José Mariano de Salas (11 May 1797 – 24 December 1867) was a Mexican soldier and politician who served twice as interim
president of Mexico
The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...
, once in 1846, during the
Mexican American War
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
, and once in 1859 during the
War of Reform
The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...
.
He was a known partisan of
Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to:
* Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States
* Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas
* Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...
, and his first presidency was held in place for him, after the overthrow of
Mariano Paredes, while Santa Anna returned from an exile. Nonetheless, Salas still governed for a few months and energetically passed measures to unite the country and promote the war effort. At Santa Anna's behest, Salas also restored the
Constitution of 1824
The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 ( es, Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824) was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new Fr ...
, thus ending the
Centralist Republic of Mexico
The Centralist Republic of Mexico ( es, República Centralista de México), or in the anglophone scholarship, the Central Republic, officially the Mexican Republic ( es, República Mexicana), was a unitary political regime established in Mexico ...
which had been in effect since 1835.
His second presidency during the
Reform War
The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...
was much less eventful. After an election, he was assigned to the post while president-elect
Miguel Miramon
-->
Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to:
Places
*Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands
*São Miguel (disambi ...
arrived and only remained in power for a few days. As the
Second Mexican Empire
The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...
was being established in 1863, the Assembly of Notables elected him as part of the executive triumvirate that invited
Maximilian of Habsburg
Maximilian I (german: Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen, link=no, es, Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena, link=no; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who reigned as the only Emperor ...
to take the throne.
Early life
Mariano Salas was born in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
in 1797. After receiving his primary education, he joined the military and participated in the
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
as an infantry cadet in the ''Infantes de Puebla'' regiment. He initially on the side of the Spaniards, but he joined in the
Plan of Iguala
The Plan of Iguala, also known as The Plan of the Three Guarantees ("Plan Trigarante") or Act of Independence of North America, was a revolutionary proclamation promulgated on 24 February 1821, in the final stage of the Mexican War of Independenc ...
in 1821, and during the
First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, ...
sided with congress as it broke out into armed conflict against
Emperor Iturbide in 1823.
After the establishment of the
First Mexican Republic
The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic ( es, Primera República Federal, link=no), was a Federal republic, federated republic, under the Constitution of 1824. It was a nation-state officially designated the United M ...
, he defended the government of
Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria (; 29 September 178621 March 1843), born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and political leader who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He ...
against the insurgents in the
Plan of Montaño
A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal.
...
of 1827. He was in charge of the tenth battalion stationed in
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
when the Spanish attempted to invade Mexico in 1829, and he fought against that incursion, remaining with the garrison of Tampico el Alto until the Spanish departed. He joined in the
Plan of Jalapa against
Vicente Guerrero
Vicente Ramón Guerrero (; baptized August 10, 1782 – February 14, 1831) was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence. He fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and later served as ...
, but defended the subsequent government of
Anastasio Bustamante
Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as president of Mexico three times. He participated in the Mexican War of Independence initially as a royalist befo ...
when the San Luis Potosí militia rose up. During the Plan of Veracruz in 1832, he defended the government of Bustamante up until the end, but after his overthrow was an accomplished fact, he was willing to fight for adherence to the new government of
Manuel Gomez Pedraza
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Manu ...
.
During the
Centralist Republic of Mexico
The Centralist Republic of Mexico ( es, República Centralista de México), or in the anglophone scholarship, the Central Republic, officially the Mexican Republic ( es, República Mexicana), was a unitary political regime established in Mexico ...
he participated in the war against Texas and was present at the
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Ant ...
, and returned to
Matamors after the decisive defeat at San Jacinto. He defended the government against the federalist uprisings that were flaring up all over the nation during this time, and battled the federalist chief Mejia at the Hacienda of San Miguel La Blanca, in which Salas was wounded by bayonet and fractured a rib, but through which he was also promoted to brigadier general. During the Federalist Uprising of 1840 in which federalist rebels invaded the
National Palace Buildings called National Palace include:
*National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo
*National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador
*National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace
*National Palace (Guatema ...
and took the president hostage. He marched against the National Palace and went second in command of the government forces, Alcorta was wounded, Salas was designated to replace him.
