Máximo Benito Santos Barbosa (15 April 1847 – 19 May 1889) was a

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an political and military figure.

Background

Santos pursued a career in the military, prior to serving as Minister for War from 1880 to 1882. He was a member of the

Colorado Party (Uruguay) The Colorado Party ( es, Partido Colorado, lit=Red Party) is a liberal political party in Uruguay. Ideology The party seeks to unite moderate and liberal groups, although its members have had a diverse set of ideologies since its foundat ...

. In 1882

Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez (1824–1900) was a Uruguayan political figure. Background Flangini was a member of the Colorado Party (Uruguay). This was during an era which was marked by considerable turmoil within the party. Interim Presi ...

, who served briefly as acting

President of Uruguay The president of Uruguay ( es, Presidente del Uruguay), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. Their rights are determined in the Constitution of Urugu ...

, stepped down from office.

President of Uruguay (1st term)

Succeeding acting President Flangini, Santos served as

from 1882 until 1886.

Creation of Flores Department

Among Santos's lasting acts as President was the creation of the

Flores Department Flores () is a department of Uruguay, positioned in the southwest of the central part of the country. Its capital is Trinidad. It borders Durazno Department to the north and east, Florida Department to the southeast, San José Department to the ...

in the interior of the country, named after assassinated former

General

Venancio Flores Venancio Flores Barrios (18 May 1808 – 19 February 1868) was a Uruguayan political leader and general. Flores was President of Uruguay from 1854 to 1855 (interim) and from 1865 to 1868. Background and early career In 1839, he was made politic ...

, who hailed from the territory incorporated as a department.

Other features of his rule

He also in a measure repaired relations with

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. However, his administration was also widely criticized for failure to root out corruption.

Succession

Santos was succeeded as president by Francisco Antonino Vidal in 1886. Santos served as the President of the Senate of Uruguay in 1886.

President of Uruguay (second interim term)

Subsequently, after relinquishing presidential office in 1886, Santos returned to exercise presidential powers for a number of months in 1886.

Succession

Santos was succeeded as president by his Colorado Party colleague Máximo Tajes, with whom, however, he had poor relations. Tajes was still exercising his presidential office at Santos's death.

Later life; death in exile

Subsequent to the relinquishing of his presidential office for the second time, Santos travelled in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, and was unable to return to

. Still aged in his early 40s, Santos died in exile in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, in 1889.

Legacy

Santos' magnificent residence in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...

nowadays is the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Uruguay and is known as Palacio Santos. His country estate now houses the

Museo de la Memoria Museo may refer to: * Museo, 2018 Mexican drama heist film * Museo (Naples Metro), station on line 1 of the Naples Metro * Museo, Seville, neighborhood of Seville, Spain {{disambiguation ...

, a state-owned museum dedicated to the victims of the Uruguayan dictatorship.

References

External links

Biography
1847 births 1889 deaths People from Pando, Uruguay Presidents of Uruguay Presidents of the Senate of Uruguay Colorado Party (Uruguay) politicians Defence ministers of Uruguay 19th-century Uruguayan people Uruguayan military personnel {{Uruguay-politician-stub

Background

President of Uruguay (1st term)

Creation of Flores Department

Other features of his rule

Succession

President of Uruguay (second interim term)

Succession

Later life; death in exile

Legacy

See also

References

External links