Pedro Molina Mazariegos

Pedro José Antonio Molina Mazariegos ( born April 29, 1777 Guatemala City, † September 21, 1854 in Guatemala City ) was President of the Government Junta of the Central American Confederation and head of state of Guatemala.

Life

Pedro Molina studied medicine at the Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala in Narciso Esparagosa y Gallardo, the founder of surgery in Guatemala, and was from 1802 lecturer at the medical school. From 1810-13 he served as a military doctor in Granada, Nicaragua. In 1820 he distinguished himself as the author of a plan for the reform of medical studies, which was also implemented.

On February 9, 1804 married Molina María Dolores Bedoya, with whom he had several children. His son Felipe Francisco Molina y Bedoya came to prominence as Costa Rican diplomat a name.

Political career

Pedro Molina was a staunch supporter of liberal ideas and a tenacious fighter for the independence of Central America. In 1820 he founded the newspaper El Editor Constitucional, under the name El Genio de la Libertad became famous later.

In the spring of 1821 Molina was one of the attending physicians of the former Captain General of Guatemala, Carlos Urrutia y Montoya major contribution that this exercise of government power transferred after a stroke on the Generalsubinspekteur Gabino Gaínza, he knew that he faced the independence movement benevolent. On September 15, 1821 he was one of the participants in the meeting convened by Gaínza Assembly, which declared the independence of Central America from Spain.

After independence from Spain, however, Molina opposed operated by Gaínza annexation of Central America to the young Empire of Mexico. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly, which on 1 July 1823 renewed independence of Central America, this time from Mexico, decided and was elected president of the Government Junta determined that on 10 July 1823 was the Mexican General Captain Vicente Filisola power. However, he resigned from the Government Junta on October 4th, 1823.

In the summer of 1829, the liberal head of state of Honduras Francisco Morazán marched to Guatemala to overthrow the Federation President Manuel José Arce and in this context, the conservative leader Mariano de Aycinena took flight, Molina took over on August 23, 1829 to the October 27, 1830 transitionally the office of the chief of the province of Guatemala. In the following years he held under the government of his party friend Morazán various diplomatic posts.

In March 1848 Molina founded the magazine El Republicano album, practiced the sharp criticism of the conservative government of President Rafael Carrera. He was therefore arrested in May of the same year and had to spend several months in imprisonment.

Molina is revered in Guatemala as a hero of independence. Many public places, buildings and institutions bear his name.