Eduardo López de Romaña y Alvizuri (1847-1912) was President of the Republic , engineer by profession. He was born in Arequipa on March 19, 1847, into an old and prominent family. His parents were Juan Manuel López de Romaña and Josefina Alvizuri Bustamante. He first studied at St. Jerome's Seminary in his hometown, and then traveled to England to study at the famed Stonyhurt School.
He pursued a career in applied science at King's College London, where he obtained a bachelor's degree (1868). Upon graduating from civil engineering, he specialized in the design and laying of metal bridges for the passage of railways and carried out professional practices with Lee Smith. He traveled to work in India, which earned him to build his prestige and rise from a young age in a good economic situation. In May 1872, at the age of 25, he was enrolled as a full member of the Institute of Civil Engineers in London. Later, on behalf of the Public Works Construction Company, he traveled to Brazil in order to verify the Madeira and Mamoré railway works. On this excursion, most of the expedition members perished due to the unhealthy climate, but López de Romaña fortunately managed to save his life, although without completing the task assigned to him. He returned to Peru in March 1874 and settled in his native Arequipa. In this city, where he owned numerous properties and farms, he married Josefa Castresana on March 20, 1877, a marriage from which his children Eduardo, Carlos and Hortensia were born.
Beginning and political positions of Eduardo López de Romaña
During the Pacific War he organized the defense of the Tambo Valley, where he had his haciendas, and as commander of the vanguard division he prevented the Chilean enemies from landing. He also held the rank of colonel acting in Moliendo. He was president of the Liberal Club, director of the Arequipa Public Welfare Society (1889-1895) and an engineer assigned to the local municipality. In 1895 he provided drinking water service to his hometown. After the Piérola revolution, that same year, he jumped into national politics, occupying a position as deputy for Arequipa in Congress . He was elected to the first vice-presidency of his Chamber and called to carry out the new ministerial portfolio of Development (created in January 1896); From this position he gave impetus to irrigation, highways, mining extraction, and even industry. In 1897 he was elected mayor of the city of Arequipa, a position he held notably, carrying out urban and road works . He returned to the Congress of the Republic in 1898 with a seat as a senator and a year later, when the Piérola government came to an end, he was launched as a candidate of the civil-democratic alliance for the first magistracy of the nation. López de Romaña's personality was considered ideal, since he was a calm man, free from public boasting or an overwhelming image, but extremely determined and owner of a vast culture.
Government of Eduardo López de Romaña
During his presidential mandate, from 1899 to 1903, he firmly promoted agricultural development, for which he founded the School of Agriculture with the support of Belgian experts, and promulgated a new Water Code (1902), which regulated irrigation in proportion to the size of the properties. he also favored mining and commerce, enacting new codes of laws on both matters . He repealed the law that prohibited foreigners from owning property and abolished the colonial heritage of the so-called "dead hands." With all these measures, the expansion of agrarian properties was facilitated and the way was paved for the entry of foreign capital. In fact, in the days of López de Romaña, North American investors came and established the Cerro de Pasco Mining Company; In order for these capitals to flourish, and with it the national economy, the construction of the railroad from La Oroya to Cerro de Pasco continued. In addition, the colonization of the inter-Andean valleys and eastern areas that remained in oblivion was promoted, and the salt pond was created. In relation to international politics, he felt great tension with Chile, due to the policy of absorption (or "Chileanization") that this country carried out in the areas of Tacna and Arica, seeking to perpetuate its occupation . The government of López de Romaña also had to face border problems with Ecuador. This is the boom time of the second civilism, and Jorge Basadre wrote about it:“Once again, the great and so unjust González Prada had been wrong to believe that Romaña was just an instrument of Piérola's will to prepare in 1903 the re-election that the Constitution prohibited him in 1899” .
López de Romaña's government lasted until September 7, 1903, when he handed over power to Manuel Candamo and withdrew from political life. He died on May 26, 1912 in the Yura resort, Arequipa, at the age of 65. In second marriages he had married his sister-in-law Julia Castresana (1888), who gave him six other children:Juan, Luis, Catalina, Julia, Fernando and Francisco.