Ignacio Andrade Troconis (31 July 1839 – 17 February 1925), was a military man and politician.
�� Official biography. He was known as a member of the Liberal yellow party, and served as the

president of Venezuela The president of Venezuela (), officially known as the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (), is the executive head of state and head of government of Venezuela. The president leads the National Executive of the Venezuelan go ...

from 1898 until 1899 – his election was declaredly clouded by fraud.

Early life

Ignacio Andrade was born on 31 July, 1839 in Mérida. Francisco de Paula Andrade Troconis was his brother.

Career

Early positions

He was president of the state of

Falcón Falcón State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is Coro, Venezuela, Coro. The state was named after Juan Crisóstomo Falcón. History Early history Present day Falcón State was first explored ...

from 1883 until 1885. He was also the leader of the state of Miranda from 1894 until 1897. In 1897, incumbent president Crespo supported Andrade in the presidential elections against key opponent José Manuel Hernández. Andrade won the election, with Hernandez decrying the results as fraudulent and taking up arms. Hernandez was quickly defeated, with resultant political turmoil. Other attempted insurrections followed, including one by Carlos Rangel Garviras, head of the Autonomous Party of the Andes from Colombia. He invaded Venezuela with 2,000 men, to be defeated in

Capacho La Coronilla is a village in the Rocha Department of southeastern Uruguay. Geography The village is located on the Atlantic coast on Route 9, about south of Chuy and the border with Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of ...

and San Josecito.

1898–1899: Military leadership, presidency

Andrade was the commanding

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

of the

Venezuelan Army The Bolivarian Army of Venezuela (), is the land arm of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Also known as Bolivarian Army (''Ejército Bolivariano'', EB), its role is to be responsible for land-based operations against external o ...

from February 1898 until October 1899, after taking leadership from General Joaquín Crespo. Venezuelan President Joaquín Crespo ruled until 1898, when he gave the presidential role to Andrade while remaining a military mainstay of the government. In suppressing a serious threat to the government, Crespo was killed in action and Andrade was left without his military backing. With Crespo's death, Venezuela entered a period of political uncertainty, as Andrade was Crespo's placeman and not a member of the

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

class.

1899: Overthrow by Cipriano Castro

In 1899 the Colombian writer Biofilo Panclasta traveled to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, where he joined the army of the Venezuelan

Cipriano Castro José Cipriano Castro Ruiz (12 October 1858 – 4 December 1924) was a Venezuelan politician and Officer (armed forces), officer of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, military who served as president of Venezuela, president from ...

, which had as its goal the downfall of president Andrade. After leaving this group shortly after, Panclasta traveled Venezuela with other revolutionary groups throughout Trujillo, Portuguesa, Cojedes and

Carabobo Carabobo State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, located in the north of the country, about two hours by car from Caracas. The state capital city is Valencia, which is also the country's main industrial center. The state's area is and ...

.PANCLASTA, Biófilo (1932): ''Siete años enterrado vivo en una de las mazmorras de Gomezuela''. Tipografía la Libertad, Bogotá. In 1899 Andrade was overthrown by

, a former governor of the province of

Táchira Táchira State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal, Táchira, San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,9 ...

who had previously been exiled to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Living in Colombia for seven years, Castro had recruited a private army using funds from illegal cattle trading. Returning to Venezuela and amassing support from disaffected Venezuelans, Castro's once personal army developed into a strong national army, and he used it to march on Caracas in October 1899 in an event called the Revolución Liberal Restauradora, and seize power, installing himself as the supreme military commander. He also assumed the vacant presidency and later modified the constitution. The resulting political turmoil led to civil war in Venezuela from 1901 until 1902.José Raimundo Porras Pérez (enero-junio de 2011
"Batalla de La Victoria de 1902: táctica, logística, liderazgo y otros aspectos militares de las fuerzas beligerantes venezolanas"
''Presente y Pasado. Revista de Historia''. Año 16. Nº31, páginas 95-122. ISSN 1316-1369. After the 23 May 1899 invasion of Caracas, Andrade went into exile in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. He returned to public life after being granted amnesty in 1903.

Personal life and death

Andrade died in Macuto in 1925. He was married to María Isabel Sosa Saa, and she served as the

First Lady of Venezuela First Lady of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Primera Dama de Venezuela'') is the unofficial title traditionally held by the wife of the president of Venezuela. List of first ladies Non-spouse first ladies See also * First Lady * Venezuela * List o ...

during his tenure in 1898 and 1899. File:Ignacio Andrade and Isabel Sosa Saa.jpg, Andrade and Isabel Sosa Saa in 1898 File:María Isabel Sosa Saa.jpg, María Isabel Sosa Saa