Cárcano, Ramón José (1860–1946)

Ramón José Cárcano (b. 18 April 1860; d. 2 June 1946), Argentine politician and historian. Born and raised in, and long-time political chieftain of, the province of Córdoba, Cárcano was a remarkably successful conservative politician. Educated at the University of Córdoba, he affiliated with governors Antonio del Viso and Miguel Juárez Celman (the latter was elected president in 1886). Cárcano was elected to the national Congress in 1884 and two years later returned to Córdoba, where he occupied several key ministerial posts, including justice and education. Between 1890 and 1910 he devoted himself to teaching law and writing. Elected again to Congress in 1910, he returned to public life as one of the most respected politicians of the interior provinces. Cárcano was passed over repeatedly, though always in the running, as candidate for president. He was instrumental in the rise of President Roque Sáenz Peña, who promulgated the suffrage law of 1912. In 1913 he returned to Córdoba as governor and dominated the province for the next several decades. During his terms, he earned the reputation for sponsoring transportation and public works development. He also served as ambassador to Brazil (1933–1938). Cárcano wrote several classic accounts of mid-nineteenth-century Argentine politics and was twice president of the National Academy of History.

See alsoArgentina: The Nineteenth Century; Argentina: The Twentieth Century.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ramón José Cárcano, Del sitio de Buenos Aires al campo de Cepeda (1852–1859) (1921); Guerra del Paraguay, acción y reacción de la Triple Allianza (1941); and Mis primeros ochenta años (1945).

Natalio Botana, El orden conservador: La política argentina entre 1880 y 1916 (1977).

                                        Jeremy Adelman