Menéndez's revolution

Menéndez's revolution (Spanish: revolución de Menéndez) or the Revolution of 1885 (revolución de 1885) was a military rebellion led by Divisional General Francisco Menéndez against Salvadoran president Rafael Zaldívar and later Divisional General Fernando Figueroa from 10 May to 22 June 1885. The revolution was fought between pragmatic liberals supporting the Salvadoran government and idealist liberals supporting the rebels.

After the fall of Francisco Dueñas' conservative government in 1871, El Salvador came under the control of liberal governments. Although the idealist and pragmatic liberals held similar policy positions, they openly opposed each other and fought for control of the government. Zaldívar, a pragmatic liberal, rose to power in 1876 after the overthrow of idealist liberals Andrés del Valle and Marshal Santiago González. Menéndez, an idealist liberal, opposed Zaldívar and lived in exile in Guatemala after a failed coup against Zaldívar in 1883.

On 10 May 1885, Menéndez invaded El Salvador from Guatemala. This, coupled with an indigenous insurrection by General José María Rivas in Cojutepeque on 14 May led to Zaldívar's resignation and flight from the country. Zaldívar handed the presidency to Figueroa, another pragmatic liberal. Figueroa attempted to suppress Menéndez's revolution, but following a series of military defeats to the revolutionaries, Figueroa resigned and fled the country himself on 18 June. Menéndez and José Rosales, Figueroa's successor, signed the Treaty of San Andrés on 19 June. Menéndez became President of El Salvador when he marched the victorious Liberation Army into San Salvador on 22 June. He ruled the country until he was overthrown by pragmatic reformist General Carlos Ezeta in 1890.