The presidency of Manuel Oribe began on 1 March 1835 when he was inaugurated as the 2nd constitutional president of Uruguay. Oribe took office following his appointment by the General Assembly after he was unanimously voted in favour in the 1835 presidential election performed in the Parliament, while his presidency ended with his resignation on 24 October 1838 following the political pressures of that time.
This administration received the state treasury almost in bankruptcy, forcing the government to seek external financing. Among the outstanding policies of this period was the creation of Salto, Tacuarembó and Minas (currently named Lavalleja) Departments, the promotion of the tertiary education through the establishment of several degrees in the House of General Studies (that later would become the University of the Republic), amnesties to the 1832-1834 Lavalleja's uprisings followers and several pension laws. On the other hand, there were several armed uprisings encouraged by his new opponent, former president Fructuoso Rivera.
Background On 1 March 1835, Manuel Oribe was unanimously elected by the General Assembly as the second constitutional president of Uruguay, with the thirty-four legislators present voting for Oribe. This support reflected the reputation that Oribe was enjoying at that time, for "his moral, civic and military skills". The fact of being "Rivera's candidate" partly explained his triumph, but that did not mean that he had not had his own merits. His contribution to reach the peace was essential to definitively defeat the Lavalleja's rebellions, during which Oribe supported Rivera.
Inauguration Upon assuming his seat as the president of the republic, Manuel Oribe pronounced his speech:
Cabinet
On 4 March 1835 Oribe announced his cabinet of government. Francisco Llambí was appointed as minister of Government and Foreign Relations, Juan María Pérez as minister of Finance, and general Pedro Lenguas as minister of War. Other appointments included those of Juan Benito Blanco as political chief of Montevideo, and José Rondeau as chief of the Army General Staff. The persons appointed came from different political postures and attempted to reconcile the different political movements of the country's political elite in previous periods.
Juan Benito Blanco took charge as political head of Montevideo Department on 1 April 1835. On 15 October 1836, he was appointed as General State Accountant by president Oribe, and on 6 August 1837 he replaced Francisco Llambí as the new minister of Government and Foreign Relations, until 1 September 1838 when he was replaced by Carlos Villademoros. On the other hand, before being designated as minister, Villademoros was a commercial attaché before imperial Brazil, until he was elected as a deputy for Montevideo in the third legislature of the House of Representatives.
Francisco Joaquín Muñoz took charge of the ministry of Finance on 21 October 1836, replacing Juan María Pérez because the latter was suffering an eyesight related health issue. Muñoz served as minister until August of the following year.
Domestic policy Public administration A banner consisting of a white ribbon with the slogan "Defender of the laws" was created by decree of 10 August 1836. Its use was made mandatory for military officials, police officers and other public officials, who had to wear it on the hat or the eyelets of their uniforms. The purpose of this banner was to stand out those who were rebelling against the authorities, from which adhered to the legal authorities. Common citizens could also use this banner in the eyelets of their clothing as a sign of support for the authorities. This banner is considered the origin of the National Party's identity signature.
Defense First rebellion of Rivera
The opposition to the ruling party, made up of politicians such as former ministers Lucas Obes and Santiago Vázquez, had the support of Rivera and him in turn acted as if it were acting as an autonomous government since the position created of General Commander of the Countryside, outside of the law. The political situation worsened after the beginning of the Ragamuffin War in 1835 in Rio Grande do Sul, because the revolutionaries had the sympathy of Lavalleja, opponent of Rivera. In a fear that a revolutionaries' success would boost his rival into a prevailing position in the government, Rivera decided to establish relations with the imperial commander of Rio Grande do Sul. However, Oribe, noticing this, decided to take over the seat of General Command of the Army, stationed on the border with Brazil, and suppressed the General Command of the Countryside, but trying not to break the relations with Rivera. But Rivera did not like this move.
The tensions between the administration and the opposition again appeared during the January 1836 elections of ordinary mayors, where the supporters of the executive and those of the general commander of the countryside performed a heated electoral campaign that at the end the supporters of the ruling party won. The opposition accused the government of having committed "an influence" on the elections and protests sparked in the opposition press. After these protests the closure of one of these newspaper was ordered, which the opposition described as "absolutist" and "anti-liberal".
