Joaquín Eufrasio Guzmán

General
Joaquín Eufrasio Guzmán
General Joaquín Eufrasio Guzmán
President of El Salvador
	In office; 19 January 1859 – 15 February 1859; Acting President
Vice President	Himself
Preceded by	Miguel Santín del Castillo
Succeeded by	José María Peralta (acting)
	In office; 25 April 1845 – 1 February 1846
Vice President	Himself
Preceded by	Fermín Palacios (acting)
Succeeded by	Fermín Palacios (acting)
Vice President of El Salvador
	In office; 1 February 1858 – 1 February 1860
President	Lorenzo Zepeda; Miguel Santín del Castillo; Gerardo Barrios; Himself; José María Peralta
Preceded by	Francisco Dueñas
Succeeded by	José Félix Quirós
	In office; 1 February 1844 – 1 February 1846
Vice President	Francisco Malespín; Fermín Palacios; Himself
Preceded by	Pedro José Arce
Succeeded by	José Félix Quirós
Personal details
Born	15 February 1801; Cartago, New Spain
Died	1875 (aged 73–74); San Miguel, El Salvador
Nationality	Costa Rican
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Paula Saldós
Children	David, Adelaida
Relatives	Gerardo Barrios (son-in-law)
Occupation	Politician, military officer
Military service
Allegiance	El Salvador
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Malespín's War; Filibuster War; Honduran-Salvadoran War of 1845

Joaquín Eufrasio Guzmán (15 February 1801 – 1875) was a Central American politician and military general who served as acting President of El Salvador on three occasions: from 25 October 1844 to 16 February 1845, from 25 April 1845 to 1 February 1846, and from 19 January 1859 to 15 February 1859,^[1] after conducting a coup against General Francisco Malespín after the Guerra de Malespín, an invasion into Nicaragua which he solely started to loot the Nicaraguan metropolis of León.

Early life and family[edit]

Guzmán was born in Cartago, Costa Rica, in 1801 into a landowning family. In the dissensions between the Federal and Centralist parties, Guzmán joined the former. A landowner, he was commissioned as a lieutenant-colonel.

He had married and had a family. His son David Joaquín Guzmán was a politician and doctor, founding director of the National Museum of El Salvador and a museum of anthropology in Nicaragua.

Political career[edit]

Coup d'etat[edit]

He was elected Vice President of El Salvador in 1844 with General Francisco Malespín as president.^[2] That year Malespín invaded Nicaragua and left the capital to command the army in person and handed over power to Guzmán.

Guzmán conducted a coup against Malespín on 2 February 1845 and was joined by the greater part of the inhabitants of the capital, and a portion of the general's small army. They deposed Malespin and Guzmán assumed the executive office till the end of the presidential term.

War with Honduras[edit]

Tensions with the Honduran government led to a Salvadoran invasion which failed miserably, which led to a Honduran invasion. El Salvador won the Battle of La Hacienda of El Obrajuelo, armistice was proposed between both sides. but the Honduran officers didn't care and defeated the Salvadorans in La Union, forcing the Salvadoran government to give officers and prisoners captured during the war . ^[3]

Later political career[edit]

Guzmán was several times elected to the legislative assembly, the council of state, and the prefecture of the department where he resided.

He was later elected as Vice President of El Salvador alongside President Miguel Santín del Castillo, and served from February 1858 to February 1859.^[4]

Death[edit]

He died in 1875, San Miguel, El Salvador.

References[edit]

^ "Presidencia de El Salvador". Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
^ Reyes, Rafael (1920). Nociones de Historia de El Salvador (PDF) (in Spanish). p. 127.
^ Castellanos, Pedro Zamora (1925). Vida militar de Centro America (in Spanish). Tipografia nacional.
^ "Presidencia de El Salvador". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2020-02-04.

Political offices
Preceded by Francisco Malespín	President of El Salvador 1845–1846	Succeeded by Fermín Palacios (acting)
Preceded by Miguel Santín del Castillo	President of El Salvador (acting) January 24 – February 15, 1859	Succeeded by José María Peralta (acting)

[1] "Presidencia de El Salvador". Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-10-06.

[2] Reyes, Rafael (1920). Nociones de Historia de El Salvador (PDF) (in Spanish). p. 127.

[3] Castellanos, Pedro Zamora (1925). Vida militar de Centro America (in Spanish). Tipografia nacional.

[4] "Presidencia de El Salvador". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2020-02-04.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Heads of state of El Salvador
Post-independence (1821–1823)	Barriere Delgado Filísola Codallos Consultive Junta^‡ Prado^†
Federal Republic of Central America (1823–1841)	J. Rodríguez Prado J. V. Villacorta Prado Cornejo J. D. Villacorta Cornejo Morazán^† J. San Martín Prado J. San Martín C. Salazar^† G. Salazar^† Escolán^† Silva Espinoza F. Gómez Vigil T. Menéndez Vigil T. Menéndez Cañas^† Morazán Silva^† Cañas^† Ramírez^† Lindo^†
Republic of El Salvador (1841–1931)	Lindo^† Arce^† Marín^† J. J. Guzmán D. Villacorta^† Marín^† J. J. Guzmán C. Molina^† Arce^† C. Molina^† Arce^† Palacios^† Malespín Palacios^† J. E. Guzmán Palacios^† Aguilar Palacios^† Aguilar Medina^† Quirós^† Vasconcelos R. Rodríguez^† Vasconcelos Dueñas^† Quirós^† Dueñas J. M. San Martín^† Dueñas V. Gómez^† J. M. San Martín Dueñas^† Campo Dueñas^† Campo Zepeda^† Santín Barrios^† Santín J. E. Guzmán^† Peralta^† Barrios Dueñas González Méndez^† González del Valle Zaldívar Guirola^† Zaldívar Figueroa^† Rosales^† F. Menéndez C. Ezeta A. Ezeta^† Gutiérrez Regalado Escalón Figueroa M. Araujo C. Meléndez^† Quiñónez^† C. Meléndez Quiñónez^† J. Meléndez Quiñónez P. Romero A. Araujo
Military presidents (1931–1979)	Civic Directory^‡ Hernández Martínez^† A. Menéndez^† Hernández Martínez A. Menéndez^† Aguirre^† Castaneda Revolutionary Council of Government^‡ Osorio Lemus Junta of Government^‡ Civic-Military Directory^‡ Cordón^† Rivera F. Sánchez A. Molina C. Romero
Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992)	Revolutionary Government Junta^‡ Magaña Duarte Cristiani
Post-Civil War (since 1992)	Cristiani Calderón Flores Saca Funes S. Sánchez Bukele C. Rodríguez^†
^† – Acting or provisional president ^‡ – Military junta