Constructions of the gaucho as vagrant and idle and as a born criminal: Portraits of Juan Moreira (Argentina, 19th and 20th centuries)

Abstract

This article examines aspects of the discourse of power by which the figure of the Argentine gaucho was labeled as a “vagrant and idle” subject, based on the study of the archetypical Juan Moreira. In particular, the article explores analyses carried out decades after his death, influenced by the theories of Cesare Lombroso and Nicola Pende. Born in 1829 and killed at the hands of the police in 1874, Moreira became an emblematic personality of local folklore. Although his life has been the subject of extensive literary analysis, largely focused on the publication of Eduardo Gutiérrez’s novelistic portrayal, there has not been as much focus on the attempt to validate scientifically his stigmatization using the theories of these Italian thinkers. This text, therefore, explores readings of Juan Moreira carried out during the 20th century by two doctors, José Ingenieros and Nerio Rojas. In methodological terms, triangulation techniques were used, taking as vertices the legislation in place at that time, the interpretations of his life made through his transformation into a literary and film character, and finally, the aforementioned psychodiagnostic evaluations based on the integration of hypothetical environmental and innate characteristics.