Let's now look at what the institutions in question proposed. If we look at the Spanish group, three main institutions—outside of clubs and banks—developed in America: Benevolent Societies, Mutual Aid Societies, and Regional Centers. According to one view, the first ethnic institutions emerged as a response or solution from the most privileged segment of the emigration population, to address the imbalances produced by the migration phenomenon itself, and in the face of the absolute lack of any public alternative to meet the most pressing social needs. But they were not the only response to such contingencies; the less fortunate, yet more numerous, segments of the immigrant population provided their own response almost simultaneously, based on solidarity and mutual aid: the Mutual Aid Societies. According to Llordén Miñambres, a scholar on the subject, only a minority of the emigrants who arrived in America managed to achieve a comfortable economic position or become wealthy, while the vast majority of those exiled were affected by the significant imbalances generated by emigration. We know, although this is not the place to discuss these issues, that any generalization regarding the final results of emigration to America—without taking into account circumstances, specific occupations, or limited geographical areas—has led to erroneous results.
On the other hand, to think that the less fortunate sectors of the emigration banded together to satisfy themselves with means that the Argentine state did not provide is a vision that is anything but idyllic. Regardless of the governing board—and ethnic group—of those institutions one looks at, their members were individuals who had achieved, if not a very comfortable position, at least escaped from the sector categorized as less fortunate. But let's return to what those institutions offered. The inefficient solution offered by mutual societies, besides being exclusively focused on cases of genuine poverty, was usually limited to small monetary aid for unemployment, medical assistance, and short-term hospitalizations; the repatriation of those evicted or undesirable; and the organization of burials and funerals for deceased compatriots.
Let's consider for a moment the assistance packages offered by mutual societies. Until 1880/90, they must have worked well in large cities like Rosario or Buenos Aires, but with difficulty in towns the size of Tandil or Lobería, where there were only one or two doctors for the entire population. In Tandil, the first doctor in the region would not be established until 1864. His work soon became notable not only for the advancement of his practice over traditional quackery, but also through hygiene and sanitation measures, as reflected, for example, in the provisions adopted by the Municipality during the cholera epidemic of 1868/69. From then on, new physicians joined the ranks (Peré, Lizarralde, Fidanza, and Celá). It wasn't until 1880 that the San Juan Asylum was established, founded by a local Masonic lodge, for the free treatment of the sick. This establishment lacked the adequate means to carry out its work, as the local newspaper would constantly point out. We believe that, in terms of medicine, in those towns, natives and immigrants alike went without distinction to wherever the few existing physicians were found, and that the Mutual Aid societies to which they belonged would cover the costs incurred.
Now, if Basques could go—without much choice—to consult a doctor; if their lack of credit was overcome by a loan from a neighbor, a merchant, or a hotelier; and if, as we will see later, they could remain in the same hotel for rest or even watch over a relative, paying for the service when they could, it is not difficult to understand why the greater emphasis was placed on the success of social services—for example, pilgrimages—by those institutions in inland areas.
We must therefore consider and clarify what the Basques' sense of belonging to their community has been during our study period. One can easily imagine that, given the founding date of the Basque centers in Montevideo (1875) and Buenos Aires (1877), the main motivation must have come from the political sphere, precisely from the loss of the Second Carlist War. However, although this is partly true, other authors warn that the idea has been ed—without further investigation—of an almost axiomatic consolidation of the idea that the Basque nationalist movement founded and organized by Sabino de Arana had a pioneering presence in the Basque colonies of America, almost at the same time—or even before—that Arana was taking his first steps in Bizkaia. Nationalism among Basque Americans should not be dated before 1903. A series of events, such as suggestive spelling changes (La Vasconia for La Baskonia), some publications such as Irrintzi, and the arrival of a group of nationalists in these lands, are then concrete elements of their presence. From this it follows that previously—and possibly many subsequently—Basques participated indiscriminately in Spanish and French institutions. Despite this, attempts—albeit in the minority—to "construct" a collective Basque identity in the Río de la Plata region (we are referring to names of institutions such as Laurak Bat or Zazpiak Bat) occurred simultaneously, if not before, the first nationalist movements in the Basque Country.
We can safely say that until well into the 20th century, only a Basque minority—concentrated in parts of the capital or Rosario—failed to participate in Spanish or French institutions, even those belonging to other regions of the Basque Country itself. The indiscriminate participation of Basques in these institutions was a reality in almost all parts of the province of Buenos Aires. In Lobería, for example, the Spanish Mutual Aid Association was founded on January 4, 1894; its first committee was composed of Fermín Elizate (President); Juan Jaureguizar (Treasurer); Canuto Bilbao (Secretary); among other Spaniards. While the French Society of Mutual Aid was founded on July 14, 1908, with Juan Soharnet, Juan Uranga and Bernardo Laborde among its founders.