Arguello, Juan

Born in 1778 in Granada . In 1811, already an alkald of Granada, with his cousin Telesforo Arguello, as well as cousin Manuel Antonio de la Cerda (who served as head of the city council), he rebelled against the Spanish authorities. To suppress the uprising, troops loyal to the king were thrown under the command of Sergeant Major Pedro Gutierrez. On April 12, 1812, the rebels were able to repel the first attack, but were later forced to bow to the power of the regular army and surrender in exchange for security guarantees. However, Guatemalan general-captain José de Bustamante y Guerra refused to accept the terms of surrender, and a number of rebel leaders, including Serra and both Arguello, were arrested. After two years in a Guatemalan prison, they were convicted and sentenced to death, but then the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in Spain, which they were serving in the castle of San Sebastian in Cadiz . Telesforo Arguello died in custody, and Juan Arguello and Manuel Antonio de la Cerda were released in 1817 as a result of an amnesty announced by King Ferdinand VII on the occasion of his wedding. Unlike Cerda, who went into confrontation with the authorities, Arguello was loyal to the royal authority, and freely returned to his homeland.

In 1823, the Federal Republic of Central America was formed. After the civil war of 1824-1825, the first Constitutional Assembly of Nicaragua was elected, which, in turn, on April 10, 1825 elected Manuel Antonio de la Cerda for 4-year term as Supreme Head of Nicaragua, and Juan Arguello as Deputy Supreme Head; April 22 inauguration took place. However, already in November, Arguello accused Serda of abusing power, and at his insistence, the Assembly removed him from office, and Arguello began to act as the Supreme Head. In April 1826, the Constitution of Nicaragua was adopted, and the Legislative Assembly, which replaced the Constitutional Assembly, held the election of the Supreme Head in Leon in accordance with this Constitution. None of the two candidates received a clear advantage, and then Arguello forcibly forced the Legislative Assembly to proclaim him the Supreme Head of Nicaragua on August 13, 1826.

These actions led to a split in the Legislative Assembly. While the liberal majority remained in Leon and proclaimed Supreme Head of Arguello, the conservative minority (which included advisers to the Supreme Ruler) fled to Granada and, in order not to return Serdu to power, proclaimed Acting Head of the Executive Pedro Benito Pineda ; Cerda retired to his Hacienda, having no desire to engage in politics. Due to the fact that many among the population of Granada supported liberals, Arguello was able in February 1827 to provoke an uprising there against the Granada Assembly, but some of its members were able to escape and find refuge in Managua , which remained the stronghold of the conservatives. However, Pineda and his chief minister, Miguel de la Cuadra, were captured, taken to Leon and executed.

The municipalities of Managua and Rivas , which became the headquarters of the enemies of Arguello, declared a state of anarchy, because they considered the power of Arguello illegal due to the expiration of his term. Conservatives called on Manuel Antonio de la Cerda to return to power temporarily until new elections are held. In February 1827, Cerda assumed executive authority in front of the municipal authorities of Managua. From Managua, Cerda asked Arguello to resign, but he refused, claiming that Cerda himself was removed from his post by the 1825 Constitutional Assembly. As a result of this diarchy, a new civil war broke out, known as the "War of Cerd and Arguello."

In an atmosphere of political anarchy, Colonel Cleto Ordonez arranged a putsch in Leon and proclaimed himself commander in chief of the armed forces. On September 14, 1827, he overthrew Arguello and expelled him from Nicaragua. Leaving military power in his hands, Ordonez handed over the civil power to Pedro Oviedo , and ordered the municipalities to elect new senior officials; however, the liberals in Leon and Granada created two governments, and continued the war with Serd. Arguello, meanwhile, took refuge in the neighboring state of Salvador .

In 1828, Arguello returned to Nicaragua. On August 5, he, relying on the liberals, organized his own government in Granada, and resumed the war against Cerda. In September, Cerda sent troops under the command of Francisco Baltodano to siege Granada, but he was forced to leave after an attack by Arguello's supporters under the command of Jose Maria Estrada. This greatly worsened the situation of Cerda, and a conspiracy formed against him. In November, Cerda was captured by the conspirators in his house, after which he was sentenced to death and shot. Soon after, Arguello transferred his government from Granada to Rivas.

On November 1, 1829, under the patronage of the federal authorities, a new Legislative Assembly was convened in Rivas. It elected Dionisio Herrera as head of state, sent by the federal government to restore peace to Nicaragua (prior to his arrival, Juan Espinosa headed the executive branch). Herrera expelled Arguello from Nicaragua, and he died in poverty in Guatemala.

• JUAN ARGÜELLO