Juan Nepomuceno Fernández Lindo y Zelaya, generally known as Juan Lindo (16 May 1790 – 23 April 1857), was a conservative Central American politician, provisional president of the
Republic of El Salvador from 1841 to 1842, and President of the
Republic of Honduras from 1847 to 1852.
Background
Lindo was born into a landholding family. He was the son of a
Spanish Jew.
There is some question about his birth and death dates. Some sources give 1790 for his birth and some give 1853 for his death. In 1814 he became a lawyer (''licenciado en derecho'') at the
Universidad de San Carlos in
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
. After graduation, he worked for the Spanish regime. After the
independence of Central America from Spain in 1821, he was
intendente of the Province of
Comayagua
Comayagua () is a city, municipality and old capital of Honduras, located northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula and above sea level.
The accelerated growth experienced by the city of Comayagua led the municipal authoriti ...
. He was one of the promoters of the
annexation of Central America to the Mexican Empire of
Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...
, which he favored over Guatemala.
He was elected deputy to the Legislative Assembly of Honduras in 1826. The following year he aided Conservative
José Justo Milla in his defeat of Honduran Chief of State
Dionisio de Herrera
José Dionisio de la Trinidad de Herrera y Díaz del Valle (9 October 1781 in Choluteca, Honduras – 13 June 1850 in San Vicente, El Salvador) was a Liberal Honduran politician, head of state of Honduras from 1824 to 1827 and head of s ...
. He was a deputy to the constituent assembly that was convoked in June 1838, where he represented the Conservative Party. From his position in the assembly, he promoted the separation of Honduras from the
Federal Republic of Central America
The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...
in October 1838.
As chief of state of El Salvador
In 1840 he traveled to El Salvador, where with the help of General
Francisco Malespín he became secretary of state, from October 1840 to January 1841. Afterwards he was elected provisional chief of state of the State of El Salvador, from 7 January to 22 February 1841, succeeding Colonel
Antonio José Cañas Quintanilla. That day, the constituent assembly declared El Salvador independent of the Central American Federation, and Lindo became president of the now-independent republic, serving until 1 February 1842.
Lindo named General and Licienciado
Norberto Ramírez
Norberto Ramírez Áreas (15 April 1802, León, Nicaragua – 11 July 1856, León, Nicaragua) was a Nicaraguan lawyer and politician who served as acting Supreme Chief of El Salvador (20 September 1840 – 7 January 1841), still technically a p ...
minister. On 16 February 1841 the constituent assembly issued the decree establishing the
University of El Salvador
The University of El Salvador (UES) is the oldest and the most prominent university institution in El Salvador. It serves as the national university of the country. The main campus, Ciudad Universitaria, is located in the capital of San Salvador ...
. Lindo ordered the establishment of schools in every village and valley of the country with at least 150 inhabitants. He ordered the local authorities fined if they did not establish the schools and require attendance.
As president of Honduras
In 1842 he returned to Honduras and established himself at Comayagua. After General
Francisco Ferrera declined to serve as president, the Honduran assembly elected Lindo constitutional president, a position he exercised from 12 February 1847 to 4 February 1848. During his term he established the University of Honduras (''
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras
Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to:
Places
* Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico
* Universidad (Madrid)
Football clubs
* Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
...
'') and promulgated a new constitution. In accordance with the new constitution, he was elected for a second term, which ended on 1 February 1852.
In his second administration in Honduras, General
José Santos Guardiola, appointed by Lindo, revolted in Tegucigalpa against the National Assembly, with the intent of taking prisoner General Ferrera and Don Coronado Chávez, who were intriguing against Lindo. Felipe Bustillo, who had taken over government functions from Lindo, fled to
Copán
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It is one of the most important sites of the Maya civilization, which was not excavated until the ...
, and Lindo resumed the presidency. Ferrera and Chávez fled to El Salvador. Guardiola later revolted against Lindo, but was defeated and went into voluntary exile.
Lindo signed an alliance with Salvadoran president
Doroteo Vasconcelos to declare war on the government of Guatemala, headed by
Rafael Carrera
José Rafael Carrera y Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the president of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865, after being appointed President for life in 1854. He ruled during the establishment of ne ...
. Allied troops invaded Guatemalan territory, but were defeated by Carrera in the
Battle of La Arada on 2 February 1851.
At the end of Lindo's second term General
José Trinidad Cabañas entered the presidency. Lindo retired from politics and established himself in the city of
Gracias, department of
Lempira, where he died in 1857.
References
External links
Juan Lindo - President of El Salvador*
ttps://www.angelfire.com/ca5/mas/gobi/prs-t/jfl.html Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindo, Juan Nepomuceno Fernandez
1790 births
1857 deaths
People from New Spain
People from Tegucigalpa
Honduran Roman Catholics
Honduran people of Spanish-Jewish descent
Presidents of El Salvador
Presidents of Honduras
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni
19th-century Honduran people