Juan Antonio Pezet

Juan Antonio Pezet Rodríguez was president of the Republic between 1863 and 1865 . He was the son of the patriotic doctor José Pezet y Monel and María del Rosario Rodríguez Piedra. He was born on July 13, 1809, being baptized in the parish of Santa Ana (1810). From a very young age he embraced the patriotic cause, which is why he interrupted his studies in the San Carlos convictory, left his father's house and enrolled in the army of San Martín in Huaura (1821). He joined the Peruvian Legion and took part in the battles of Torata and Moquegua during the first intermediate expedition (1823). He was promoted to lieutenant after participating in the Battle of Zepita. He witnessed the battles of Junín and Ayacucho (1824), and followed Antonio José de Sucre on his march through Upper Peru to later create the Republic of Bolivia. Loyal to President Luis José de Orbegoso, he accompanied him on his expedition to the south and participated in the battle of Huaylacucho against Bermúdez, later witnessing the famous "embrace of Maquinhuayo" that ended the civil war between Orbegoso and Bermúdez (1834). For all these services, Pezet was promoted to colonel (1835), but when the Peru-Bolivian Confederation was established he retired from service. After the defeat and death of President Agustín Gamarra in Ingavi (1841) he was called back to service and assigned to the Second Division of the southern army as chief of staff. After the war with Bolivia ended, and having signed the Treaty of Puno (1842), he supported the uprising of Francisco de Vidal; however, after opposing the advance of Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco, he ended up seconding the Supreme Director (1843). Vivanco entrusted him with the general inspectorate of the army, the prefecture of the department of La Libertad and, finally, the chief of staff in the battle of Carmen Alto. Vivanco defeated by Ramón Castilla, Pezet was wounded and taken prisoner (July 17, 1844). During the first government of Castile he was general inspector of the National Guard (1846); Later, the regime of José Rufino Echenique named him General in Chief of the army that was organized in the south and defended that government until the battle of La Palma (January 5, 1855), which meant the triumph of the liberal revolution led by Castile. Banished first to Chile and removed from any military responsibility, he was called by Castile to occupy the Ministry of War (1859) , acting as chief of staff in the campaign carried out against Ecuador (1859-1860). As a member of the cabinet he twice formed part of the Executive power and installed the reforming congress of that year. Elected first vice president (1862), his poor state of health forced him to request leave and move to Europe, going to the medicinal spas of Vichy (Spain), in order to recover.
He was in Paris when he was surprised by the death of President Miguel de San Román (April 3, 1863), whose term he had to complete. During his administration, he acquired for the navy the monitor “Huáscar”, the frigates “América” and “Apurímac”, the corvette “Unión”, the frigate “Independencia”, the warships “Callao” and “Colón”, and the powerful Armstrong and Blakeley guns. The most salient thing about his government was the beginning of the conflict with Spain (1864), under the pretext that Peru had not paid the so-called "debt of independence" contemplated in the capitulation of Ayacucho (1824). The conflict was precipitated after an incident at the northern farm of "Talambo", where a worker of Basque origin died. The problem, which was nothing more than a police case, was exaggerated by the Spanish spy Eusebio de Salazar y Mazarredo, who forced a Spanish scientific expedition, commanded by Luis Hernández Pinzón, to capture the guano islands of Chincha (April 15, 1864). This caused several street demonstrations and the newspapers supported the public opinion to avenge the inflicted outrage. President Pezet, fearful of a military confrontation with the Spanish, preferred diplomatic negotiation, signing the humiliating Vivanco-Pareja treaty (January 27, 1865), which was not at all favorable to Peru. Revolutionary sentiment was exalted throughout the country and from Arequipa the movement of Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado triumphed (November 7, 1865) , Pezet being sent into exile.
Based in the English city of Richmond, Pezet moved his influence from there to accelerate the departure of the naval units that Peru had acquired under his government, in particular the monitor "Huáscar" and the frigate "Independencia". He returned in 1871 and stayed away from politics in his house in Chorrillos, where he died shortly before the declaration of war by Chile against Peru (March 24, 1879) .