As I am in danger, I beg you to inform me of your decision at once, as I must leave tomorrow. Speaking for myself, I am in favor of settling. —Gerónimo Stipicich.
In Río Gallegos, Stipicich will meet with Mauricio Braun, Alejandro Menéndez Behety, José Montes, Ibón Noya, Ernesto von Heinz, and other landowners. The ranchers propose that the workers elect a negotiating committee and that, if no agreement can be reached, a neutral arbitrator be designated. Stipicich returns to La Anita on January 26th.
The strikers agree, appointing a delegate to meet with the ranchers in Río Gallegos.
On Saturday, January 29th, 1921—months after being appointed—the new governor of Santa Cruz finally arrived in Río Gallegos. Yza’s first actions disappoint the hardliners. He dismisses Correa Falcón’s friends, retaining only those with no reputation for brutality. The curfew is the next to go.
That same day, he meets with the members of the Rural Society to look for a solution to the rural conflict. Stipicich returns, accompanied by the workers’ delegate. On Sunday, the ranchers hold a meeting in the presence of the governor. They approve a new list of conditions and unanimously elect Governor Yza as their arbitrator.
In their new offer, the ranchers accept nearly all of the workers’ demands. The article on the ranch delegates is worded as follows:
The employers agree to recognize labor associations as lawful organizations on the condition that they have been granted legal status. Workers are free to join said associations at their own discretion, as only the good conduct and competence of each individual will be taken into account by employers.
This offer was signed by all of the powerful landowners of Santa Cruz, including Mauricio Braun and Alejandro Menéndez Behety. A close reading of the ranchers’ offer shows the extent of the strike’s success—this agreement was without precedent in Argentina as a whole.
The governor immediately speaks with the workers’ delegate and proposes that he travel alongside two government representatives who will have the power to open formal negotiations with the strikers.
In the meantime, Varela receives orders for his troops to disembark from the Guardia Nacional in Puerto Santa Cruz rather than Río Gallegos. Yza continues to make decisions that don’t favor the landowners: he releases all of the workers who been arrested during the strike, including the controversial José María Borrero, who—despite the destruction of his printing press—immediately resumes his offensive against Correa Falcón and the men of the Rural Society.
The government commission that has gone to Lago Argentino in search of the strikers, and give them word of the ranchers’ offer fails to find them. This gives Varela the opportunity to propose his own solution, one that will later prove to be extremely controversial. The strikers have also drafted a new offer to bring to the discussion table:
Full recognition of the demands presented by the workers.
The workers will not be held responsible, either morally or materially, for any of the events that occurred during the strike.
The label of “bandits” that has been given to the workers must be formally retracted.
Any and all authorities who unjustly targeted workers must be dismissed.
The governor must guarantee that no reprisals of any kind will be taken against those workers who participated in the strike or no agreement will be possible.
But the absence of contact makes direct negotiations impossible. Varela and his troops reach Puerto Santa Cruz on February 2nd, 1921. Years later, Anaya will write about this moment:
The decision to disembark there was dictated by the possibility of the insurrection spreading north, as was expected, thus putting us in position to intercept them. Once the troops had been welcomed by the local authorities, the regiment’s commander easily gauged popular expectations, as well as the prevailing disorder and the lack of coordination between local authorities. These observations prompted him to press on towards Río Gallegos, accompanied by his aide-de-camp and one police officer.
Anaya has also told us that, during his trip to Río Gallegos, Varela does not meet with Yza but instead with Correa Falcón, who apparently painted an exaggerated portrait of the crimes of the strikers and the destruction caused by the conflict. Anaya adds that Varela, wishing to corroborate these claims, embarks on “a personal reconnaissance of the nearby ranches that were said to be looted and destroyed (but) those who abandoned their land were the first to provide information contradicting the official reports.”
Anaya’s writings are very important and must be remembered, as he will later contradict himself when justifying the executions to come. But if exaggerations were made regarding the behavior of the strikers during the first strike, who’s to say that the same thing won’t happen during the second strike as well?
It is only then that Varela meets with Yza, who has received “instructions from the federal government.” Anaya describes them as follows:
The instructions received by Governor Yza added little or nothing to what we already knew. But they did include a desire to avoid bloodshed at any cost and to peacefully resolve the conflict that was so damaging to the territory’s economy. It was a matter of some urgency for the business community in general and the governor in particular to ensure that the shearing go smoothly and for the governor to show himself to be a faithful servant of the president, whose pro-labor policies were well known.
The ranchers, who had been dreaming of a military solution that would solve the problem with saber blows, now realize that they had fallen into the Radical trap. On February 10th, they react with a furious telegram to the interior minister:
In the wake of the vandalism committed by the rebels, the territory’s residents feel obligated to remind Your Excellency of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The ranchers have authorized the Rural Society’s president to appoint Governor Yza as arbitrator on the understanding that he would reach a satisfactory arrangement with the good elements among the workers. Given the failure of his efforts and the continuing criminal attacks, we have called off our overtures to the strikers and have instead requested that Governor Yza strictly enforce the nation’s laws. We have been greatly dissatisfied with his decision to free the instigators and intellectual authors of this conflict, as it is public knowledge that the leaders of the revolt in the countryside are based in the capital. —Ibón Noya.
The ranchers have realized that Yza, as a good Radical, will give more weight to the opinions of his fellow party members. They are correct; Yza will principally listen to Judge Viñas. Besides, the governor—who wants to end the strike at all costs—has realized that the judge is the only one who the workers will obey. Yza will use the judge to contact two of the strike leaders—both friends of Viñas—who will be the ones to finally accept a settlement. They are also two of the only Argentines among the peons: Gaucho Cuello and El Paisano Bartolo Díaz.
They reach a temporary arrangement. No one will be taken prisoner and each worker will be given a safe conduct pass allowing them to return to work. Yza will be the arbitrator and will agree in principle to the workers’ offer. In exchange, to prevent the army and the governor from losing face, the workers will appear to unconditionally surrender their hostages, weapons, and horses to Varela.
Gaucho Cuello and El Paisano Díaz take this offer to El 68 and El Toscano, who angrily reject it, declaring that they will never surrender their weapons. So the decision goes to the assembly. El 68 and the Spaniard Graña speak against the offer. Cuello, Bartolo Díaz, the Paraguayan Jara and another Argentine by the name of Lara speak in favor. The chilotes vote to end the
