Anastasio Bustamante

Anastasio Bustamante, born on July twenty-seventh, seventeen eighty, was a prominent Mexican politician, physician, and military leader. He served as the fourth President of Mexico on three separate occasions between eighteen thirty and eighteen forty-one. His political career also included a term as the second Vice President of Mexico from eighteen twenty-nine to eighteen thirty-two, where he worked under Presidents Vicente Guerrero, José María Bocanegra, himself, and Melchor Múzquiz.

Initially participating in the Mexican War of Independence as a royalist, Bustamante later aligned himself with Agustín de Iturbide, supporting the Plan of Iguala. His political journey saw him become a member of the Provisional Government Junta, the first governing body of Mexico, and he was later pardoned by President Guadalupe Victoria for his earlier support of Emperor Iturbide after the fall of the First Mexican Empire.

During his first presidential term, Bustamante expelled U.S. Minister Joel Roberts Poinsett, enacted a law to prohibit American immigration to Texas, and managed to produce a budget surplus. However, his presidency faced significant challenges, including civil unrest and opposition that led to his exile following the proclamation of the Plan of Veracruz in eighteen thirty-two.

After a period of exile, Bustamante returned to Mexico in early eighteen thirty-seven, seizing the opportunity to reassume the presidency after Santa Anna's fall from power. His tenure was marked by the disastrous Pastry War and internal rebellions, including a significant hostage situation in eighteen forty. Ultimately, a conservative revolt forced him into a second exile in eighteen forty-one. He returned in eighteen forty-five and participated in the Mexican–American War, spending his final years in San Miguel de Allende, where he passed away in eighteen fifty-three.