▁wars ▁in ▁which ▁ca ud ill os , ▁or ▁military ▁strong men ▁emer ged ▁in ▁control ▁of ▁the ▁provinces , ▁fighting ▁for ▁a ▁liberal ▁and ▁central ized ▁Un itar ian ▁country ▁or ▁a ▁more ▁conserv ative ▁and ▁decent ral ized ▁Federal ist ▁organization ▁for ▁the ▁new ▁republic . ▁ ▁These ▁strugg les ▁continued ▁throughout ▁Ben av í de z ' s ▁life , ▁and ▁he ▁was ▁to ▁be ▁an ▁important ▁player . ▁ ▁Early ▁years ▁ ▁José ▁Naz ario ▁Ben av í de z ▁was ▁born ▁on ▁ 2 7 ▁July ▁ 1 8 0 2 , ▁son ▁of ▁Pedro ▁Ben av í de z ▁and ▁Ju ana ▁Paul ina ▁Bal m ased a , ▁in ▁the ▁city ▁of ▁San ▁Juan . ▁▁ ▁His ▁father ▁was ▁of ▁Chile an ▁origin ▁while ▁his ▁mother ▁was ▁from ▁San ▁Juan . ▁ ▁Both ▁were ▁C ri oll os , ▁of ▁Spanish ▁ancest ry , ▁but ▁they ▁were ▁not ▁wealth y . ▁Naz ario ▁learned ▁to ▁read ▁and ▁write , ▁but ▁had ▁no ▁higher ▁education . ▁ ▁He ▁worked ▁in ▁the ▁fields ▁and ▁helped ▁care ▁for ▁the ▁animals . ▁At ▁the ▁age ▁of ▁sevent een ▁Naz ario ▁began ▁working ▁as ▁a ▁car rier , ▁taking ▁loads ▁of ▁goods ▁by ▁m ule ▁train ▁and ▁travel ing ▁widely ▁in ▁the ▁other ▁provinces . ▁Naz ario ▁Ben av í de z ▁later ▁obtained ▁a ▁job ▁man aging ▁an ▁ag u ard iente ▁dist illery . ▁In ▁October ▁ 1 8 2 1 ▁his ▁elder ▁brother ▁Juan ▁Alberto ▁Ben av í