Four years later he was named commandant general of Mexico and was one of the few individuals that remained loyal to Santa Anna when he was overthrown in 1844, for which he was removed by the triumphant rebels from his military posts. When
Mariano Paredes assumed the presidency in 1846, he returned him to the post of commandant general and he was named deputy to the constituent congress that was meant to meet later in the year and draft a new constitution.
Presidency
![Jose Mariano Salas Oleo (480x600)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Jose_Mariano_Salas_Oleo_%28480x600%29.png)
The Mexican American War broke out during Paredes’ presidency, and the first few months were filled with military disasters leading to a rise in opposition against the president. On August 4, 1846, Salas proclaimed a revolt against the government. The revolution had two aims: one was the return of Santa Anna and the convocation of an constituent congress for revising the constitution. Unable to suppress the revolt, Paredes had stepped down from the presidency and an arrangement was made with interim president
Nicolas Bravo
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
on 6 August, with Salas becoming the new president. He directed a manifesto to the nation, declared that all congressional laws shall remain in place, and annulled a law that had cut the salaries of public servants by a fourth. He released political prisoners, and offered jobs back to those who had been dismissed by the Paredes government. He wished to establish factories for the manufacture of cannon and also sought to gather funds for the war effort.
Santa Anna disembarked at
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
in August, and proclaimed his newfound support for the federal system, in spite of his founding role in and long support for the
Centralist Republic of Mexico
The Centralist Republic of Mexico ( es, República Centralista de México), or in the anglophone scholarship, the Central Republic, officially the Mexican Republic ( es, República Mexicana), was a unitary political regime established in Mexico ...
. Consequently, Salas proclaimed the reestablishment of the
Constitution of 1824
The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 ( es, Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824) was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new Fr ...
. He bought armaments for the military, and arranged an engineer corps. He prohibited political controversies in the official state newspaper, and permitted
Valentin Canalizo
Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...
, who had been banished with Santa Anna, to return to the country and offer his services for the war effort. Salas formed his cabinet out of liberals and Santa Anna supporters, including ex president
Valentin Gomez Farias
Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...
who now received the post of finance minister. Before accepting their posts, the ministers presented a plan for suppressing interior tolls, reforming autocratic laws, and promoting European immigration, but all based upon the continuation of the war supported by the union of the military and the people. Minister of War
Juan Almonte
Juan Nepomuceno Almonte Ramírez (May 15, 1803 – March 21, 1869) was a Mexican soldier, commander, minister of war, congressman, diplomat, and presidential candidate.
He was the natural son of José María Morelos, a leading commander during ...
asked the states to organize their national guards, set prices at which arms should be bought, and sent General Ampudia to Monterey.
Towards the end of August, a proposal for peace arrived from the American government through the intermediary of the governor of Veracruz. The American government advised President Salas to treat the annexation of Texas as an established, irrevocable fact. Salas decided to stall, and replied that he could not deal with the matter until congress met. Salas intended to continue the war and resolved to fire all civic servants and soldiers not collaborating with the war effort. All men between the ages of sixteen and fifty were called upon to fight. He removed all restrictions to the importation and sale of arms, and the manufacture of gunpowder. He called upon each state to contribute a contingent of thirty thousand soldiers, he named a commission to form the regulations for the national guard. He manufactured artillery and urged the governors to take advantage of their troops both active and retired.
The government was shocked by the capitulation of Monterey on 24 September 1846, all of its munitions having fallen into the hands of Zachary Taylor. Salas changed previous orders to fall back upon San Luis and gave out new orders that Saltillo be defended, an order that was ignored by a third of the relevant troops who had preferred to fall back upon San Luis and they arrived there towards the end of October, the rest of the troops fell back after being defeated. They were the remnants of the troops that had been defeated at Angostura and Cerro Gordo. They reformed and Santa Anna arrived to lead them against the Americans who were now in possession of the state of Nuevo León. President Salas continued to struggle in finding funds and decreed that all urban properties hand over a month of rent. Those who refused were to be imprisoned
Salas himself ceremonially joined a battalion of the national guard, and petitions arrived to his office urging him to stay in the presidency instead of holding the scheduled elections out of fear that the liberal front runner
Valentin Gomez Farias
Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...
who was known for his radical attempted reforms during his previous presidency in 1833, would return to the presidency. During this time Salas also invited bids from contractors seeking to install gas lighting in the capital.
