Our History
On June 12, 1847, Government Tenure was created in San Antonio de los Baños. Lieutenant governors were small general captains with absolute faculties, in terms of the military, political, judicial, administrative and social spheres. One of the lieutenant governors of the Villa decided to create a group to fight the continuous robberies and crimes that were happening in the territory.
On June 11, 1858, the Lieutenant Governor of San Antonio de los Baños, Commander Alejandro Badiola y Lizarralde, elected on May 26 of that year, issued a measure to combat the frequent crimes. The group, dictated by Badiola, stated that all the neighbors had to appear on horseback or on foot, with machetes, volunteers or rural, with the weapons used by the Lieutenant or Cabo de Ronda, in the place where a crime occurred.
It was also his duty to warn quickly from farm to farm. The people in charge of the place where the crime was committed had to ring the bell to warn the others. The lieutenants and corporals would gather as many people as possible and move to the scene to capture the suspects. It was also pointed out that anyone who did not abide by the provisions had to pay a fine of 20 pesos and comply with the sanction, according to the laws.
As stated by José Rafael Lauzán in his book 'Historia Colonial Ariguanabense', the group of Commander Alejandro Badiola and Lizarralde did not have much effect. Banditry remained endemic in the countryside. The fundamental cause was the inequality and injustices that existed between the social classes of the time. There were many murders, assaults, robberies and fires, as well as many bands and bandits killed by the Civil Guard. Actually, the group organized by Badiola could not remedy this situation. When bells and fotutos were played, a confusion was formed, which the bandits took advantage of to escape.
