JOSÉ IGNACIO PAVÓN: BIOGRAPHY, GOVERNMENT, CONTRIBUTIONS - ARTE - 2025

José Ignacio Pavón (1791-1866) was a Mexican conservative lawyer, jurist and politician. He was interim president of his country in 1860, although only for two days. He is known as the oldest president that Mexico has had, since he was 69 years old when he temporarily replaced Miguel Miramón, curiously the youngest president in the history of the Aztec country.

During his political life he stood out for holding important positions both in the viceregal government and in the War of the Reform. In this last period he participated in the founding of the Ministry of Finance and is later recognized as a magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice.

José Ignacio Pavón, President of Mexico for the Plan of Tacubaya. Source: SUN RISE (book), Oil (Unknown)

Biography

Early years

José Ignacio Pavón Jiménez was born on August 11, 1791 in the city of Veracruz, Mexico. He was the first of a family of eight children. His parents were María Antonia Jiménez de Miranda Ordozgoiti and José Ignacio Pavón Muñoz, who was a merchant.

He studied at the Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City, where he entered to study Philosophy, Canons and Laws.

Political charges

Between the years 1818 and 1821 he held various positions in the viceregal government: honorary alderman of the City of Mexico City (1818), governor of the City of Mexico City (1818), secretary of the Board of Censorship (1820) and advisor to Patronage affairs (1820).

Later he participated in the founding of the Ministry of Finance, where he had an outstanding career. In this sector he began as a senior official to the Minister of Finance (1823). He was also Secretary of the Treasury (1828), Accountant of the General Treasury (1829) and General Director of Revenue (1831).

Other positions that he held in his career as a conservative were Political Chief of Tabasco (1824 and senior officer of the Ministry of Interior and Foreign Relations (1825).

Towards the 1840s, an outstanding stage in the field of law began, which lasted 10 years. He was first appointed Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice in 1841 and four years later, Justice of the Department of Mexico. There he remained until his retirement in 1851.

During the War of the Reform, the conservative government appointed him president of the Supreme Court of Justice in 1858, a position he held until 1860.

I pass for the presidency

On August 14, 1860, after the resignation of Miguel Miramón, José Ignacio Pavón assumed the presidency provisionally. At 69, he becomes the oldest president ever to take office. A Board of Department Representatives was established, who again elected Miramón as interim president two days later.

This fact was only intended to give legality to the transmission of power held by Miguel Miramón, the youngest president in the history of Mexico. Pavón was restored to the Supreme Court of Justice until the liberal government of President Juárez dismissed him the following year.

Last years

During the French intervention, in 1863, Pavón became a member of the Superior Government Board that appointed the Assembly of Notables. In that year he was appointed to a position in the Supreme Court of Justice. Shortly after, he became a substitute in the provisional Regency that led the executive while Emperor Maximilian arrived in Mexico.

However, he did not remain in these positions for long, as he was dismissed for having disagreements with General Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, who occupied the Regency (triumvirate) of the Second Mexican Empire. With his dismissal came his retirement from political life.

On May 25, 1866, at the age of 75, José Ignacio Pavón died in Mexico City. Some historians indicate that it was in Tlalpan at that time. In life he married Felipa González del Castillo González, on February 10, 1823 in Mexico City, with whom he had four children.

Characteristics of his government

Map of Mexico in 1858 during the War of the Reform. (In green the states that supported the conservatives) Source: Hpav7

The government of José Ignacio Pavón is characterized by the fleeting nature of an attempt to grant legitimacy to Miguel Miramón. Miramón had previously resigned and induced Pavón to assume the provisional presidency, while a Board of Representatives of the Departments appointed him as a new interim president.

However, this action can be framed as part of the conservative trend that existed in the country. The conservative ideology was based on moral and religious ideas applied to other areas. They gave great importance to industrialization, respected individual and community property, as well as rejected the imposition of the state on ecclesiastical authorities.

For those who did not support him, the conservatives had formed a government parallel to the one headed by the leader of the liberal force, Benito Juárez. This was the case of various countries in the international community, including the United States, who did not recognize them as the legitimate government of Mexico.

Other contributions

Of his brief presidential term, little stands out, beyond the immediacy with which a Board of Representatives of the Departments was formed and Miguel Miramón was reappointed as interim president of the conservative government.

Where really José Ignacio Pavón had an outstanding participation was in the area of ​​fiscal policy and administrative order. His contributions to the foundation of the Ministry of Finance were essential, as well as during his tenure in various positions for almost 10 years. He collaborated closely with the administration of José Ignacio Esteva (1824-1825) in the reforms and administrative changes of the public finances.

Among the main legal actions that it carried out were the reduction of the right of internment of foreign effects. It also decreed Freedom of rights in the Federal District and territories to cotton, wool and silk fabrics.

In parallel to his years in the Supreme Court of Justice, he excelled as a teacher of economics and tax issues among the new government officials. It was key to training the new generation of thinkers, making known in Mexico the work of authors such as the Spanish José Canga y Argüelles, as well as classical economists such as Adam Smith and Jean Baptiste Say.

References

1. José Ignacio Pavón. (2019, August 04). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from es.wikipedia.org
2. Carmona, D. (2019). José Ignacio Pavón, president of the Supreme Court, is in charge of the executive branch of the conservative government for two days. Recovered from memoriapoliticademexico.org
3. Stories and Stories of Mexico. (2018, August 6). José Ignacio Pavón. Recovered from relatosehistorias.mx
4. (sf) José Ignacio Pavón. Recovered from Buscabiografias.com
5. José Ignacio Pavón. (2019, June 08). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from wikipedia.org
6. Hagg and Saab, G. (2005) Sketch of History in Mexico. Mexico: Pearson Education
7. Guide to Memories of Mexico. (sf) Pavón, José Ignacio (1791-1866). Recovered from memoriasdehacienda.colmex.mx.