José Joaquín de Herrera
José Joaquín de Herrera (born February 23, 1792 in Xalapa , Mexico , † February 10, 1854 in Tacubaya , Mexico) was a Mexican military and three-time President of Mexico .
Herrera was born in Xalapa on February 23, 1792, the fifth of six children. He spent his childhood and youth in Perote .
He joined the royalist army in 1809. In 1811 he was promoted to captain. He took part in battles against insurgents and in the Spanish campaign against Acapulco and then took over the civil and military administration of the region. In 1817 he became the commandant of Acapulco and Técpan .
In 1820 he took his leave as a lieutenant colonel and opened a shop in Perote. There he came into contact with insurgents such as Guadalupe Victoria . After the proclamation of the Iguala plan , he placed himself at the head of an infantry contingent that had spoken out in favor of Agustín de Itúrbide . On March 22nd, he combined his contingent with that of Antonio López de Santa Anna . When the Army of the Three Guarantees arrived in Mexico City in 1821 , he was brigadier general. Alienated by Iturbide when he was proclaimed emperor , he was arrested for alleged conspiracy. Released he represented the state of Veracruz in the first constituent congress.
On March 19, he was one of the MPs who accepted Iturbide's abdication.
In the new government of Guadelupe Victoria he was Minister of War from 1823 to 1824 and proposed in April 1823 that one branch each of laurel and oak be added to the flag of Mexico .
On April 17, 1826, he married María Dolores Alzugaray in Córdoba . The marriage had two children.
In 1833 he became Minister of War a second time, this time under Santa Anna. In 1844 he was chairman of the Council of State when General Valentín Canalizo was elected president. Since Canalizo was in San Luis Potosí at the time , Herrera became interim president from September 12 to 21, 1844. After the fall of Santa Anna, Herrera was elected President on December 6, 1844. During his tenure, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas . On March 28, 1845, Mexico broke off diplomatic relations and Herrera made preparations for an eventual war with the United States, but preferred a peaceful solution. Because of his passive stance, supporters of Santa Anna rebelled on July 7th and arrested him and three members of his cabinet. Herrera was able to assert himself as president and was released.
On May 13, 1845, the United States declared war on the Mexican-American War . Herrera managed to raise 6,000 men, whom he sent north under the command of General Mariano Paredes to fight the Americans. However, Paredes returned with the troops to Mexico City in December 1845 and overthrew Herrera, who resigned on December 30th. During the war, after the Battle of Huamantla , Herrera assumed supreme command of the army of Santa Anna, but was defeated by General Joseph Lane , who subsequently began the siege of the capital.
After the end of the war, Herrera was re-elected President on May 30, 1848, did not accept the election at first, but could be voted by a commission of the Congress. Since the capital was in the hands of US troops, he formed his government on June 3rd in Mixcoac . His term ended on January 15, 1851. Herrera was the second Mexican president after Guadalupe Victoria to serve a full term and the first to be succeeded by a legally elected successor.
During this time he faced many problems. Mexico found itself in poor economic conditions, the streets were made unsafe by robbers, the caste war raged, cholera broke out and Mariano Paredes led an armed uprising against the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . In 1849, Leonardo Marquez stood up for the cause of Santa Anna. During his tenure, Herrera initiated the construction of the country's first railway line from Mexico City to Veracruz and the first telegraph connection from Puebla to the capital.
After the end of his tenure he was director of the Nacional Monte de Piedad charity until 1853 .
Herrera died in Tacubaya on February 10, 1854. His grave is in the Panteón de San Fernando in Mexico City.
literature
- Timothy J. Henderson: A Glorious Defeat. Mexico and its War with the United States. Hill and Wang, New York NY 2007, ISBN 978-0-8090-6120-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Timothy J. Henderson: A Glorious Defeat. Mexico and its War with the United States. 2007, p. 184.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Herrera, José Joaquín de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Mexican military and three-time President of Mexico |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 23, 1792 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Xalapa |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 10, 1854 |
| Place of death | Tacubaya |