Bernabé Aráoz

Bernabé Aráoz (1776 – 24 March 1824) was a governor of Tucumán Province in what is now Argentina during the early nineteenth century, and President of the short-lived Republic of Tucumán.

Aráoz came from a wealthy and influential family in the northern province of Tucumán in the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, and was a leader of the local militia. In 1810 he supported the May Revolution in which the leaders in Buenos Aires declared independence from the Napoleonic regime in Spain. He played a decisive role in the crucial Battle of Tucumán fought in 1812 against the royalists, and was made governor of his province.

The political situation became confused by a violent dispute between the Unitarian and Federalist parties. The Unitarians wanted a centralized form of government while the Federalists, with whom Aráoz sided, wanted greater local autonomy. The conflict degenerated into chaotic factional fighting at the same time as the struggle for independence. During a period when the central government had broken down, Aráoz declared that his province was a republic with himself as President. The next year he was deposed, but later came back as governor for another term. He was deposed again, forced into exile, arrested, brought back and executed without trial by a firing squad.