Then, on 18 July, Rivera made a proclamation saying that he would rise against the government. The authorities ordered the use of a white banner (see above) to distinguish those who were supporting the official side from those supporting the rebels. On the other hand, Rivera's rebels initially adopted a light blue colored banner like the color of the national cockade, but it was gradually replaced by a red banner because the light blue banner would become white, the color of their rivals, due to rain or washing. Since a few months ago Rivera had sold his ranchs to finance his campaign, and obtained the support of militias from Paysandú, Durazno and Soriano, as well as the support of the forces led by general Lavalle, an Argentine unitarian. The legal forces consisted mostly of the National Guard led by general Ignacio Oribe, but also joined their side the forces led by Lavalleja. On 19 September 1836, the Battle of Carpintería took place, and the peoples with red and white banners fought each other. At the end, this battle was won by the government forces. The peace was restored and some high-profile supporters of Rivera were exiled, among them Obes and Vázquez, who refugeed in Rio de Janeiro, and they were banned from returning to Uruguay. Other Rivera supporters such as the unitarians Rivadavia, Agüero and Cruz were exiled to Santa Catarina. Regarding to the lieutenants who fought for Rivera, Oribe dediced in a conciliatorly way to agreed to their clemency request, what led him to win the respect of his adversaries.
Second rebellion of Rivera
The battle of Yucutujá was fought on 22 October 1837 at the lands of Yucutujá, located in the current department of Artigas, between the government troops of the president Manuel Oribe and the revolutionaries of Fructuoso Rivera, supported by the unitarian Juan Lavalle and the Riograndense Republic's troops from Piratini. In this battle fought about 800 men for each side. The result of this battle was a victory for Rivera.
Battle of Palmar
The battle of Palmar was an armed conflict fought on 15 June 1838 between the rebel forces led by Fructuoso Rivera, and the forces led by Ignacio Oribe and Juan Antonio Lavalleja, the latter supporters of the authorities under the presidency of Manuel Oribe. The battle site of Palmar was located in the department of Paysandú, between the cities of Guichón and Piñera. This battle also ended with a victory for Rivera.
Human rights Amnesty for the Lavalleja revolutionaries At the end of March 1835, Oribe appeared before the General Assembly to request authorization to pay a subsidy to the exiled military members due to the failed revolutions of 1832 to 1834, on the grounds that despite they had risen in arms against the constitutional authorities, before that they distinguishedly served during the Wars of Independence. This request was fulfilled with the approval of the law no. 96 of 16 June 1835, where the General Assembly authorized the Executive Power to proceed with this purpose in the way it deemed "compatible with the public tranquility and circumstances of the treasury".
Then, after being legally authorized, Oribe issued two decrees. The first granted a third of the salary to the exiled chiefs and officers, under the condition they stayed in Argentina and not elsewhere. According to Eduardo Acevedo, this condition was strange, if it was taken into account that the core of the Lavalleja revolutionary movement was settled in Buenos Aires, but in his opinion it was consistent with the new solidarity policy between the two countries that Rosas promoted and Oribe accepted. The second decree allowed them to return to all the emigrated people who would like to return.
Given these decrees, Juan Antonio Lavalleja requested from Buenos Aires to be returned his goods seized due to the armed uprisings during the presidency of Rivera he was part of, or a compensation for them. Oribe agreed to his request, and waived the existing hindrances, under the reasoning of "the respect that deserved the individual property". To this series of measures, which moved away from the policies of those of the presidency of Rivera, another one was added, that the law no. 126 of 21 June 1836 authorized the Executive Power to pay all the occupied properties due to political reasons of the 1832 and 1833 revolutions, prior legal justification and in a way the treasure was able to provide funds.
Freedom for the slaves introduced to the country Since 1825, slave traffic was forbidden and was declared the freedom of wombs by a law of the Hall of Representatives of the Eastern Province. The slave traffic was again prohibited by the Constitution of 1830. However, the slave traffic in fact continued for several years. Because of that, the law no. 156 of 16 June 1837 was approved, by which all the black people that since then were being trafficked into the country would become automatically free. In addition to that, it established a system of protection to these peoples until the majority of age, or for three years for the individuals over twenty-five years of age, to "reconcile this freedom with their state of civilization".
Economy and finance The national treasury was under a difficult situation and under the risk of bankruptcy at the end of the presidency of Rivera, and this was already known during the interim presidency of Carlos Anaya. During that period, Oribe, before being elected as the president of the republic, requested the adoption of measures to alleviate the situation, such as to sign a treaty of commerce with Great Britain in order to be able to obtain later a loan that it could save the country's funds. After the presidency of Oribe began, the minister of finance proposed a plan to get out of the crisis, consisting of addressing the commitments with immediate expiration dates through the conversion of the existing debt to short term and low interest policies, the organization of the public credit, the raise of the fiscal burden through the expansion of the taxation system, restriction on public spending to equally leveling the income and the expenditures, to strictly foresee the amortization and cancellation of public debt, to ask for a loan to convert the debt into a long term obligation, and the establishment of a book of public debts and incomes, among other measures.