José Rafael Carrera Turcios (24 October 1814 Guatemala City – 14 April 1865 Guatemala City) was the ruler of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865. During his military career and presidency, the new nations in Central America faced numerous problems. This led to a rise of caudillos, a term that refers to charismatic populist leaders among the indigenous people. Many regional and national caudillos were interested in power for their own gain. Carrera was an exception as he genuinely took the interests of Guatemala's Indian majority to heart.[1] Backed by the Church, conservatives, and land owners, he dominated politics in the first five decades of Guatemala's independence more than any other individual.[2] He led the revolt against the federal government and was instrumental in breaking up the United Provinces of Central America (Provincias Unidas del Centroamérica).
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Rafael Carrera was born on October 24, 1814 in Candelaria barrio of Guatemala City towards the end of the Spanish colonial period. He was of humble origin, a mestizo and illiterate. He first worked as an farmhand. He enlisted in the army during the civil war, which lasted from 1826-1829. He left the army in 1835, moved to Mataquescuintla, married Petrona Alvarez and worked as a swineherd.[3]
In the 1830s Rafael Carrera pledged a vendetta against Central American president Francisco Morazán and the Federal government after undisciplined Federal soldiers killed some of his relatives. By 1837, rural masses expressed numerous grievances against the liberal government. Inexperienced in republican politics, the liberal leaders didn't foresee the power of popular resistance and refused to change course.[4] A cholera epidemic added to the frustration over grievances, led to panic, and helped Carrera rally the peasants into a continuous military resistance. Strongly supported by the Church, Carrera became de facto ruler on much of Guatemala and led a large uprising of Indians in eastern and southern Guatemala.[5] The movement was strongly conservative and eager to restore many of the colonial institutions and traditions that the liberals had abandoned.[6] Morazán repeatedly chased Carrera's forces out of cities and towns, but Carrera's followers would retake places as soon as Morazán's army left. For almost a decade, he was content being a military commander and enjoyed the respect of his followers.[7]
Rafael Carrera was elected president in 1844. In 1847, Guatemala asserted itself as an independent republic. One year later, as result of pressure by pro-federation liberals who accused Carrera of neglecting the interests of the people he had defended ten years before, Carrera was briefly driven into exile.[8] Back in Guatemala City within a few months, he was commander-in-chief, backed by military and political support of the Indian communities from the densely populated western highlands.[9] During the first presidency from 1844 to 1848, he brought the country back from excessive conservatism to a traditional climate and restored relations with the Church in Rome.[10]
In 1850, a Constituent Assembly published Guatemala's first constitution and named Carrera its president.[11] In 1852, he restored relations between Guatemala with Rome. In 1854, he was declared "supreme and perpetual leader of the nation" for life with the power to choose his successor. He was in that position until he died on April 14, 1865. While he pursued some measures to set up a foundation for economic prosperity to please the conservative landowners, military challenges at home and in a three-year war with Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua dominated his presidency. His rivalry with Gerardo Barrios, President of El Salvador, resulted in open war in 1863. At Coatepeque the Guatemalans suffered a severe defeat, which was followed by a truce. Honduras now joined with El Salvador, and Nicaragua and Costa Rica with Guatemala. The contest was finally settled in favor of Carrera, who besieged and occupied San Salvador and made himself dominant also in Honduras and Nicaragua. He continued to act in concert with the Clerical Party, and tried to maintain friendly relations with the European governments. Before his death, Carrera nominated a general, Vicente Cerna Sandoval, as his successor.
Carrera didn't significantly enhance the life of rural Indians, but he delayed the destruction of their culture that characterized the liberals' capitalist developments. Carrera's regime established the foundations of all following government including "economic control by unified elites, the military as the Latinos' means of social mobility, and even the alienation of Indian land and labor."[12] His success was the result of his military brilliance, charisma, and his ability to quickly identify core issues problems. His rule may have been arbitrary and severe, but not more so that of other Latin American leaders.[13] The Pope awarded Carrera the Order of St. Gregory in 1854, and one year after his death, his face was put on coins with the title “Founder of the Republic of Guatemala.”[14]
| Preceded by (none) |
President of Guatemala 1851–1865 |
Succeeded by Pedro de Aycinena |
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