José Ignacio Pavón

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José Ignacio Pavón

José Ignacio Pavón (1791, Veracruz—May 24, 1866) was a Mexican lawyer, jurist and politician. From August 13, 1860 to August 15, 1860 he was conservative president of Mexico (in opposition to Benito Juárez, the constitutional president).

Pavón was born in Veracruz, where he began his studies. He continued his education in the College of San Ildefonso in Mexico City, where he studied philosophy and law (cánones y leyes).

He was an honorary city councilman of Mexico City in 1818 and secretary of the censorship junta in 1820. The city government of Mexico City named him juez de hecho (legal expert) on the law of the press in 1822. Although he recognized Agustín de Iturbide as emperor, he was a supporter of the republican party.

From 1823 he was a senior officer in the Department of the Treasury. Upon the triumph of the Plan de Casamata of Antonio López de Santa Anna, Vicente Guerrero and Nicolás Bravo against Iturbide, in 1824 he became an active participant in politics. The Governing Junta that succeeded Iturbide charged him with assembling materials to form a criminal code. In 1825 he became a senior officer in the Department of Foreign Relations. He worked to obtain British recognition of Mexico's independence, and for a commercial treaty. He was also interim political leader of Tabasco.

He fought in the War of Texas Independence, and was defeated by Reuben Ross in the Battle of Alcantra on October 3, 1839.^[1] He became a member of the Mexican Supreme Court in 1841.

In 1860 he was acting president of the Supreme Court when conservative General Miguel Miramón took Félix María Zuloaga prisoner. Zuloaga escaped and returned to Mexico City, where he asked the Governing Junta to name him president of the country. While the Junta was assembling to debate the issue (it named Miramón president, not Zuloaga), Pavón served as acting president for two days (August 13-15, 1860). Afterwards he returned to the Supreme Court.

In 1863-64 he was a substitute member of the Council of Regency of the Empire, pending the arrival of Maximilian of Habsburg to take the throne. He was removed from this position before Maximilian's arrival.

He left politics and worked as a lawyer. He died in Mexico City at an advanced age in 1866.