ALVAREZ, JUAN

born 1790, Concepcin de Atoyac, Mex. died Aug. 21, 1867, Acapulco revolutionary leader for more than 40 years, before and after the end of Spanish rule, and provisional president of Mexico in 1855. A landowner of mestizo ancestry, lvarez in 1811 joined Jos Mara Morelos in an unsuccessful campaign for independence from Spain. He was prominent in Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna's revolt of 182223, which overthrew the first ruler of independent Mexico, Agustn de Iturbide. In 1847 lvarez fought in the war against the United States. Two years later he became governor of the new state of Guerrero, ostensibly as a liberal. When Santa Anna reestablished his dictatorship in 1853, however, lvarez accommodated himself to this situation as long as his hegemony in Guerrero was not threatened. In 1854, when Santa Anna tried to secure direct rule over Guerrero, lvarez started a rebellion at Ayutla. After Santa Anna had gone into exile, lvarez assumed control of the government and soon resigned in favour of Ignacio Comonfort, his ally against Santa Anna. The work of lvarez and Comonfort resulted in the liberal trend known as La Reforma (The Reform) and in the constitution of 1857.