"facundo" begins with a geographical description of argentina, from the andes in the west to the eastern atlantic coast, where two main river systems converge at the boundary between argentina and uruguay. this river estuary, called the rio de plata, is the location of buenos aires, the capital. through his discussion of argentina's geography, sarmiento demonstrates buenos aires' advantages; the river systems were communications arteries which, by enabling trade, helped the city to achieve civilization. buenos aires failed to spread civilization to the rural areas and as a result, much of the rest of argentina was doomed to barbarism. sarmiento also argues that the "pampas", argentina's wide and empty plains, provided "no place for people to escape and hide for defense and this prohibits civilization in most parts of argentina". despite the barriers to civilization caused by argentina's geography, sarmiento argues that many of the country's problems were caused by "gauchos" like juan manuel de rosas, who were barbaric, uneducated, ignorant, and arrogant; their character prevented argentine society's progress toward civilization. sarmiento then describes the four main types of "gaucho" and these characterizations aid in understanding argentine leaders, such as juan manuel de rosas. sarmiento argues that without an understanding of these argentine character types, "it is impossible to understand our political personages, or the primordial, american character of the bloody struggle that tears apart the argentine republic".