1895 Salvadoran presidential election explained

Presidential elections were held in El Salvador in January 1895. General Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez, who was serving as the country's provisional president during the election, ran unopposed and was elected with over 99 percent of the vote. Concurrent vice presidential elections were held, during which, Prudencio Alfaro defeated Carlos Meléndez and four minor candidates.

Campaign

Presidential elections were scheduled to be held in January 1895 following the Revolution of the 44 which overthrew President Carlos Ezeta in June 1894. Brigadier General Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez, who led the revolution and succeeded Ezeta as provisional president, ran for president unopposed. Meanwhile, the vice presidential election was contested by Prudencio Alfaro and Carlos Meléndez, both of whom were also leaders of the 1894 revolution. Gutiérrez did not endorse either candidate and allowed them to compete for the vice presidency. Brigadier General Estanislau Pérez, Brigadier General Tomás Regalado Romero, and two other minor candidates also participated in the vice presidential election. All men were eligible to vote in the election.

Results

In the presidential election, Gutiérrez received 61,080 votes with only 91 votes against. In the vice presidential election, Alfaro and Meléndez both sought to gain a competitive advantage over the other by ensuring that their allied municipal leaders would be in control of polling stations in the country's 248 municipalities. In 176 of the 248 municipalities, the winning candidate won with over 95 percent of the vote, due to the candidates seeking to install allies in charge of polling stations. Additionally, in 96 of the municipalities, the winning candidate won unanimously. Alfaro held an advantage in seven departments—Ahuachapán, La Paz, La Unión, Morazán, San Miguel, Sonsonate, and Usulután—while Meléndez held an advantage in two—Cabañas and San Vicente. Both candidates won by large margins in the departments where they held massive influence. Neither candidate had an outright advantage in the remaining five departments—Chalatenango, Cuscatlán, La Libertad, San Salvador, and Santa Ana—and the results across those departments were not as lopsided. Ultimately, Alfaro was elected vice president with 38,006 votes; Meléndez came in second place with 18,792 votes, and the other four candidates earned around 4,000 votes combined. Gutiérrez and Alfaro both assumed office on 1 March 1895.

Historian Erik Ching described monopolizing voting at polling stations as "the golden rule of politics in El Salvador" and that the 1895 vice presidential election exemplified that. He also described Gutiérrez's role in the election as that of an "undisputed leader who kept electoral passions in check".

Vice president

Results by department

The following table displays the number of votes each candidate received from each of the country's 14 departments. The candidate with the most votes in a department is highlighted in . Results are not complete, and one candidate is not displayed.

Department	Alfaro	Meléndez	Pérez	Regalado	Hurtado
	data-sort-type="number"	Votes	data-sort-type="number"	Votes	data-sort-type="number"	Votes	data-sort-type="number"	Votes	data-sort-type="number"	Votes
Ahuachapán	3,647		167
Cabañas
Chalatenango	4,278	2,759
Cuscatlán	2,635	2,634
La Libertad	1,001	2,752		472
La Paz	3,334	408
La Unión
Morazán
San Miguel
San Salvador	4,543	2,696
Santa Ana	1,210		1,901	432
San Vicente	260	3,170
Sonsonate	3,645	188	590		177
Usulután	3,096	270
Total	38,006	18,792	~4,000
Source: Diario Oficial 1895, pp. 161–162

References

Bibliography

• Book: Ching. Erik K.. 1997. From Clientelism to Militarism: The State, Politics and Authoritarianism in El Salvador, 1840–1940. en. Santa Barbara, California. University of California, Santa Barbara. 39326756. 28 February 2024. .
• Web site: Presidentes de El Salvador – General Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez. Presidents of El Salvador – General Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez. es. 25 March 2021. Government of El Salvador. Casa Presidencial. https://web.archive.org/web/20090302084939/http://www.casapres.gob.sv/presidentes/pres/rguitierres1894.htm. 2 March 2009. .
• Book: Nohlen. Dieter. Dieter Nohlen. 2005. Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1: North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. en. Oxford, United Kingdom. Oxford University Press. 270–299. 9780191557934. 58051010. 13 October 2024.
• News: Sección Editorial: Las Elecciones a Altos Poderes. Editorial Section: The Elections to High Powers. es. 30 January 1895. Diario Oficial. 20 October 2024. 38. 26. 161–162. .

Further reading

• Web site: Elections and Events 1850–1899. 25 March 2021. en. University of California, San Diego. 23 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210323211303/https://library.ucsd.edu/research-and-collections/collections/notable-collections/latin-american-elections-statistics/El%20Salvador/elections-and-events-1850-1899.html. dead.