Esfera pública y juegos de azar: del meeting contra el juego al allanamiento de domicilio privado. Prensa, parlamento y policía en Buenos Aires (1901-1902)

on september the 29th, 1901, a meeting against gambling was held in buenos aires: about 5,000 people attended the plaza de mayo and demanded that the president of the republic repressed games of chance in urban environments. this meeting against gambling provides grounds for an inquiry regarding the role the media plays in the organization of such events, which start as morality issues and provide evidence that not all initiatives that begin in the heart of the public opinion are meant to conquer a wider set of rights. parliamentary discussions that arose from this meeting are also interesting since -after long months- they lead to the sanction, in 1902, of the gambling repression law , which makes the raiding of private homes by police forces legal.