Jovellanos, Salvador (1833–1881)

Salvador Jovellanos (b. 1833; d. 1881), Paraguayan president (1871–1874). The decade after the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance was a difficult period for Paraguay, with political factions shifting constantly and foreign armies in control of the streets of Asunción. Under such circumstances, obscure men sometimes achieved high political office. Salvador Jovellanos was one example. He had been chosen by President Francisco Solano López to study in Europe. After López was killed, Jovellanos was chosen as Cirilo Antonio Rivarola's vice president solely, it seems, on the basis of his charming manner. He in turn succeeded to the presidency when opponents forced out Rivarola in 1871. His charm notwithstanding, Jovellanos never gained the trust of any major faction. His administration was marred by four revolts and by two notorious loans negotiated in London in an effort to restore the country's wrecked economy.

See alsoWar of the Triple Alliancexml .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Charles J. Kolinski, Historical Dictionary of Paraguay (1975).

Harris Gaylord Warren, Paraguay and the Triple Alliance: The Postwar Decade, 1869–1878 (1978), pp. 177-193.

Additional Bibliography

Amaral, Raúl. Los presidentes del Paraguay: Crónica Política 1844–1954. Asunción: Biblioteca de Estudios Paraguayos, 1994.

Aramburu, Eduardo. Demanda de Eduardo Aramburu contra Salvador Jovellanos, Higinio Uriarte y suceciones de Juan B. Gill y Emilio Gill. Montevideo: Imprenta La Reform, 1876.

Ayala, Eligio. La Revolución armada: Un tema constitucional. Asunción: Archivo del Liberalismo, Cuadernos Históricos, no. 11, 1989.

Rivarola, Cirilo A. Manifiesto. Buenos Aires, 1983.

                                     Thomas L. Whigham