Under the influence of the liberal party, President Salas replaced Minister Rejon with Lafragua. Minister Lafragua wished to establish academies of history and languages and also a public library, at the same time that the financial resources of the nation were being diverted to the war effort. Veracruz was blockaded, cutting off customs from the government, and the government offered to reduce customs to those ships that evaded the blockade. The poor course of the war produced opposition to Salas and to help prevent any sort of mutiny Santa Anna sent out a manifesto assuring that he stood behind the president. A law was passed to censor the press, and a National Academy of Painting was established.
Congress finally opened its sessions on 5 December 1846 at midnight, composed mostly of liberals. General Salas opened the session by lamenting the defeats that the military had faced, but expressed hope for the army of twenty thousand men that Santa Anna had gathered at San Luis Potosí. He expressed that he was completely behind continuing the war, and told congress that during great crises, one needed great efforts and virtues as had been shown during the
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
. He also expounded upon the peace proposals that had been forwarded to him by the American government. In December, voting by states and territories, the congress elected Santa Anna and Gomez Farias as president and vice-president respectively. They assumed power on the 24th.
Later life
After stepping down from the presidency, Salas served in the military and was taken prisoner by the Americans at Padierna in August 1847. He was released after the war ended. He was then named commandant general of Querétaro, he resigned this post though, and was later awarded with the Presidency of the Military Court, when General Filisola died. He once again would support Santa Anna, when the latter sought to overthrow the government in 1853. He was the assigned to be the commandant general of the Department of Mexico, and opposed himself to the Revolution of Ayutla in 1854. When the revolution triumphed, Salas faced no other punishment other than being completely exlucluded from politics by the triumphant liberals.
War of Reform
During the
War of Reform
The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...
, he supported the plan of
Manuel Robles Pezuela
Manuel Robles Pezuela (23 May 1817 - 23 March 1862) was a military engineer, military commander, and eventually interim president of Mexico during a civil war, the War of Reform, being waged between conservatives and liberals, in which he served ...
to depose the conservative president Zuloaga in favor of a junta that would choose a new president. The plan succeeded with the junta meeting on 30 December 1858. Salas got fourteen votes, but ultimately
Miguel Miramon
-->
Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to:
Places
*Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands
*São Miguel (disambi ...
would win with fifty votes. Roblez Pezuela handed over power to Salas while Miramon arrived, which ultimately would be only for a few days. After the defeat of the conservatives in 1860, Salas was banished from the country.
Second Empire
During the
Second French Intervention in Mexico
The Second French Intervention in Mexico ( es, Segunda intervención francesa en México), also known as the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), was an invasion of Mexico, launched in late 1862 by the Second French Empire, which hoped to ...
, after the capital was evacuated by the government of President Juarez in 1863, Salas was among the conservatives who sought to collaborate with the French, the movement being at first loosely organized in the capital by General Bruno Aguilar. On 1 June they adopted a preamble and resolution to aid the French. Salas was given military command of the city, and the French entered the capital on 7 June. On 16 June 1863 a Junta Superior de Gobierno made up of thirty five prominent citizens met to elect a triumverate that was to lead the government's executive. Salas was among those named along with
Juan Almonte
Juan Nepomuceno Almonte Ramírez (May 15, 1803 – March 21, 1869) was a Mexican soldier, commander, minister of war, congressman, diplomat, and presidential candidate.
He was the natural son of José María Morelos, a leading commander during ...
and Archbishop Pelagio Antonio de Labastida. The triumverate assumed its functions on 24 June 1863, and power would officially pass to the emperor on 10 April 1864
Salas would barely outlive the empire which fell in June 1867. Being affected by this event and falling into poor health, Salas died at the villa of Guadalupe Hidalgo on the morning of 24 December 1867.
See also
*
List of heads of state of Mexico
The Head of State of Mexico is the person who controls the executive power in the country. Under the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, current constitution, this responsibility lies with the President of Mexico, President of the ...
References
External links
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salas, Jose Mariano
Presidents of Mexico
Mexican military personnel of the Mexican–American War
Mexican monarchists
1797 births
1867 deaths
Second French intervention in Mexico
Politicians from Mexico City
19th-century Mexican politicians