Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (20 October 1882 – 15 May 1966) was a Salvadoran military officer and ándezMartípolitician who served as the president of El Salvador from 4 December 1931 to 28 August 1934 in an acting capacity and again in an official capacity from 1 March 1935 until his resignation on 9 May 1944. He was the leader of El Salvador during World War II. While he served as President Arturo Araujo's vice president and defense minister, a directorate seized power during a palace coup and afterwards named Hernández Martínez president of El Salvador.
He served as president for almost 12 years and ruled the nation with an authoritarian one-party state led by the fascistic and anti-communist National Pro Patria Party. His rule was marked by rigged and fraudulent elections and brutality, most notably the 1932 Salvadoran peasant massacre, known as La Matanza ("The Massacre"). Under his rule, El Salvador, under pressure from the United States, joined the Allied Powers during World War II on 8 December 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He modernized the nation through infrastructure projects such as the Pan-American Highway and the Cuscatlán Bridge. He also established the Central Reserve Bank, but was eventually forced to resign on 9 May 1944 after a military mutiny the month prior and massive civil unrest.
In 1966, Martínez was killed in exile by the son of one of the men who'd been murdered during his rule. At the age of 83, he remains one of the oldest politicians to be assassinated.
Early life
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez was born on 20 October 1882 in San Matías, La Libertad, El Salvador. His parents were Raymundo Hernández and Petronila Martínez.
He studied secondary education at the National Institute of El Salvador. After finishing his secondary education studies, he entered the Polytechnic School of Guatemala, where he obtained the degree of Sub-Lieutenant. He returned to El Salvador during the presidency of General Tomás Regalado Romero. Upon his return, he studied at the Facility of Jurisprudence and Social Sciences at the University of El Salvador (UES).
He was promoted to lieutenant on 17 November 1903; to captain on 23 August 1906; to captain major the same year, during the Third Totoposte War with Guatemala where Hernández Martínez fought under Regalado Romero; to lieutenant colonel on 6 May 1909; and finally to colonel on 15 June 1914. On 14 July 1919, the National Legislative Assembly promoted him to the rank of brigadier general and the legislative decree was sanctioned by the president Jorge Meléndez Ramírez on 17 September. He became Minister of National Defense on 1 March 1931.
Rise to power
In the 1931 presidential election he was initially a candidate for his National Republican Party. He joined forces with Arturo Araujo of the Labor Party, running on a reformist platform. The ticket won the election with a 46.65% margin and 106,777 votes in what was considered the first free multiparty election in Salvadoran history and the last for over half a century.
The reason for the coup was that military personnel had not been paid their salary, although it is sometimes attributed to the fall in prices of coffee abroad. The reality is that officers were not paid and the Finance Minister had only paid the police, who remained loyal to the president. The army officers were angry and ousted President Araujo on 2 December 1931. In its place, the military officers established the Civic Directory. Two days later on 4 December, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez became Acting President of El Salvador.
The United States did not recognize the legitimacy of Hernández Martínez's rise to power or government due to the 1923 Central American Treaty of Peace and Amity and only recognized his government after his government put down the communist uprising in early 1932. Hernández Martínez eventually denounced El Salvador's membership of the treaty on 26 December 1932.
Presidency
La Matanza
Legislative elections were scheduled for 3–5 January 1932 and Hernández Martínez's government promised free and fair elections. To participate in the election, however, voters had to be registered in their municipalities alongside their party, thus giving the government a list of Communist Party members. The communists won several municipalities but Hernández Martínez cancelled the election results and cancelled follow up elections scheduled for 10–12 January.