7th President of Argentina
In this
Spanish name
, the first or paternal
surname
is
Saenz Pena
and the second or maternal family name is
Davila
.
Luis Saenz Pena Davila
(2 April 1822 – 4 December 1907) was a lawyer and
President of Argentina
. He was the father of president
Roque Saenz Pena
.
[1]
Biography
[
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82nd birthday of Saenz Pena in 1904, with his son, Roque, and other family members.
Luis Saenz Pena was born on 2 April 1822 to Roque Julian Saenz Pena and Maria Luisa Davila.
He graduated in law from the
University of Buenos Aires
, and participated in the constitutional assembly of 1860. He was a number of times a national deputy and senator. In 1882, he occupied a seat on the Supreme Court of the
Province of Buenos Aires
. Later he was employed as president of the Provincial Bank, director of the Academy of Jurisprudence, and had a seat in the General Council of Education.
On 18 November 1848, he married
Cipriana Lahitte Bonavia (born 6 December 1829, Montevideo, Uruguay - died 23 October 1916) in the Church of San Ignacio, in Buenos Aires.
Political office
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In 1882, he served as a member of the Supreme Court of the Province of Buenos Aires. Later, he served as president of the Bank of the
Province of Buenos Aires
. He was also several times a national deputy and senator.
Presidency
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Saenz Pena with the presidential sash.
Luis Saenz Pena, a prominent Catholic leader, was anointed as a transitional president, after an agreement between the Roquismo and Mitrismo that prevented the electoral participation of the brand new
U.C.R
.
On 12 October 1892, Saenz Pena was inaugurated president of the country. He began his mandate convinced that his mission was to finish getting out of the
Panic of 1890
. He decided not to contract new debts, and personally renegotiated the existing ones in
London
: the financial situation forced the bankers to accept the conditions imposed by the Minister of Finance, Juan Jose Romero, who got some cuts in the capital and a somewhat longer term. By mid-1893, the crisis could be considered over.
During his tenure, the Ministry of Public Works managed to expand the railway network, to the point that all provincial capitals ? except
La Rioja
? were linked by rails. The cities of
Buenos Aires
,
Rosario
and
Santa Fe
finished their ports, and the capital opened the
Avenida de Mayo
, which for more than half a century would be the show window of the great city.
In 1893, Congress approved the creation of the National Charity Lottery, today the National Lottery, which became active in 1894.
In 1894, Law 1,894 was enacted, which yielded large portions of the
Chaco
National Territory to neighboring provinces, especially benefiting the
Province of Santa Fe
.
Revolution and resignation
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In 1895, the political situation became more unstable every day, due to the evident incapacity of the president; Saenz Pena changed his entire cabinet of ministers several times, unsuccessfully seeking to avoid journalistic criticism.
image of Luis Saenz Pena.
The situation spread to the interior provinces, where on several occasions the governments were overthrown, thus increasing instability. Saenz Pena, increasingly disoriented, tried all possible alliances, and finally - before the imminence of a radical revolution - appointed
Aristobulo del Valle
Minister of War and Navy. This convinced him to disarm the National Guards, with the apparent aim of avoiding new revolutions, but a few days later the
radical revolution
broke out.
Saenz Pena no longer controlled his ministers, who ruled according to
Roca
and
Pellegrini
's instructions. In mid-January 1895, all of them submitted their resignations en masse. Saenz Pena submitted his resignation on 22 January, which was received with relief by public opinion. The government passed into the hands of
Jose Evaristo Uriburu
, who completed the term ending in 1898.
Death
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He died in Buenos Aires on December 4, 1907, at the age of 85. He is buried in the
Recoleta Cemetery
.
References
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]