Miguel Iglesias

This article describes the Peruvian politician; for the Spanish film director see Miguel Iglesias Bonns .

Miguel Iglesias

Miguel Iglesias Pino de Arce (born June 11, 1830 in Cajamarca , † November 7, 1909 in Lima ) was a Peruvian general and politician and temporarily acting president.

Life

Early years and military career

From a young age, Miguel Iglesias helped manage the family estates in Cajamarca. In 1865 he was appointed Prefect of Cajamarca. During the Spanish-South American War in 1866, he marched on Lima as the commandant of a battalion to protect the port of Callao from the Spanish. In gratitude, he was promoted to colonel . In 1872 he was reappointed Prefect of Cajamarca.

Saltpeter War

After the outbreak of the Saltpeter War in 1879, he organized a unit of 3,000 men and went to Lima with them. On the morning of December 22nd, his troops joined other battalions supporting Nicolás de Piérola in the ousting of President Luis La Puerta . They took the city of El Callao . Piérola made Iglesias, now with the rank of general, his war minister in gratitude. Iglesias was tasked with organizing the defense of Lima against the advancing Chilean troops . But in the battle of San Juan and Chorrillos on January 13, 1881, his troops were defeated by the Chilean general Patricio Lynch . Iglesias was captured but then released to take the Chilean demands to the Peruvian government. Their acceptance led to the armistice of San Juan on January 15, 1881 and the occupation of Lima by the Chileans. Iglesias then returned to Cajamarca and went to his estate.

When President Lizardo Montero withdrew to Huaraz in February 1882 in view of the Chilean overwhelming power , he appointed Iglesias as the highest-ranking military in northern Peru as the highest political and military leader of the north ( Jefe Superior Político y Militar del Norte ).

On July 13, 1882, near the manor of Miguel Iglesias, the battle of San Pablo (near Cajamarca) took place, in which the Peruvians under the command of Colonel Lorenzo Iglesias were victorious. Three days later, Miguel Iglesias spoke to the victorious troops:

You have fought against the enemy and conquered him; the boldness you have shown was the basis of triumph, and your names will be engraved and chiseled in gold letters. Your defense of our rights, which has helped us to victory, is the strongest and most exhilarating proof of what a people of self-sacrificing patriots are obliged and able to achieve ... Citizen of Cajamarcas: The glory of the triumph of July 13, 1882 is yours, You will always be regarded as an effective contributor to this great success among your own. I thank you and expect that I will always prove you in the same way. Your fellow citizen and friend .

The victory was, however, inconsequential and meaningless. Because shortly afterwards the Chilean army took the city of Cajamarca.

Presidency

Iglesias set up a government for the northern provinces based in Trujillo in July 1882 . On August 31, he published the Montán Manifesto , in which he urged peace, even if it required territorial concessions. He allowed negotiations to begin with the enemy and convened an assembly of the north ( Asamblea del Norte ) in order to obtain cover for this purpose. By law of December 30, 1882, the assembly set up a new executive whose head was given the title of Presidente Regenerador de la República . On January 1, 1883, Iglesias was elected Presidente Regenerador (Restoring President).

Four days later, the Asamblea del Norte authorized President Iglesias to negotiate peace. However, the Asamblea del Norte was not recognized by either Nicolás de Piérola, Andrés Avelino Cáceres or Lizardo Montero, so that Peru was politically divided.

On July 10, 1883, the battle of Huamachuco broke out, in which the troops of Chilean Colonel Alejandro Gorostiaga Orrego inflicted a heavy defeat on those of Cáceres. Miguel Iglesias sent a delegation to congratulate Gorostiaga on its unexpected victory. After his defeat, Cáceres could no longer endanger the authority of Iglesias. For his part, Montero did not dare attack the city of Arequipa because he would have risked its destruction. The Chileans recognized Iglesias as a representative of the Peruvian side.

Treaty of Ancón and end of the war

On October 20, 1883, negotiations on the contents of a peace treaty were concluded in Ancón . After the signing of the Treaty of Ancón , it was ratified on March 8, 1884 by a Constituent Assembly ( Asamblea Constituyente de 1884 ), which had been convened for this purpose seven days earlier.

As a result of the defeat, the so-called period of "second militarism" (Segundo militarismo) began, the conflict between leading military officers. President Iglesias advocated admitting that Chile was superior. His adversary, Cáceres, however, demanded to resume the fight. Iglesias failed to win the support of the Peruvian elite. During this time, the Partido Civil gained strength , trying to reduce the influence of the military in politics and to bring a government of civilians to power.

Civil War and Exile

The legislature ( Asamblea Constituyente ) had decided that Iglesias should withdraw from his office and start elections. But Iglesias did not give up the government, preferring to remain president. Thereupon Cáceres proclaimed himself president on July 16, 1884, on the grounds that the constitutional order had collapsed. He advanced with his troops against Lima. The troops from Iglesias and from Cáceres met in Lima and Trujillo. After suffering a defeat in the north, Cáceres retreated to the south, where he reorganized his army and prepared for new attacks. After defeats in the Central Mountains and near Lima, Iglesias finally resigned as president on December 3, 1885. Antonio Arenas succeeded him as interim president.

Iglesias was banished from Peru in 1886 and went into exile in Spain with his wife Maria . In 1888 he returned to Peru after his exile was lifted.

Web links

Commons : Miguel Iglesias  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Texts from eleven documents and speeches (Spanish)

Footnotes

1. ^ Gonzalo Bulnes: Guerra del Pacífico , Vol. 2: De Tarapacá a Lima . Sociedad Imprenta y Litografía Universo, Valparaíso 1914, pp. 667-668.
2. ^ Victor Villanueva: El militarismo en el Peru . Scheuch, Lima 1962, pp. 27-30.