderazgo, milicias y pueblo, sostuvieron el peso de la guerra, gracias a lo cual fueron posibles las campañas de San Martín y el logro de la independencia de las Provincias Unidas, hoy Argentina. Su muerte temprana determinó la irreparable pérdida de las provincias del Alto Perú y de Tarija, como así también la salida de Argentina al Pacífico, por Atacama. Su originalidad radicó en darle un contenido social a la revolución, al convocar a los pueblos a hacerse cargo de la gesta.
Se trató de un lúcido conductor, brillante estratega, hombre de convicciones y compromiso, paradigma de tenacidad y patriotismo. Su presencia permanece vigente en la memoria de su pueblo, sin distinción de edades y clases sociales. Siempre convocante, para los descendientes de sus seguidores como de sus detractores, es símbolo orgulloso de la salteñidad, y figura emblemática de la historia nacional.
MARTIN MIGUEL DE GÜEMES
(1785 – 1821)
When the May Revolution exploded in Buenos Aires in 1810 and the first independent government was instituted, Salta quickly adhered to the revolutionary movement.
Located between a royalist Lima and a rebellious Buenos Aires, Salta was caught in the crossfire. The patriots from Buenos Aires believed that the independent movement had to expand to the north of the country, which was the natural entry for the royalist troops stationed in Lima. Meanwhile, the royalists realised that they had to hold back access to the territory of Alto Perú and that, by controlling the area around Salta, they could make their way into the country and fall upon Buenos Aires.
By then, Martín Miguel de Güemes was 25 years old. His mother, Doña Magdalena, had been born in Salta and was a descendant of the founders of Jujuy and his father, Don Gabriel, was a learned Spanish man who had been appointed royal treasurer. Martín Miguel was the second of nine children.
He spent his childhood in the family house in the city and in their estates in the country, alternating between formal instruction and the teachings which he received from gauchos and farmhands. From them, he learned to lasso, to drive cattle, to tame colts and to ride across the thick scrubs as it seemed fit for a young landowner.
At that time, a career in the army was a common destiny for the young men of the upper class, which is why, at the age of 14, Güemes entered the Fixed Regiment of Buenos Aires, stationed in Salta. His military training included the reconnaissance of the province’s whole territory, which he did on horse through different geographical regions, from the exuberant jungle to the arid Puna desert. When he turned 20, he was stationed in Buenos Aires, where he took part in the city’s defence during the English invasions of 1806 and 1807.
After the May Revolution, Güemes joined the patriot army. At that time, from his barracks in Humahuaca and then Tarija, he used to stir rural people in favour of independence and his impetuosity started to gain popularity.
In 1814, the Army of the North had been weakened by two crushing defeats. The royalist troops had made their way to Salta and repeatedly sacked the city for cattle and horses. Abandoned by the patriot troops, some landowners organised the resistance by forming voluntary militias with the gauchos, whom they led with bravery.
General San Martín was appointed to train the battered army and improve the soldiers’ morale. Realising that Güemes was a clever army man, with a great knowledge of the terrain and the people’s idiosyncrasy, he entrusted him with the safeguard of the shore of the Pasaje River.
Güemes’ influence and charisma were so evident that the local leaders with their erratic troops were rapidly disciplined under his command and he became the only undisputed chief of the militias. On the other hand, more gauchos joined these bands in the hope of being socially vindicated against the arbitrariness of the Spanish rule and the class system of the colony.
The victories gained in sudden attacks on the royalists confirmed the success of Güemes’ strategy, which was based on the continuous harassment of the enemy through guerrilla tactics and the apparent retreat with ground razing. In every hut, in every hillock, in every grove, in every bend of the road there were eyes that spied for him; his troops of mounted rebels attacked in the least expected places and vanished in the mountains as quickly as they had appeared.
His military prestige increased and in 1815 the “Cabildo” (City Hall) appointed him Provincial Governor of Salta, office which he would hold until 1820. In that year, Martín Miguel married Carmen Puch, “the prettiest girl in Salta”, a charming 18-year-old woman with whom he had two children. It is said that when Carmencita lost her beloved husband, she died of sorrow.
Meanwhile, several centres that reacted against the abusive centralism of Buenos Aires had appeared in the United Provinces. Such dissidence would eventually lead to a civil war. Because of these differences, Güemes’ power made the authorities of Buenos Aires uneasy. They tried to weaken him, but the caudillo did not yield and disobeyed orders. Güemes’ ideals had nothing in common with those of the separatist caudillos: he fought for the organisation of the nation and believed in a continental emancipation campaign.
In 1816, after the declaration of independence of the United Provinces and the retreat of the Army of the North, the newly-appointed Supreme Director granted him the responsibility of defending the ungarrisoned border only with his forces.
