Policarpo Bonilla

Policarpo Bonilla Vásquez (born March 17, 1858 in Tegucigalpa , † September 11, 1928 in New Orleans ) was President of Honduras from February 22, 1894 to February 1, 1899 .

Life

His parents were Juana Vasquez and the lawyer Inicencio Bonilla. Policarpo Bonilla was admitted to the bar on March 17, 1878 . In the Dr. Marco Aurelio Soto (August 27, 1876 - May 9, 1883) was Policarpo Bonilla in the civil service. In the government of General Luis Bográn (November 30, 1883-1830 November 1891) Policarpo Bonilla was a member of parliament and governor of Tegucigalpa. On October 31, 1890, he founded the newspaper El Bien Publico . In November 1891, Policarpo Bonilla ran for president, which Ponciano Leiva received.

On November 27, 1891, three days before Ponciano Leiva took office, dissatisfied members of the Partido Conservador of El Salvador attacked from Honduras and occupied La Ceiba and the port of Trujillo. The exiled Manuel Bonilla of the Partido Conservador came from Guatemala to take over the leadership. The government put down this uprising.

Meanwhile, members of the Partido Liberal de Honduras in Tegucigalpa revolted against Ponciano Leiva. They allied themselves with members of the Partido Liberal who had exiled to Nicaragua. On September 7th and 8th there were fighting during which the government troops succeeded in pushing the troops of the Partido Liberal back into the area of ​​Nicaragua. In February 1893, Policarpo Bonilla was a co-founder of the Partido Liberal de Honduras . On February 9, 1893, Ponciano Leiva resigned and Rosendo Agüero became president. Rosendo Aguero could not find an agreement with Policarpo Bonilla.

The troops of the Partido Liberal , led by Policarpo Bonilla, met the government troops at Tatumbla near Tegucigalpa. The fighting lasted 32 days. On March 26, 1893, the troops of the Partido Liberal broke through and marched on Tegucigalpa. From March 28 to April 2, 1893, there was another non-decisive battle near Tegucigalpa. Eventually the Partido Liberal troops returned to Nicaragua.

Presidency

1894 Battle of Choluteca

At the end of 1893, the recently elected Domingo Vásquez, Zelaya threatened that if he did not expel the Honduran members of the Partido Liberal , he would declare war on Nicaragua. Zelaya formed an alliance with Policarpo Bonilla.

Policarpo Bonilla proclaimed his government in Los Amates (Izabal) (now in Guatemala) on December 23, 1893. On December 23, 1893, Policarpo Bonilla invaded Honduras at the head of the Nicaraguan and Honduran troops of the Partido Liberal . A bloody battle at Choluteca lasted from December 30, 1893 to January 3, 1894. After the battle, the captive commander of the troops of the Partido Conservador was executed. President Vásquez commanded the Honduran army and attacked the forces of the Partido Liberal at Choluteca from January 15 to 17, 1894 and was repulsed. The Partico Liberal troops besieged Tegucigalpa from January 24th to February 22nd, 1894. Vásquez fled to El Salvador and Policarpo became president. Around 700 soldiers died in the fighting.

In the months from February to May 1893 General Terencio Sierra supported the struggle which Policarpo Bonilla had started. Terencio Sierra was appointed military commander of the port of Amapala.

In 1894 there were elections to a constituent assembly. In 1894 a new constitution was passed and Policarpo Bonilla resumed the presidency he had occupied on February 1, 1895. In 1897 Terencio Sierra was appointed commander in chief to protect the government from armed insurrections.

Policarpo Bonilla invited the presidents of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras to a conference in Amapala on June 20, 1895, in order to found the República mayor de Centro América (Republic of Greater Central America). When José Rafael Gutiérrez was overthrown by General Tomás Regalado on November 29, 1898 in El Salvador, the República mayor de Centro América was history.

1896 Honduran Army supports Partido Liberal in Nicaragua

On April 13, 1896, a troop from the Partido Conservador de Nicaragua , led by Enrique Soto from New York, landed in Puerto Cortés and marched on San Pedro Sula and Villa Nueva. Another force of the Partido Conservador operated from El Salvador and occupied Copán .

José Santos Zelaya (Partido Liberal) asked for support in Honduras and Policarpo Bonilla sent troops under the command of Manuel Bonilla (Partido Conservador) and Miguel R. Dávila . The invasion of Puerto Cortés under Coronel Enrique Soto was put down by General Terencio Sierra

The Honduran army had its general staff in Choluteca , from where Somotillo, Villa Nueva, El Saude in Chinandega (department) and finally Chinandega (city) were occupied. Chinandega was sacked by the troops, then the Honduran army returned.

Legislative reforms

Dr. Policarpo Bonilla reformed the private, criminal, commercial, mining and administrative law according to the worldview of the Partido Liberal . He stimulated the development of scientific literature. He set up bilateral commissions to define borders with neighboring countries and concluded treaties with Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. Policarpo Bonilla commissioned two bridges and expanded a number of public buildings.

Detention

In October 1898, Terencio Sierra was directly elected president for a term from 1899 to 1903.

The New York Times reported the US - mercenary Lee Christmas , who was recruited in Honduras of Manuel Bonilla. He became director of the Tegucigalpa Police Department and brigadier general of the army. He was acting as the prison guard of Policarpo Bonilla and was its judge when it was charged with numerous offenses. Policarpo was sentenced to a long prison term and remained in prison until early 1906, after which he went into exile in El Salvador.

In 1919, Policarpo Bonilla was a delegate to the victorious Honduras when the Treaty of Versailles was signed .

In September 1921, Policarpo Bonilla, president of the República de Centroamérica, became a confederation of states which, on the initiative of Rafael López Gutiérrez , Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras had joined.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Robert L. Sheina, Latin America's Wars: The Age of the Caudillo, 1791-1899 Brassey's, 2003 S. 258th
2. ^ New York Times January 15, 1911 GEN. LEE CHRISTMAS Manuel / Policarpo Bonilla ( Memento of the original from February 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Cervantesvirtual, Constitución política de la República de Centroamérica de 1921 ( Memento of the original of February 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

predecessor	Office	successor
Domingo Vásquez	President of Honduras February 22, 1894–1. February 1899	Terencio Sierra