Juan José Flores
Encyclopedia
Juan José Flores y Aramburu (July 19, 1800 – October 1, 1864) was a Venezuelan
Venezuelan people
Venezuelan people are from a multiethnic nation in South America called Venezuela. Venezuelans are predominantly Roman Catholic and speak Spanish, and a majority of them are the result of a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...

 military general who became Supreme Chief, and later the first President of the new Republic of Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

. He later served two more terms from 1839 to 1843 and from 1843 to 1845, and is often referred to as "The founder of the Republic".

Biography

Flores was born in Puerto Cabello
Puerto Cabello
Puerto Cabello is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State about 75 km west of Caracas. As of 2001, the city has a population of around 154,000 people. The city is the home to the largest port in the country and is thus a vital cog in the country's vast oil...

, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. He married Mercedes Jijón de Vivanco y Chiriboga in 1824, and one of their 12 children, Antonio
Antonio Flores Jijón
Juan Antonio María Flores y Jijón de Vivanco was President of Ecuador 17 August 1888 to 30 June 1892.He was a member of the Progressive Party, a Liberal Catholic party....

, became president of Ecuador in 1888.

Political life

On May 13, 1830, the day of Ecuador's breaking away from Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...

, he was named supreme chief of the new country, and then on August 14, 1830, he was named provisional president. His official term, however, did not start until September 22, 1830, 11 days after he was elected constitutional president by the assembly in Riobamba
Riobamba
Riobamba is the capital of the Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador, which is located at the Chambo River Valley of the Andes. It is south of Ecuador's capital Quito and located at 2754 m on the Avenue of the Volcanoes...

. That term lasted until September 10, 1834, and was marked with much turmoil. Flores faced a rebellion led by Luis Urdaneta, a loyalist of Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

, who wanted to prevent Ecuador from leaving Gran Colombia. Flores also faced a threat from a member of the Ecuadorian congress, Vicente Rocafuerte
Vicente Rocafuerte
Vicente Rocafuerte y Bejarano was an influential figure in Ecuadorian politics and President of Ecuador from September 10, 1834 to January 31, 1839....

, who attempted to overthrow him. Eventually, the two made an agreement – Rocafuerte would become president after Flores, and Flores would become leader of the military. Also during his term, he fought an invading Colombian army in 1832 and again starting in 1834, finally defeating them on January 18, 1835 in Miñarica, near Ambato
San Juan de Ambato
Ambato is a city in located in the central Andean valley of Ecuador. Lying on the banks of the Ambato River, the city also sits beneath several tall mountains. It is the capital of the province of Tungurahua, at an elevation of 2,577 meters above sea level. The population is 180,000 , making it...

.

Flores' second term began on February 1, 1839, and ended January 15, 1843. The beginning of his term was marked by peace and social development—he kept his word to rule justly and to defend freedom. However, in the last year of his term, he intervened militarily in the politics of Nueva Granada at the request of the Colombian government, fighting his old enemy, José María Obando
José María Obando
José María Ramón Obando del Campo was a Neogranadine General and politician who twice served as President of Colombia...

. When later forced to intervene again, he was attacked by the Colombian army and his popularity at home fell. Then, after irregularities in the elections of 1842, he pushed to have the 1835 constitution annulled, and the new constitution, nicknamed the "Carta de la esclavitud" ("letter of slavery") allowed him to continue in power for a third term, which began April 1, 1843. During this term, Flores fought to remain in power, but was ultimately overthrown on March 6, 1845 by a rebellion led by Rocafuerte and Vicente Ramón Roca
Vicente Ramón Roca
Vicente Ramón Roca Rodríguez was President of Ecuador from 8 December 1845 to 15 October 1849. He was a member of the Liberal Party. He led the revolution that overthrew Juan José Flores, along with José Joaquín de Olmedo and Diego Noboa. He ruled under the Constitution of 1845.-External links:*...

, the man who became the next president of Ecuador.

Death

Flores died of uremia
Uremia
Uremia or uraemia is a term used to loosely describe the illness accompanying kidney failure , in particular the nitrogenous waste products associated with the failure of this organ....

 in 1864 while in house arrest under the presidency of Gabriel García Moreno
Gabriel García Moreno
Gabriel Gregorio Fernando José María García y Moreno y Morán de Buitrón was an Ecuadorian statesman who twice served as President of Ecuador and was assassinated during his second term, after being elected to a third term...

.

External links

  • http://www.enciclopediadelecuador.com/temasOpt.php?Ind=879&Let=Ar
  • Presidential biography (Spanish language
    Spanish language
    Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

    ). Accessed May 16, 2005.
  • Presidential terms and events (Spanish language
    Spanish language
    Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

    ). Accessed May 16, 2005.
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