Manuel Pardo (politician)

Pardo was Minister of Finance from 1865 to 1867.^[1] Pardo was director of Public-Benefit Society of Lima in 1868.^[2] Pardo became the mayor of Lima with the support of President José Balta^[3] and served from 1869 to 1870.^[4] Sitting municipal authorities could not be presidential candidates as those officials were tasked with distributing polling cards; Pardo stepped down as mayor in October 1870.^[5]

The Sociedad Independencia Electoral, which later became the Civilista Party, was founded by Pardo on 24 April 1871.^[6] Electoral clubs supporting Pardo were organised in 156 towns and villages.^[7] The SIE had 15,000 members by June 1871.^[8] Pardo personally led his campaign across the country and sent 634 letters from 1 May to 5 July, and 381 letters from 12—27 July.^[9] Pardo spent 60,000 soles, worth one-tenth of his fortune, on the campaign and two-thirds of this was spent in October 1871 alone.^[10]

Printing presses were acquired in major cities to support Pardo's campaign. The city of Cuzco had four printing presses, with three controlled by Pardo's opponents and one that was difficult to rent. Pardo bought a printing press and had it transported to Cuzco by mule.^[11]

Voters elected delegates in October 1871, who would then go on to elect congressmen in November, and then then the president in May 1872.^[12] For the presidential election the delegates met in the capital of their province. Balta opposed Pardo, but Pardo was supported by the majority of Congress.^[13] Pardo received 69% of the delegate vote in the election. He received 83% of the vote in the north, 86% in the centre, and 52% in the south.^[14] Pardo was the first civilian to serve as president of Peru.^[15]

The Gutiérrez brothers, who controlled the 7,000 strong Peruvian army, attempted to overthrow the government and appoint Tomás Gutiérrez as chief of the Republic. Congress, including opponents of Pardo, passed a resolution condemning the coup and calling for the population to fight against it. The Peruvian navy opposed the coup and gave Pardo refuge on a ship. The coup failed on 27 July 1872, after clashes between armed civilians and the army. Pardo was inaugurated on 2 August.^[16]

The Guardia Nacional, a national police force, was founded by Pardo in November 1872.^[17]

Guano produced an economic boom in Peru after its use as a fertilizer was discovered.^[18] Pardo wanted to connect the Peruvian interior and coastline via railroads using revenue from guano.^[19] Henry Meiggs was hired to construct railroads across the Andes Mountains. Meiggs constructed a railroad from Arequipa to the coast and was then given a $27 million contract to build the 138 mile Central Trans-Andean Railway from Callao to La Oroya. The project went overbudget and the government borrowed against future guano revenue to fund it. Only 87 miles of track were completed by 1875 after the guano reserves were emptied.^[20]

Pardo attempted to reduce government expenditures by reducing the military budget and ending subsidies to primary schools, which would now be funded solely by municipalities.^[15]

Peru had the second-highest foreign debt in the world by 1875, only behind the Ottoman Empire.^[20]

A secret mutual defence treaty was signed between Peru and Bolivia in 1873, and this resulted in Peru being called to fight in the War of the Pacific in 1879.^[21]

Pardo wanted the Civilista Party to give its presidential nomination to Mariano Ignacio Prado for the 1876 election, but Lizardo Montero Flores received the nomination instead. However, Prado won the election.^[21]

In 1877, Pardo was elected President of the Senate.^[21] On 16 November 1878, Pardo was assassinated by gunshot.^[22] His assassin was a soldier who was afraid that a law currently under debate would prevent him from being promoted.^[21]

Prado's son José Pardo y Barreda became president in 1904 after the death of President Serapio Calderón.^[23]

His sons were José Simón Pardo y Barreda, Prime-Minister and also President of Peru, Felipe Pardo y Barreda, V Marquis of Fuente Hermosa de Miranda, and Juan Pardo y Barreda, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Peru.^[24]