Rivera Paz, Mariano (1804–1849)

Mariano Rivera Paz. (b. 24 September 1804; d. 22 February 1849), chief of state of Guatemala (1838–1839, 1839–1841, 1842–1844). The son of a creole family of modest means, Rivera rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the federal army during the civil war of 1826–1829. After the army's defeat by Francisco Morazán, Rivera went to Cobán, and during the administration of Mariano Gálvez (1831–1838) he represented Verapaz in the legislature and acquired considerable property. Rivera was an active member of the conservative faction led by Juan José de Aycinena, and following Rafael Carrera's overthrow of Gálvez in 1838, served as chief of state of Guatemala for most of the subsequent five years. In collaboration with Carrera, he presided over restoration of Hispanic values and institutions in Guatemala. Rivera later served as alcalde of Guatemala City, director of the Sociedad Económica, and corregidor of the Department of Guatemala. In 1849 President Mariano Paredes named him corregidor of Jutiapa, with orders to pacify that rebellious montaña department. Guerrillas ambushed and killed him as he traveled to his new post.

See alsoCentral America; Guatemala.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Edgar Escobar Medrano, Mariano Rivera Paz y su época (1982).

Additional Bibliography

Pinto Soria, Julio César. Nación, caudillismo y conflicto étnico en Guatemala (1821–1854). Guatemala: Instituto de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociales, Escuela de Ciencia Política, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, 1996.

Sullivan-González, Douglass. Piety, Power, and Politics: Religion and Nation Formation in Guatemala, 1821–1871. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998.

                                    Ralph Lee Woodward Jr.