Operations plan

Plan de Operaciones
First page of the Operations plan.
Created	1810
Location	Unknown
Author(s)	Mariano Moreno
Signatories	Primera Junta
Purpose	Secret government platform for the Primera Junta

Operations plan (in Spanish, "Plan de Operaciones") is a secret document attributed to Mariano Moreno, that set harsh ways for the Primera Junta, the first de facto independent government of Argentina in the 19th century, to achieve its goals. Some historians consider it a literary forgery, and others consider it true.

According to historians who consider the document to be real, the need for it would have been the result of a meeting of Moreno, Manuel Belgrano, and Juan José Castelli, the latter two requesting Moreno to write it; by August 31, 1810, he proposed it to the whole Junta.

Mariano Moreno did not consider necessary to take any measures against absolutist monarchy itself. He thought that, in the wake of the events of the Peninsular War, the House of Bourbon had destroyed itself, and it would be enough to simply let it stay that way. The document states the need to defeat the royalist forces and therefore proposes many possible actions similar to those employed by Jacobins during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. It rejected the use of political moderation, considering that it would be dangerous during revolutionary times. It compared the South American revolution, still in its early steps, with the French and North American ones, and even the revolution in Spain itself, pointing that none of those relied solely in conspirations or secret meetings.

The document divides people into three main groups, loyals, open enemies and neutrals. It proposes to give privileges to the loyals, and fill the state offices with them, but using circumstancial honours rather than rushed promotions. Moreno made an exception with moderated supporters driven by a desire of honours or recognition, he considered that they may be useful at a later stage of the revolution, but not at the early ones.Peninsulars, on the other hand, should be carefully monitored, and punished at the slightest proof of action against the Junta; and executed when they were rich or influential. For this end, the Junta would need to create an espionage network. Top military or political personnel, such as enemy governors or generals, should be executed after their capture. This policy towards peninsulars is coherent with the actions taken against the Liniers counter-revolution, and similar to the one employed by Simón Bolívar in the North shortly after. In respect to the press, the document proposed to give broad press coverage to the news that may benefit the government and conceal the ones that may harm it.