Máximo Santos was a Uruguayan

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

 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)

Colorado Party (Uruguay)

The Colorado Party is a political party in Uruguay.- Aims :It unites Conservative, Moderate and Social democratic groups. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilisation of the Uruguayan republic....

.

In 1882 Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez

Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez

-Background:Flangini was a member of the Colorado Party . This was during an era which was marked by considerable turmoil within the party.-Interim President of Uruguay:He served briefly as President of Uruguay February – March 1882....

, who served briefly as acting President of Uruguay

President of Uruguay

The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the head of state of Uruguay. His or her rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Conforms with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the executive branch...

, stepped down from office.

President of Uruguay (1st term)

Succeeding acting President Flangini, Santos served as President of Uruguay

President of Uruguay

The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the head of state of Uruguay. His or her rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Conforms with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the executive branch...

 from 1882 until 1886.

Creation of Flores Department

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

Flores Department

-History and cultural heritage:The department, created by President Máximo Santos, is named after the former Colorado Party leader, Venancio Flores, who was born in Trinidad in the nineteenth century.The department has many sites of prehistoric rock art...

 in the interior of the country, named after assassinated former President of Uruguay

President of Uruguay

The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the head of state of Uruguay. His or her rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Conforms with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the executive branch...

 General Venancio Flores

Venancio Flores

Venancio Flores Barrios was a Uruguayan political leader and general. Flores was President of Uruguay from 1854 to 1855 and from 1865 to 1868.-Background and early career:...

, who hailed from the territory incorporated as a department.

Other features of his rule

He also in a measure repaired relations with Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

.

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

President of Uruguay (2nd interim term)

Subsequently, after reliquishing 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

Máximo Tajes

-Background:Tajes came from a military background. He was a member of the Colorado Party , which ruled the country almost uninterruptedly for a century....

, 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

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, and was unable to return to Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

.

Still aged in his early 40s, Santos died in exile in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, in 1889.

See also

• Colorado Party (Uruguay)#Earlier History

• Politics of Uruguay
  Politics of Uruguay
  The Politics of Uruguay abide by a presidential representative democratic republic, under which the President of Uruguay is both the head of state and the head of government, as well as a multiform party system. The president exercises executive power and Legislative power is vested in the two...
  
  

• Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez#Interim President of Uruguay

• Máximo Tajes#President of Uruguay

• Flores Department#History and cultural heritage