Venancio Flores Barrios (18 May 1808 – 19 February 1868) was a Uruguayan

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

 political leader and general. Flores was President of Uruguay

President of Uruguay

The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the head of state of Uruguay. His or her rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Conforms with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the executive branch...

 from 1854 to 1855 (interim) and from 1865 to 1868.

Background and early career

In 1839, he was made political chief of the department of San José. He fought in the "Guerra Grande" against Manuel Oribe

Manuel Oribe

Manuel Ceferino Oribe y Viana was the fourth president of Uruguay.-Biography:Manuel Oribe was the son of Captain Francisco Oribe and María Francisca Viana, a descendant of the first governor of Montevideo, José Joaquín de Viana...

 and his Argentinian backers. He became a leading figure in the Colorado party and formed a triumvirate with Fructuoso Rivera

Fructuoso Rivera

José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana was an Uruguayan general and patriot who assisted in the efforts to force Brazilians out of the Banda Oriental.-Founder of Colorado Party and President of Uruguay:...

 and Juan Antonio Lavalleja

Juan Antonio Lavalleja

Juan Antonio Lavalleja was an Uruguayan revolutionary and political figure. Today's Lavalleja Department is named after him.-Pre-Independence role:...

 in 1853.

First Presidency of Uruguay (interim)

He served as interim President of Uruguay

President of Uruguay

The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the head of state of Uruguay. His or her rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Conforms with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the executive branch...

 and remained in power until 1855, after which he moved to Argentina.

Civil war role

In 1863, he started a rebellion against the Blanco president Bernardo Berro

Bernardo Berro

Bernardo Prudencio Berro was the President of Uruguay from 1860 to 1864.-President of Uruguay :...

, which led to civil war in Uruguay. With Argentinian and Brazilian help, by February, 1865 he had taken Montevideo.

Second Presidency of Uruguay

He established a provisional government, a term used to disguise his personal dictatorship. Although the Uruguayan Colorado Party has the reputation of being progressive and democratic, Flores and other Colorado Party leaders of the 19th century, and many prominent 20th century Colorado leaders, collectively demonstrated by their actions that they were comfortable with rule by decree, with power not unusually concentrated in very few people. The tendency of some observers to describe Latin American heads of state who ruled by decree as 'de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

' Presidents may be seen in this light. During his rule, Flores joined Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 and Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 in the devastating War of the Triple Alliance

War of the Triple Alliance

The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...

 against Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

.

Flores's dictatorship ended on February 15, 1868.

Assassination

Four days after stepping down as President, he was murdered by a group of unidentified assassins. But although Flores' killers were not formally identified, it may be added that as a background to his assassination is the intermittent Uruguayan civil war which continued throughout much of the 19th century between Colorados and Blancos.

Legacy

The Flores Department

Flores Department

-History and cultural heritage:The department, created by President Máximo Santos, is named after the former Colorado Party leader, Venancio Flores, who was born in Trinidad in the nineteenth century.The department has many sites of prehistoric rock art...

 was named after Venancio Flores by a later Colorado Party (Uruguay)

Colorado Party (Uruguay)

The Colorado Party is a political party in Uruguay.- Aims :It unites Conservative, Moderate and Social democratic groups. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilisation of the Uruguayan republic....

 President of Uruguay

President of Uruguay

The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the head of state of Uruguay. His or her rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Conforms with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the executive branch...

, Máximo Santos

Máximo Santos

Máximo Santos was a Uruguayan political and military figure.-Background:Santos pursued a career in the military, prior to serving as Minister for War from 1880 to 1882...

.

More broadly, his period of office continued a tendency already present among at least some Colorado Party (Uruguay)

Colorado Party (Uruguay)

The Colorado Party is a political party in Uruguay.- Aims :It unites Conservative, Moderate and Social democratic groups. It was the dominant party of government almost without exception during the stabilisation of the Uruguayan republic....

 Presidents but surviving virtually to contemporary times, for the national leadership under that party to be nominally liberal in doctrine but actually highly authoritarian. In this sense, Flores was definitely in the 'Riverista' mold, after Fructuoso Rivera

Fructuoso Rivera

José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana was an Uruguayan general and patriot who assisted in the efforts to force Brazilians out of the Banda Oriental.-Founder of Colorado Party and President of Uruguay:...

, rather than in what would much later be referred to as a 'Batllista', after the liberal José Batlle y Ordóñez

José Batlle y Ordóñez

José Pablo Torcuato Batlle y Ordóñez was the president of Uruguay in 1899 and from 1903 until 1907 and for a further term from 1911 to 1915. He was the son of former president, Lorenzo Batlle y Grau. His children César, Rafael and Lorenzo Batlle Pacheco were actively engaged in politics...

.

See also

• M%C3%A1ximo Santos#Creation of Flores Department

See also

• History of Uruguay
  History of Uruguay
  This is about the history of Uruguay.-Pre-Columbian times and colonization:The only documented inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were the Charrua, a small tribe driven south by the Guaraní of Paraguay...