Pedro Goyena (1843–1892) was an influential Argentine jurist, politician, and writer who became one of the leading voices of Catholic traditionalism in nineteenth-century Argentina. Born in Buenos Aires, he completed his education at the Colegio Nacional Central before earning a law degree from the University of Buenos Aires. Throughout his career, Goyena distinguished himself as an eloquent orator and a fierce opponent of the secularizing reforms championed by the dominant "Generation of '80" political elite, led by President Julio A. Roca.
Goyena's public life was defined by his defense of Catholic principles in education and civil law. During the Pedagogical Congress of 1882, he engaged in a historic debate with Leandro Alem, arguing that public education must remain Catholic. He strongly opposed the landmark Public Education Law #1420 of 1884, which established free, secular, and mandatory schooling, as well as the Civil Matrimony Law of 1888, asserting that only marriages recognized by the Catholic Church should be legally valid.
As a writer and journalist, Goyena utilized the press to disseminate his ideas. He taught Roman law at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and contributed to prominent publications, including Revista Argentina and La Unión, the latter of which he co-edited with fellow Catholic thinkers José Manuel Estrada and Tristán Achával Rodríguez. In 1885, he became the First Vice President of the Catholic Union. Shortly before his death in 1892, his opposition to secular liberalism led him to join the heterogeneous opposition coalition known as the Unión Cívica.