Salvador López Rochac was a Salvadoran politician and military officer. He served as a supplement deputy of the

Legislative Assembly of El Salvador The Legislative Assembly () is the legislative branch of the government of El Salvador. History The organization was founded in 1824 as the Central American Congress (). Structure The Salvadoran legislature is a unicameral body. Until ...

in 1931 and as the minister of war, the navy, and aviation for one day in December 1931 before being overthrown in a coup d'état.

Political career

López was elected as a supplementary deputy of the Legislative Assembly from

Sonsonate Sonsonate () is a city and district of El Salvador, of which it is also its municipal seat. It has an estimated population of 71,980 inhabitants for the year 2020. Sonsonate is the second most important city in western El Salvador. The town was ...

during the 1931 general election. He assumed office on 1 March 1931, and on 20 March, he was elected as the first presidential designate — the individual who would assume the presidency of El Salvador in the event of a vacancy. Salvadoran president

Arturo Araujo Arturo Araujo Fajardo (1878 – 1 December 1967) was a Salvadoran politician and engineer who served as the president of El Salvador from 1 March 1931 to 2 December 1931. He was overthrown in a military coup led by junior officers, and was fo ...

(López's brother-in-law) also appointed López as the General Director of the Police. According to Leopoldo Ovidio Rodríguez, a writer for the ''Opinión Estudiantil'' newspaper, López's appointment was illegal due to article 63 of the

constitution of El Salvador The current constitution of El Salvador was enacted in 1983 and amended in 2003. The 1983 constitution of El Salvador is similar to that of 1962, often incorporating verbatim passages from the earlier document. The constitution consists of 11 ...

prohibiting incumbent deputies of the Legislative Assembly from holding any other office with the exception of diplomatic offices. On 1 December 1931, Araujo removed Brigadier General

Maximiliano Hernández Martínez Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (21 October 1882 – 15 May 1966) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as president of El Salvador from 4 December 1931 to 28 August 1934 in a provisional capacity and again in an offi ...

from his position as minister of war, the navy, and aviation (defense minister) due to him questioning Martínez's loyalty to his government. Araujo appointed López to the position to replace Martínez. The following day, the

Armed Forces of El Salvador The Armed Forces of El Salvador () are the official governmental military forces of El Salvador. The Forces have three branches: the Salvadoran Army, the Salvadoran Air Force and the Navy of El Salvador. History Spanish colonial rule In the 19 ...

launched a coup d'état against Araujo. The military established the

Civic Directory The Civic Directory () was a military junta which governed El Salvador from 2 to 4 December 1931. The junta was composed of twelve members of the Armed Forces from the Army, Air Force, and National Guard. The directory marked the beginning of ...

to rule El Salvador and replaced López as defense minister with Colonel

Osmín Aguirre y Salinas Osmín Aguirre y Salinas (24 December 1889 – 17 July 1977) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as the provisional president of El Salvador from 21 October 1944 until 1 March 1945. A colonel in the Salvadoran Army, Agu ...

. Although López was the first presidential designate, he did not assume the presidency as he fled El Salvador along with Araujo. Doctor José Maximiliano Olano, the president of the Legislative Assembly and the second designate, would have assumed office, but the Civic Directory did not permit him to; instead, it appointed Martínez as provisional president on 4 December 1931.

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* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Rochac, Salvador 20th-century Salvadoran politicians Year of birth missing Year of death missing Defence ministers of El Salvador Members of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador Salvadoran exiles Salvadoran Laborist Party politicians Salvadoran military personnel