From the argentine and colombian constitutions of the first half of the nineteenth century, this article presents a comparative study about the clash between centralists and federalists, and the triumph of federalism as a form of state organization that provided the basis for legitimizing processes of political and administrative consolidation of both nations at that historical moment.Enviado el (Submission date): 21/01/2015Aceptado el (Acceptance date): 17/04/2015