Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez

Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez (24 October 1845 – 9 January 1921) was the President of El Salvador from 10 June 1894 to 13 November 1898.[1] He was a key figure in the foundation of the short-lived Greater Republic of Central America in 1895.[2]

Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez
19th President of El Salvador
In office 10 June 1894 – 13 November 1898 Provisional President 10 June 1894 – 1 March 1895
Vice President	Prudencio Alfaro (1895–1898)
Preceded by	Carlos Ezeta
Succeeded by	Tomás Regalado
Personal details
Born	24 October 1845 Ilobasco, El Salvador
Died	9 January 1921 (aged 75) San Salvador, El Salvador
Nationality	Salvadoran
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Carlota Mejía
Children	8
Mother	Marcela Gutiérrez
Occupation	Military, politician
Military service
Allegiance	El Salvador
Branch/service	Salvadoran Army
Years of service	? – 1894
Rank	General
Battles/wars	First Totoposte War Revolution of the 44

Early life

Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez was born in Ilobasco, Cabañas, El Salvador on 24 October 1845.[1] His father was a Spaniard and his mother was Marcela Gutiérrez.[1] His wife was Carlota Mejía and had eight children: Rafael Antonio, Carlos, Carlota, Tulio, Marcela, Rosa, Bernardo, and María.[1] His daughter Marcela married a son of Fernando Figueroa, another Salvadoran general who served as President of El Salvador provisionally in 1885 and officially from 1907 to 1911.[1][3]

Presidency

Rise to power

On 9 June 1894, Gutiérrez, along with several other military officers, overthrew incumbent President Carlos Ezeta in a coup d'état known as the Revolution of the 44 with assistance from Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.[4][5][6] He became Provisional President of the nation on 10 June 1894.[1] He became the official President of El Salvador on 1 March 1895 and selected Prudencio Alfaro to be his Vice President.[1][7]

Izalco land disputes

On 1 June 1895, Simeón Morán, a partidor, and 150 comuneros signed a petition to Gutiérrez to allow the indigenous community of Asunción to take more time in partitioning their land to Dolores, requested a surveyor to assist in the partition, and requested that the local governor nullifies partitions in Rincón del Tigre.[8] A separate petition, signed by 120 comuneros, stated that Luciano Argueta, another partidor, had the actual authority over the land being partitioned and requested him to be the surveyor, as he had been an administrator since 1890.[8] The system of partidores and comuneros on Izalco land was established in 1881 and 1882 under President Rafael Zaldívar in an attempt to "stimulate investment in commercial agriculture" and "create a class of entrepreneurial peasants and farmers," but the system took land away from Izalco indigenous people which caused tensions.[8][9][10][11][12]

Morán filed two complaints against Argueta accusing him of selling land in 1896, with the second complaint specifying that he sold a combined 202 hectares of land to Abraham Castillo Mora and Eliseo Godines, a Salvadoran military officer and a local judge.[13] In 1897, Gutiérrez decreed that Morán's partition was invalid and he was removed as a partidor.[14] He was later jailed for several illegal actions he carried out between 1881 and 1886.[14]

Later years of presidency

Gutiérrez supported and was directly involved in the management of the University of El Salvador.[5] He revived the University Council that was abolished during Ezeta's presidency.[15] He faced protests from university students in 1897 which lead him to have the university expel any students who spoke out against him or university officials.[5] On 28 September 1898, he issued a decree that would grant the university more autonomy from the government and was signed by Minister of Public Instruction Francisco Gavidia, but the bill never went into effect.[5]

Gutiérrez was a supporter of a Central American union and signed the Pact of Amapala with Honduras and Nicaragua on 20 June 1895 what established the Greater Republic of Central America.[2] The union did not last long however, as he was overthrown in a coup d'état led by General Tomás Regalado, who helped him rise to power in 1894, on 13 November 1898 that lead to the collapse of the Greater Republic of Central America on 29 November 1898.[5][6][16][17]

Death

Gutiérrez died on 9 January 1921, aged 75, in Barrio San Jacinto, San Salvador, El Salvador.[1]

See also

• President of El Salvador

References

1. "Presidentes de El Salvador – General Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez" [Presidents of El Salvador – General Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
2. Slade 1917, pp. 210–211
3. "Presidentes de El Salvador – General Fernando Figueroza" [Presidents of El Salvador – General Fernando Figueroza] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
4. Flores Macal 1976, p. 122
5. Editorial Universitaria 2013, p. 34
6. Lauria-Santiago 1999, pp. 521–522
7. Lauria-Santiago 1999, p. 510
8. Lauria-Santiago 1999, p. 511
9. Lauria-Santiago 1999, p. 504
10. Burns 1984, p. 300
11. Burns 1984, p. 302
12. Beverley 1982, p. 57
13. Lauria-Santiago 1999, pp. 511–512
14. Lauria-Santiago 1999, pp. 513–514
15. Editorial Universitaria 2013, pp. 33–34
16. Slade 1917, p. 214
17. Lauria-Santiago 1999, p. 519

Bibliography

• Beverley, John (1982). "El Salvador". Social Text. Duke University Press (5): 55–72. doi:10.2307/466334. JSTOR 466334.
• Burns, E. Bradford (April 1984). "The Modernization of Underdevelopment: El Salvador, 1858–1931". The Journal of Developing Areas. College of Business, Tennessee State University. 18 (3): 293–316. JSTOR 4191260.
• Editorial Universitaria, ed. (January–March 2013). "VI. La Universidad Durante el Periodo Liberal del Dr. Rafael Zaldívar" [VI. The University During the Liberal Period of Dr. Rafael Zaldívar]. La Universidad – 172 Años de Identidad Universitaria [The University – 172 Years of University Identity] (PDF) (in Spanish). 20. San Salvador, El Salvador: University of El Salvador. pp. 29–34. ISSN 0041-8242. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
• Flores Macal, Mario (1976). "Historia de la Universidad de El Salvador". Anuario de Estudios Centroamericanos. University of Costa Rica (2): 107–140. JSTOR 25661573.
• Lauria-Santiago, Aldo A. (August 1999). "Land, Community, and Revolt in Late-Nineteenth-Century Indian Izalco, El Salvador". The Hispanic American Historical Review. Duke University Press. 79 (3): 495–534. JSTOR 2518288.
• Slade, William F. (October 1917). "The Federation of Central America". The Journal of Race Development. Clark Univeristy. 8 (2): 204–276. doi:10.2307/29738239. hdl:2027/inu.30000056731338. JSTOR 29738239.