However, Governor Güemes’ troops at the time – according to an official report by Manuel Belgrano – “were naked, starved and penniless.” Without resources, Güemes clamoured for financial support, but Buenos Aires, which was involved in political disagreements, and all the other provinces, declared themselves unable to make any material contribution.
After more than 10 years of uninterrupted wars, the province of Salta had sunk into extreme poverty. Despite this, Güemes was forced to extract the needed resources to continue the struggle from its inhabitants. He took merciless measures which had a direct impact on the affluent class, which was made to contribute with war loans, could no longer collect leases from those men who fought in the gaucho militias, in recognition of their services to the country, and could no longer trade with the provinces in Alto Perú.
On the other hand, the elite was appalled by the uprising of the peasants, which they considered to be politically dangerous and difficult to control. Many of those who had been respectful and obliging in the past had turned into unruly gauchos. To make matters even worse, their excesses and crimes remained unpunished, since they could not be brought to civil courts but had to stand trial before a court martial, which was the only judicial authority with jurisdiction over such cases.
Consequently, gauchos worshipped Güemes, whom they used to call “father of the poor”. Güemes protected them, praised them for their courage in battle, granted them equal rights and benefitted them with certain concessions which strengthened their loyalty.
On the contrary, the well-off had started regarding Güemes as a terribly inept caudillo who snatched the riches and possessions of decent people to support the idleness and passions of the armed peasantry. With their interests seriously harmed and all guarantees broken, they held him responsible for all their misfortunes and branded him as a traitor to his class, an anarchist and a tyrant. However, the more the upper class repudiated him, the more Güemes relied on the support of the popular sectors, resorting to demagogic measures which did nothing but intensify class feuds.
“Decent people hate me because I am on your side; because I have taken a few coins from them so that you can defend their own freedom giving your life for your country. And they hate you because they have realised you are determined not be humiliated or enslaved by them again. We are all free, and we have the same rights as children of this same Homeland, which we have rid from the Spanish yoke. Soldiers of the country, the time has come for you to be free and for your oppressors to be defeated forever!”
In 1820, after the liberation of Chile, General San Martín intended to carry out his continental plan advancing towards Perú. Once again, he recognised Güemes’ worth appointing him Commander-in-Chief of the Observation Army, and commanded him to cross into Alto Perú with his troops. In this way, they would fall upon Lima in coordinated attack and put an end to Spanish ruling.
However, a whirl of circumstances would prevent Güemes from fulfilling this goal, such as the lack of resources and support from the United Provinces, the threat of a new royalist attack and the continuous harassment from the governor of Tucumán, who had allied with the Salteñan landowners.
The latter ones, acting as officials of the Cabildo (City Hall) of Salta, ousted Governor Güemes from power and then, without delay or hesitation, offered their help to the enemy so as to kill him. On June 17th 1821, a royalist party entered the city under cover of darkness and unleashed a hail of bullets on Güemes, seriously wounding him. The commander of the gauchos died after a long agony and his death hurt intensely. The city burst into deep collective mourning. Barely a week after, his gauchos paid him due homage by defeating the royalist army and for ever driving the Spanish from Salta.
Martín Miguel de Güemes inspired both strict adherence and passionate hatred amongst his contemporaries. After years of oblivion, his figure was rescued and vindicated towards the beginning of the 20th century and entered the pantheon of national heroes, even though some official historians accepted him with reluctance.
The young general carved out a niche for himself as mythical figure and popular hero with typical attributes such as a charismatic personality, a noble and arrogant character, his consummate horsemanship, his generosity and righteousness. In addition to this, the loving husband, father of the poor and scourge of the rich was worshipped by his loyal gauchos, but violently and treacherously murdered in the prime of life.
Despite the legendary elements, the truth remains that, between 1816 and 1821, Güemes and his gauchos from Salta and Jujuy repelled seven royalist invasions. Under his command, the militias and the city bore the brunt of the war and made San Martín’s campaigns and the independence of the United Provinces (what nowadays we call Argentina) possible. His early death eventually proved decisive in the definite loss not only of the provinces of Alto Perú and Tarija, but also of the territory which up until that point had ensured the country’s connection to the Pacific Ocean through Atacama.
Güemes’ original contribution to the independent movement lied in the social dimension he attached to the revolution by summoning the common people to take part in such exploit. He was a lucid leader, a brilliant strategist, a man of strong convictions and commitment, a paradigm of tenacity and patriotism. He lives in the memory of the people, irrespective of their age and social class. Moreover, his figure still has the power to bring people together, whereas they are the descendants of his supporters or his detractors’ offspring. Undoubtedly, Güemes is the proud symbol of Salta’s character and an emblematic figure of our nation’s history.
