Antonio Beruti

Who was Antonio Beruti?

Antonio Luis Beruti was an Argentine revolutionary who participated in the May Revolution that started the Argentine War of Independence, and later fought in the Argentine civil wars.

Born in Buenos Aires, Beruti was educated in Spain. After concluding his studies, he returned to Argentina and joined the nascent independence movement, which he helped to organize. Along with Domingo French, he led a group of revolutionaries known as the Chisperos, who played a pivotal role in the Semana de Mayo, the week beginning on May 18, 1810, which culminated in the May Revolution. Along with French, he distributed white and blue ribbons to the populace, so that patriots could distinguish themselves from royalists.

In the Cabildo Abierto of May 22, he voted for the deposition of the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros and was the most fervent opposer to a Junta presided over by him. He was quoted as saying: "A Junta presided over by Cisneros is the same as Cisneros' viceroyalty". On May 25, he confronted the members of the Cabildo to demand the abolition of the Viceroyalty and the election of a new junta.