José Mariano Martín Buenaventura Ignacio Nepomuceno García de Arista Nuez (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician who served as the 19th president of Mexico from 1851 to 1853.
He was in command of the Mexican forces at the opening battles of the Mexican–American War: the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, which were disastrous losses for Mexico and resulted in Arista being court martialled though eventually acquitted. He continued to play a notable role in government and was Minister of War under President José Joaquín de Herrera.
Arista himself would succeed Herrera as president and his inauguration would mark the first peaceful transfer of power in Mexico since 1824. The Herrera and Arista administrations occurring immediately after the end of the Mexican American War were eras of stability, moderate rule, and economic growth. Writing in 1920, Mexican historian Francisco Bulnes rated Arista as the greatest of Mexico's presidents. Arista, however would be overthrown after sweeping budget cuts led to widespread discontent. The insurgents who overthrew him brought Santa Anna back into power for what turned out to be his last dictatorship. Arista was exiled by Santa Anna, and died in Lisbon in 1855.
Arista was born on 26 July 1802 and in 1813 enlisted as a cadet in the regiment of provincials of Puebla. He belonged to the Veracruz Lancers, and to the Mexico Dragoons. The Mexican War of Independence had already broken out when Arista joined the military and he initially fought as a Royalist, distinguishing himself so well that in 1818 he was made an officer for the Mexican Dragoons. He was promoted to ensign in September 1820 and to lieutenant in May 1821. That same year he decided to join Agustín de Iturbide's Plan of Iguala and on 11 June 1821 presented himself before the Army of the Three Guarantees, with a bugle, five officers and twenty dragoons of the Mexico Regiment, and fifty troops which he gathered from miscellaneous corps. He was assigned with all of them to the Libertad Regiment.
He was present at the siege of Puebla by the insurgents in July 1821. He fulfilled his orders of advancing with several dragoons up to the sentry-box of Cholula which had been repulsing all attempted attacks, and entered with his small forces close to the fortified point of San Javier. Under the command of Brigadier Pedro Zarazoa, he joined in various expeditions and offered his services during the final siege of Mexico City, forming a part of the first division. Due to his excellent service, ten days after the capture of the capital, he was granted the rank of captain, and in December 1821 was further promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He belonged to the regiment of grenadiers that joined the command of General Echevarri and proclaimed against the First Mexican Empire in February 1823, and was so passionate about the cause that he halted soldiers who wished to join the Emperor, and Arista followed the liberating army until it captured the capital.
During the transitional government of the Supreme Executive Power, he fought against an insurgency that had risen up against the government. He was present in June 1824 at a battle near the Hacienda of Coamancingo not far from Apam, and having reached a partisan of Vicente Gomez, he executed him after having come into conflict with various guerilla leaders. For this service, the Executive Power raised him to the rank of effective captain.
Five years later he had risen to the rank of effective lieutenant colonel. He took part in the rebellions against the election of Manuel Gómez Pedraza pronouncing at Perote with Santa Anna, and when General Anastasio Bustamante rose up in Jalapa against President Vicente Guerrero, Arista marched towards Puebla and sent four hundred cavalry to help those who had decided to join in the uprising. He took the city in spite of four thousand members of the militia who had opposed the Plan de Jalapa. He gained the favor of President Bustamante and was promoted to effective colonel on 12 February 1831 and in August of that same year, Brigadier General, in spite of being opposed to the government's annulment of the law which had expelled all Spaniards from the country. He fought uprisings against the government of Bustamante, in April 1832, under the command of General Inclan, defeating the forces which had risen up in Lerma as part of the Plan of Veracruz. After failing to dislodge Colonel Gonzales from his strongly fortified point at Santa Maria del Monte, he parleyed eventually bringing him back to supporting the government, thus pacifying all of the Valley of Toluca.
As President Bustamante personally began to lead his troops against the rebels, he was joined by Arista on the way to Querétaro. Here Arista parted ways with the president turning back at Morelia, and rejoining the main body of the military, he fought at the Jornada del Gallinero, and after victory there advanced within two leagues of Zacatecas before returning to aid the capital. He fought at Casas Blancas, but at this point the rebels won, and Arista was commissioned to arrange a ceasefire and sign the Convention of Zavaleta, transferring power over to Manuel Gómez Pedraza who had returned from an exile in order to assume the final months of the term he had first won in 1828, which was now being recognized.
When Valentín Gómez Farías and Santa Anna won the vice presidency and presidency respectively on a Liberal ticket, Gómez Pedraza continued to serve in the military, being charged with the security of transportation to Veracruz, and then being given the general commandancy of Mexico State. In June 1833 he was named second in command of the operations brigade commanded by Santa Anna, and was ordered to go out and fight the rebels who were aiming to proclaim Santa Anna dictator, and hoped to depose Gómez Farías for his anti clerical measures and his measures against military privileges. Arista however joined the rebels. Arista now sent agents to the capital to work against Gómez Farías. Being now a target of government reprisal, Arista fled to Guanajuato, where he surrendered under the promise of preserving his life and he was banished. He departed from Veracruz in November and left for the United States, and he returned once the triumphant Plan of Cuernavaca overthrew Gomez Farias in 1834.
The First Mexican Republic was now in the process of being transformed into the Centralist Republic of Mexico. Arista arrived at Veracruz at the beginning of June 1835 although he initially found himself arrested, he was permitted later to continue on to the capital. He was stopped at Jalapa and returned to Veracruz on suspicions on having joined a mutiny at San Juan de Ulua, but was absolved. The new government named him to the Supreme Military Court, and later formed a part of the Junta for the Military and Civil Code, and was named inspector of militias.
He was attending to his various military posts when the Pastry War broke out in 1838 and the government of Anastasio Bustamante placed Arista in charge of a brigade tasked with defending Veracruz and subject to the orders of Manuel Rincon, which ordered Arista's brigade to stay at the Paso de Ovejas where Arista learned of the French capture of San Juan de Ulua and received orders from Santa Anna to advance upon Veracruz. He entered the port on 4 December, at nine in the evening and met with Santa Anna whom he had not seen since 1833. The following morning the house they were staying at was attacked by the French. Arista fought back but was taken prisoner. He remained a prisoner of war aboard a French ship until 28 January 1839.
After the Pastry War ended, he played a role in subduing the various insurgencies that were flaring up all over the country with the aim of reestablishing the federal system. He was named to head the brigade that left from San Luis to attack the dissidents that had fortified themselves at Tampico. He left the capital with rapidity organized the brigade and under the immediate orders of commander in chief Bustamante passed to Tamaulipas where the federalist forces were ensconced under the command of Jose Urrea. Arista pursued him as far as Ciudad Victoria and near Tampico, obtained a surrender of Urrea's forces.