'Federales' was the name under which the supporters of
federalism in
Argentina were known, opposing the
Unitarios that pretended a centralised government of
Buenos Aires Province, with no participation of the other
provinces of the custom taxes benefits of the Buenos Aires port.
The ''Federales'' supported the autonomy of the provincial governments and the distribution of external commerce taxes among the provinces.
In general, the Federals were provincial governors and leaders, some of which became
caudillos, such as
Juan Facundo Quiroga.
The several armed conflicts between ''Federales'' and ''Unitarios'' that started after the
May Revolution of 1810 diminished with
Justo José de Urquiza's defeat over
Juan Manuel de Rosas at the
Battle of Caseros in 1852, and ended in 1862 when
Bartolomé Mitre was named
president.