Patagonia Rebelde

Quick Facts: Who was Patagonia Rebelde?

Subject:

Patagonia Rebelde

Known for:

The 1920-1922 workers' uprising and violent suppression in Argentine Patagonia.

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Origins & Early Life

Patagonia Rebelde (or Patagonia Trágica) ("Rebel Patagonia" or "Tragic Patagonia" in English) was the name given to the uprising and violent suppression of a rural workers' strike in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz in Patagonia between 1920 and 1922. The uprising was put down by Colonel Héctor Benigno Varela's 10th Cavalry Regiment of the Argentine Army under the orders of President Hipólito Yrigoyen. Approximately 300-1,500 rural workers were shot and killed by the 10th Cavalry Regiment in the course of the operations, many of them executed by firing squads after surrendering. Most of the executed were Spanish and Chilean workers who had sought refuge in Argentina's Patagonia after their strike in the city of Puerto Natales in southern Chile in 1919 was crushed by the Chilean authorities, at the cost of four carabiniers killed and the offices of their union were burned down by the civilians, policemen and the militaries in Punta Arenas on 27 July 1920. At least two Argentine soldiers (privates Fernando Pablo Fischer and Domingo Montenegro), three local policemen (sergeant Tomás Rosa and constables Ernesto Bozán and Juan Campos) and a number of ranch owners and their relatives also died during the strife.

Career & Major Achievements

According to the versions well publicized by the army and the landowners, several of the captured women were raped in the uprising as the rebel forces fought for control of the territory. These versions have been disputed by leftist scholar Ernesto Bohoslavsky. The most detailed narrative of these events is that by Argentine journalist Osvaldo Bayer (1972, below), summarized in English by Bruce Chatwin in 1976. The Federación Obrera de Magallanes was born in the early 1910 in Punta Arenas, capital of the Chilean Territory of Colonization of Magallanes and economic metropolis of southern Patagonia. The multinational union extended throughout the region and led the formation of the Sociedad Obrera de Río Gallegos (Workers' Society of Rio Gallegos) in the Argentinean National Territory of santa Cruz, directed by the Spanish anarchist Antonio Soto, known as the Gallego Soto.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Santa Cruz was a center of wool production for export, with large estates and English meat processing plants. The low demand of wool inventories, which had been accumulated at the end of the First World War, and the fall of the price from $9.74 to $3.08, thus returning to the normal level of quotation in times of peace, gave rise to a regional crisis. This affected landowners and merchants, but had an even greater impact on wool workers and rural laborers, who were living in miserable conditions. With the end of the war, the price of exports of Patagonian raw materials fell. The normal working day of the workers of that time was 12 hours, that of the shearers and muleteers was around 16 hours; wages were minimal and were often paid in bonds or in foreign currency which when exchanged in the stores was taken for a lower value.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1910: 1910 Milestone — The Federación Obrera de Magallanes was born in the early 1910 in Punta Arenas, capital of the Chilean Territory of Colonization of Magallanes and economic metropolis of southern Patagonia.
2. 1919: 1919 Milestone — Most of the executed were Spanish and Chilean workers who had sought refuge in Argentina's Patagonia after their strike in the city of Puerto Natales in southern Chile in 1919 was crushed by the Chilean authorities, at the cost of four carabiniers killed and the offices of their union were burned down by the civilians, policemen and the militaries in Punta Arenas on 27 July 1920.
3. 1920: 1920 Milestone — Patagonia Rebelde (or Patagonia Trágica) ("Rebel Patagonia" or "Tragic Patagonia" in English) was the name given to the uprising and violent suppression of a rural workers' strike in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz in Patagonia between 1920 and 1922.
4. 1972: 1972 Milestone — The most detailed narrative of these events is that by Argentine journalist Osvaldo Bayer (1972, below), summarized in English by Bruce Chatwin in 1976.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Patagonia Rebelde

True or False: “The primary cause of the Patagonia Rebelde was solely the desire for better wages, with no underlying economic factors involved.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While wage improvements were a key demand, the uprising was fundamentally rooted in a regional economic crisis caused by the sharp fall in global wool prices after World War I.

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