Pavón Aycinena, Manuel Francisco (1798–1855)

Manuel Francisco Pavón Aycinena (b. 30 January 1798; d. 19 April 1855), leader of the conservative elite that managed the Guatemalan government and developed the corporatist structure of the state during the regime of Rafael Carrera (1839–1865). The son of Manuel José Pavón, a prominent Guatemala City creole, and Maria Micaela Aycinena Nájera, he was closely related to the powerful Aycinena clan. Educated as a lawyer at the University of San Carlos, he served as a lieutenant colonel in the federal army during the civil war of 1826–1829. In exile from 1830 to 1837 in New York, Paris, and Havana, he returned to Guatemala and between 1838 and 1854 served as secretary of the assembly, editor of the government gazette, diplomat, prior of the consulado, and minister of finance, foreign relations, war, justice, ecclesiastical affairs, and interior. He formulated major reforms in finance and promoted good relations with Great Britain through his friendship with British Consul Frederick Chatfield (1834–1852). His Ley Pavón of 16 September 1852 gave responsibility for elementary education to parish priests. He played a key role in engineering Carrera's elevation to president for life in 1854.

See alsoCarrera, José Rafael; Guatemala.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

El Tiempo (Guatemala, 1839–1841); Gaceta oficial (Guatemala, 1841–1847); Gaceta de Guatemala (1847–1855).

Mario Rodríguez, A Palmerstonian Diplomat in Central America: Frederick Chatfield, Esquire (1964).

Additional Bibliography

Sullivan-González, Douglass. Piety, Power, and Politics: Religion and Nation Formation in Guatemala, 1821–1871. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998.

Woodward, Ralph Lee. Rafael Carrera y la creación de la República de Guatemala, 1821–1871. La Antigua, Guatemala: Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica, 2002.

                              Ralph Lee Woodward Jr.