
Mariano Paredes (7 January 1797 – 7 September 1849) was President of Mexico from 31 December 1845 to 28 July 1846, succeeding Jose Joaquin de Herrera and preceding Nicolas Bravo.
Biography[]
Mariano Paredes was born in Mexico City, New Spain in 1797, and he served in the royalist army during the Mexican War of Independence. However, he was later arrested for criticizing King Fernando VII of Spain, and he was sentenced to be exiled to Spain. However, he escaped from confinement and became a Lieutenant-Colonel in Agustin de Iturbide's monarchist "Three Guarantees Army". He took part in the 1823 revolution against Iturbide in Puebla and in the 1829 uprising against Vicente Guerrero, and he became a Brigadier-General in the Mexican Army in 1832. In 1839, he helped to suppress a federalist revolt in Jalisco, but, in 1841, he headed a reactionary revolt against President Anastasio Bustamante caused by Bustamante's lack of efforts to recover Texas. Bustamante agreed to resign, and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna went on to assume the presidency. Paredes was excluded from Santa Anna's cabinet, and he felt that he had been inadequately rewarded, but he served as Governor of Jalisco from 1841 to 1843. In 1843, at Celaya, he withdrew his support of Santa Anna, and Congress named Jose Joaquin de Herrera as president in 1845, again marginalizing Paredes. When the Mexican-American War broke out, Paredes was sent to San Luis Potosi, and he was entrusted with invading Texas; however, he instead took his army to Mexico City and ousted Herrera from power, assuming the presidency. On 1 January 1846, Yucatan declared its independence from Mexico and its neutrality in the war with the United States, and the Mexicans suffered several defeats at the hands of the US. After leaving the presidency, Paredes sought to turn Mexico into a monarchy led by a Spanish monarch, leading to Jose Maria Yanez leading an uprising which forced Paredes into exile in France. He returned to Mexico in 1848 and opposed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and he also led another failed uprising. He was amnestied in 1849, and he died in poverty in Mexico City that same year.