The old government house on the south side and Radisson Hotel on the north frame the square’s main feature, a 17 meter high equestrian statue of Uruguay’s version of San Martin, Jose Gervasio Artigas. Below ground, a 24-hour guard watches over Artigas’ remains. Artigas had been a soldier of the colonial guard, which watched over the western Uruguayan borders protecting from the odd Indian or Portugese. With the rebellion of 25 May 1810 in BsAs, similar sentiments came over to this side of the river. In 1811, Artigas was commissioned in the patriot army, in BsAs, and returned to lead the fight in the Banda Oriental, slowly moving on the royalist center here in Montevideo. Artigas became a very popular figure much to the dismay of the Unitarians in BsAs. After several twists and turns, Artigas – with help from BsAs – captured Montevideo in 1814. He had always hoped for a confederation of equal provinces and became a leading voice for Federalism. The Unitarian launched a couple of forays across the river at him, which he defeated, and he proclaimed Uruguay, Entre Rios, Corrientes and Santa Fe to be the League of Free Peoples of the Littoral with himself as Protector. Not a dictator in the true sense of the word, he preferred to work through local cabildos. He is best known for his attempts to break up large haciendas to give unused lands to some of his humble followers, but what really scared the porteno Unitarians was his naïve belief that government by the people should include everyone – even the lower classes and Indians. The people in BsAs were only to glad to see the Portugese invade Uruguay in 1816, watching as Artigas finally fled Uruguay in 1820 living the last 30 years of his life in a Paraguayan exile.