Máximo Benito Santos Barbosa (15 April 1847 – 19 May 1889) was a

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

an political and military figure who was President of Uruguay from 1882 to 1886. He was member of the Colorado Party. He governed as an authoritarian in an alliance with the military.

Background

Santos pursued a career in the military, prior to serving as Minister for War from 1880 to 1882. He was a member of the

Colorado Party (Uruguay) The Colorado Party (, , PC) is a liberal political party in Uruguay. Its existence can be traced back to the origins of the Uruguayan republic, in the 1830s, and since then until the late 1990s it remained the most dominant political party i ...

. In 1882

Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez (1824–1900) was a Uruguayan political figure. Background Flangini was a member of the Colorado Party (Uruguay). This was during an era which was marked by considerable turmoil within the party. Interim Presid ...

, who served briefly as acting

President of Uruguay The president of Uruguay (), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. The president presides over the Cabinet of Uruguay, Council of Ministers, directing ...

, stepped down from office.

President of Uruguay (1st term)

Succeeding acting President Flangini, Santos served as

from 1882 until 1886.

Creation of Flores Department

Among Santos's lasting acts as President was the creation of the

Flores Department Flores () is a Departments of Uruguay, department of Uruguay, positioned in the southwest of the central part of the country. Its capital is Trinidad, Uruguay, Trinidad. It borders Durazno Department to the north and east, Florida Department to th ...

in the interior of the country, named after assassinated former

General

Venancio Flores Venancio Flores Barrios (18 May 1808 – 19 February 1868) was a Uruguayan political leader and general who served as President of Uruguay from 1854 to 1855 (interim) and from 1865 to 1868. Background and early career In 1839, he was made polit ...

, who hailed from the territory incorporated as a department.

Other features of his rule

He also in a measure repaired relations with

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. However, his administration was also widely criticized for failure to root out corruption.

Succession

Santos was succeeded as president by

Francisco Antonino Vidal Francisco Antonino Vidal (1827–1889) was born in Montevideo, though his birth has also been reported as in 1825, in San Carlos, Uruguay. He was a senator and two-time president of Uruguay. Background and earlier political roles He grew to beco ...

in 1886. Santos served as the President of the Senate of Uruguay in 1886.

President of Uruguay (second interim term)

Subsequently, after relinquishing presidential office in 1886, Santos returned to exercise presidential powers for a number of months in 1886. In August 1886, there was an assassination attempt on Santos.

Succession

Santos was succeeded as president by his Colorado Party colleague

Máximo Tajes Máximo Tajes Caceres (November 23, 1852 – November 21, 1912) was a Uruguayan political figure.'Máximo Tajes', Wikipedia (in Spanish) :es:Máximo Tajes Background Tajes came from a military background. He was a member of the Colorado Party (U ...

, with whom, however, he had poor relations. Tajes was still exercising his presidential office at Santos's death.

Later life; death in exile

Subsequent to the relinquishing of his presidential office for the second time, Santos travelled in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and was unable to return to

. Still aged in his early 40s, Santos died in exile in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, in 1889.

Legacy

Santos' magnificent residence in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

nowadays is the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Uruguay and is known as Palacio Santos. His country estate now houses the Museo de la Memoria, a state-owned museum dedicated to the victims of the Uruguayan dictatorship.

References

External links

Biography
1847 births 1889 deaths People from Pando, Uruguay Presidents of Uruguay Presidents of the Senate of Uruguay Colorado Party (Uruguay) politicians Defence ministers of Uruguay 19th-century Uruguayan politicians Uruguayan military personnel {{Uruguay-politician-stub

Background

President of Uruguay (1st term)

Creation of Flores Department

Other features of his rule

Succession

President of Uruguay (second interim term)

Succession

Later life; death in exile

Legacy

See also

References

External links