Juan Facundo Quiroga
| Facundo Quiroga | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Fernando García del Molino.
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| 3º governor of La Rioja | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1788 La Rioja, Argentina |
| Died | February 16, 1835 (aged 46–47) Barranca Yaco, Córdoba, Argentina |
| Resting place | La Recoleta Cemetery |
| Nationality | Argentina |
| Political party | Federal |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | El Tigre de los Llanos |
| Allegiance | Argentine Confederation |
| Battles/wars | Desert Campaign (1833–34) |
Juan Facundo Quiroga (1788 – February 16, 1835) was an Argentine caudillo (military strongman) who supported federalism at the time when the country was still in formation.
Quiroga was born in San Antonio, La Rioja, the son of a traditional but impoverished Riojan family of cattle breeders. He was sent at a young age to San Juan to be educated. Early in his life, he became a problem child, and escaped from school. During his wandering in the desert between San Juan and La Rioja, he encountered and killed a cougar, earning him the nickname El Tigre de los Llanos ("the Tiger of the Plains", after the Llanos, the region of his birth).
After the May Revolution proclaimed the self-rule of the country, Quiroga tried to enter the independentist army. He travelled to San Luis to enter the Granaderos a Caballo Regiment, led by General José de San Martín. He was imprisoned and eventually expelled due to his bad temper.
He moved back to La Rioja and became a businessman until 1820. That year the central government of Buenos Aires fell, and the province became autonomous.
Quiroga entered the provincial army and quickly rose to its command, gaining control of the government through his charisma. During the time of the Constitutional Congress of 1824, Quiroga led its forces through the Andean provinces to oppose the centralist tendencies of President Bernardino Rivadavia and the officers of the National Army, which were carrying away a compulsory levy for the upcoming Cisplatine War (1825–1827). Thus, under the flag of Religión o Muerte (Religion or Death), he overthrew the centralist government of San Juan shortly after the central government signed a treaty with Britain by which religious freedom was established.
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