Buenos Aires was represented by Peña, Tejedor and Antonio Cruz Obligado. The Confederation was represented by SenateVice PresidentTomás Guido, Urquiza, San Luis Province Governor Juan Esteban Pedernera, and Jujuy Province Governor Daniel Aráoz. The negotiations were guarded by Urquiza's forces, despite objections to this by Buenos Aires delegates. Urquiza, furthermore, demanded the resignation of Buenos Aires Governor Alsina and his cabinet. Faced with the threat of invasion, Alsina's government resigned, and he was replaced by Vice GovernorFelipe Llavallol. Following an impasse, General López succeeded in restarting talks on November 9, and on November 11,the Pact of National Union was signed.
Treaty and terms
The final text closely followed President Urquiza's stipulations, though with a number of concessions toward Buenos Aires. The principal terms were:
Buenos Aires was declared part of the Argentine Confederation.
The city government would convene a provincial convention to review and propose amendments to the National Constitution.
Any amendments would be discussed by a National Constitutional Convention, meeting in Santa Fe, with the participation of all provinces.
The territory of Buenos Aires could not be divided without the consent of the Provincial Legislature. This was prescient because of the Constitutional stipulation that the nation's capital was the city of Buenos Aires as a federal district; the creation of such as district would by definition separate it from the surrounding province.
Buenos Aires would forfeit any diplomatic relations.
The Province of Buenos Aires would retain all public properties and buildings, with the exception of the Customs, which would be nationalized.
Blanket amnesty would be declared for all participants in the past disputes, and for any actions pursuant to those disputes.
The occupying Argentine Army would withdraw from the Province of Buenos Aires.
Aftermath
The constitutional convention ultimately met on September 14, 1860, and approved the amendments outlined in the treaty on September 23. Elections on March 6, 1860, resulted in victory for the incumbent Federalist Party, electing Santiago Derqui and General Pedernera. The influence of the new governor of Buenos Aires, Bartolomé Mitre, on the Derqui presidency was strong, and Mitre obtained numerous important bills from Derqui, including an extension on the province's customs house concession and measures benefiting the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires, whose currency was authorized for use as legal tender at the customs house. These concessions would strain Derqui's relations with Urquiza, who had been returned as governor of Entre Ríos, though the enactment of the new constitution on October 8 temporarily placated ongoing tensions. This impasse continued until, on November 16, Domingo Sarmiento organized a revolt in his native San Juan Province, leading to Governor José Antonio Virasoro's murder and renewed hostilities. The insurrection spread to neighboring Córdoba Province, which the president attempted to quell by personally assuming the governor's post. The absence of the president from the nation's capital led to Mitre's abrogation of the Pact of San José de Flores and -inevitably- to renewed civil war. These hostilities culminated in the September 17, 1861, Battle of Pavón, and the victory on the part of Mitre and Buenos Aires over Urquiza's national forces. President Derqui resigned, and the national government was taken by Mitre who, despite victory, reaffirmed his commitment to the 1860 constitutional amendments and was to be elected the first president of the reunited Argentine Republic on September 4, 1862.
