“The Slaughter House” by Esteban Echeverría 

1. What is the Biblical story at the beginning of the narration? Why is it there?

2. How does Echeverría describe the social classes in the story? The Catholic Church? The political parties?

3. What disasters hit Buenos Aires and what do they lead to?

4. What does the bull represent?

5. How does the capture of the bulls represent a triumph over the Unitarios?

6. Who does Matasiete represent in the story?

7. Who does the young Unitarian represent?

8. What is the people’s opinion of the Restaurer?

9. What does the “slaughterhouse” symbolize?  

Historical Background as context for the story:

The most destructive war for Argentina during the early years of Argentine Independence was fought inside its borders, between its two largest political parties, both attempting to gain control of the government. They were the Federalists and the Unitarians. 

The Federalists were composed of the Caudillos, strongmen who lived and ruled outside the cities. They controlled great lands and did not want to take part in any form of central government because as they saw it, this would limit their power. They were supported by their own private armies of men from the Pampas as well as the great mass of urban poor, particularly by those of mixed racial descent and by those of African blood, as well as by the Catholic Church.

The Unitarians were made up of the intellectual urban class and the old Creole families who were able to trace their origins to the first Spanish colonists. They wanted a strong central government that would bring civilization to the provinces. Due to the influence of Europe due to travels there, they desired to impose European ideas and to establish a liberal order to society, something abhorred by those that inhabited the interior of the country. They were supported mainly by the urban middle class, such as business people and professionals .

Juan Manuel de Rosas was born in 1793 to an aristocratic Creole family. He renounced the privileges of his class and grew up among the gauchos on the lands of his family’s estate. He converted into an authentic gaucho and by extension into a Federalist. Taking advantage of the chaos and anarchy of the Argentina of his time, and through a combination of political intrigues, war, cruelty and assassinations, he proclaimed himself dictator with unlimited power.

Rosas and the Federalists exercised absolute and unlimited power in Argentina. They extended their program of extermination of the indigenous peoples to include the Unitarians. It is estimated that Rosas executed more than 22,000 political rivals during his dictatorship. Esteban Echevarría, author of “The Slaughthouse” was also one of the most important Unitarian leaders and had formed the Asociación de Mayo also known as La Joven Argentina in opposition to Rosas.  He and others were forced to flee Buenos Aires and later Argentina due to the brutal persecution of Rosas’s government. It was during his exile that Echevarría wrote his short story.

Rosas’s dictatorship lasted until 1852 when his army was defeated by anti-Rosas forces and with the armies of Brazil and Uruguay. Rosas spent the rest of his life in exile in England and died in 1877.  Echevarría never knew of Rosas’s defeat as he had died in exile the previous year in Montevideo.

Also see Domingo Sarmiento's work titled Facundo (Juan Facundo Quiroga)