Máximo Benito Santos Barbosa[1] (15 April 1847 – 19 May 1889) was a Uruguayan political and military figure.

Máximo Santos
President of Uruguay
In office
1 March 1882 – 1 March 1886
Preceded byFrancisco Antonino Vidal
Succeeded byFrancisco Antonino Vidal
In office
24 May 1886 – 18 November 1886
Preceded byFrancisco Antonino Vidal
Succeeded byMáximo Tajes
Personal details
Born15 April 1847
Pando, Uruguay
Died19 May 1889
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Political partyColorado Party

Background

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Santos pursued a career in the military, prior to serving as Minister for War from 1880 to 1882. He was a member of the Colorado Party (Uruguay).

In 1882 Miguel Alberto Flangini Ximénez, who served briefly as acting President of Uruguay, stepped down from office.

President of Uruguay (1st term)

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Succeeding acting President Flangini, Santos served as President of Uruguay from 1882 until 1886.

Creation of Flores Department

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Among Santos's lasting acts as President was the creation of the Flores Department in the interior of the country, named after assassinated former President of Uruguay General Venancio Flores, who hailed from the territory incorporated as a department.

Other features of his rule

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He also in a measure repaired relations with Paraguay.

However, his administration was also widely criticized for failure to root out corruption.

Succession

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Santos was succeeded as president by Francisco Antonino Vidal in 1886. Santos served as the President of the Senate of Uruguay in 1886.[2]

President of Uruguay (second interim term)

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Subsequently, after relinquishing presidential office in 1886, Santos returned to exercise presidential powers for a number of months in 1886.

Succession

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Santos was succeeded as president by his Colorado Party colleague Máximo Tajes, with whom, however, he had poor relations. Tajes was still exercising his presidential office at Santos's death.

Later life; death in exile

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Subsequent to the relinquishing of his presidential office for the second time, Santos travelled in Europe, and was unable to return to Uruguay.

Still aged in his early 40s, Santos died in exile in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1889.

Legacy

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Santos' magnificent residence in downtown Montevideo nowadays is the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Uruguay and is known as Palacio Santos. His country estate now houses the Museo de la Memoria, a state-owned museum dedicated to the victims of the Uruguayan dictatorship.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Biografia de Máximo Santos". Biografiasyvidas.com. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  2. ^ PRESIDENCIA DE LA ASAMBLEA GENERAL Y DEL SENADO PRESIDENCIA DE LA CAMARA DE REPRESENTANTES (October 29, 2013). "Parlamentarios Uruguayos 1830-2005" (PDF). www.parlamento.gub.uy. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2013.
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