José María Lemus López (22 July 1911 – 31 March 1993) was

president of El Salvador President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

from 14 September 1956 to 26 October 1960. Before becoming a president, he served as an undersecretary of defense and a minister of the interior.

Life and career

He was born into a family of humble beginnings in

La Unión, El Salvador La Unión () is a Municipalities of El Salvador, municipality in La Unión Department of El Salvador. It is the capital city of the department of La Unión. It is the largest city in the department with a population of approximately 34,000 inh ...

. He was undersecretary of defense from 1948-1949. As President

Óscar Osorio Óscar Osorio Hernández (14 December 1910 – 6 March 1969) ruled as a member of the Revolutionary Council of Government from 14 December 1948 to 14 September 1950. He was President of El Salvador from 14 September 1950 until 14 September 1 ...

's choice for the successor to presidency, he antagonized many by fighting against corruption. Having won the disputed election of 1956, he appointed prominent civilians into his government and allowed many exiles to return the country. He was a member of the Party of Democratic Unification. He continued socio-economic reforms of his predecessor, but there was no improvement in the living standards of the working class. He promulgated the Tenant Law, which protects the rights of the renters of houses or "Mesones, called also Vecindades" (apartment units with shared bathrooms). The law stipulating that

landlords A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord applies ...

cannot increase the rent more than 10% every year made rent contract in houses obligatory with the objective of protecting the renter. His government repealed the anti-sedition laws, therefore antagonizing the military. His government's decision to control the production of coffee infuriated the public. Soon after the

Cuban revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

, there were widespread student protests. There was a subsequent roundup of dissidents and protesters.

Overthrow and death

Following these uncertainties, he was overthrown in a bloodless coup and a new, short-lived Junta government was formed consisting of three military (Miguel Ángel Castillo, César Yanes Urías, Rubén Alonso Rosales) and three civilian (Ricardo Falla Cáceres, Fabio Castillo Figueroa, Rene Fortín Magaña). After his exile, he lived in

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until his death in San Jose, Costa Rica. He died of

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

, leaving behind a wife and eight children.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemus, Jose Maria Presidents of El Salvador Leaders ousted by a coup 1993 deaths 1911 births Salvadoran military personnel Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Revolutionary Party of Democratic Unification politicians Interior ministers of El Salvador Salvadoran exiles Salvadoran expatriates in the United States Salvadoran expatriates in Costa Rica 20th-century presidents of El Salvador