Urriola, Ciro Louis

Born in 1863 in the city ​​of Panama . At first he studied natural sciences in his native city, then he went to Bogotá for higher education, where in 1888 he became a doctor of medicine, after which he returned to his homeland. Since 1893, for four years, he headed the health service of the Port of Panama. In 1898 he went to Paris , where he studied bacteriology and nervous diseases, then studied obstetrics in Dublin . In 1901 he returned to his homeland, where the Thousand-Day War was just going on ; his sympathy for the liberals gave him some problems.

When Panama separated from Colombia in 1903, he was elected to the National Constitutional Convention. In 1904, he went to Paris for a tuberculosis congress, and then went to Rome , where he studied malaria. In 1906 he returned to Panama, where, thanks to his efforts, a midwifery school was opened at the St. Thomas Hospital. From 1914 to 1918 he was a member of the National Assembly .

Panama inherited the management system from Colombia: there was no vice president, but there were Designado Presidencial posts - the first ( Primer ) and the second ( Segundo ); the people holding these posts were to act as president (in that order) in the event of his absence (as well as the impossibility of fulfilling presidential duties by the previous Designado Presidencial ). Ciro Urriola was elected Primer Designado in 1916, and when President Ramon Valdez passed away in the summer of 1918, he became president of the country.

Designado Presidencial were elected by the National Assembly for two years. As president, Urriola issued Decree No. 80 on June 20, 1918, postponing the next election indefinitely. This decision provoked widespread indignation, and Pablo Arosemena and Ricardo Arias appealed to the United States with a memorandum, demanding their intervention on the basis of Article 136 of the Panama Constitution to restore constitutional order. The United States presented an ultimatum to Urriola, demanding that elections be held within the time frame provided for by the Constitution. Since there was no answer, the US troops occupied Panama and Colon ; Taking advantage of the situation, the United States also brought troops into Veraguas and Chiriqui next month, where they remained until 1920. In September 1918, the National Assembly elected Belisario Porras as Primer Designado for the next two-year term.

In 1920, Ciro Urriola wanted to run for president, but his competitor was Belisario Porras, and he chose not to participate.