Mariano Arista

Mariano Arista
Portrait made by Édouard Pingret in 1851.
19th President of Mexico
In office 15 January 1851 – 6 January 1853
Preceded by	José Joaquín de Herrera
Succeeded by	Juan Bautista Ceballos
Minister of War and Marine
In office 12 June 1848 – 14 January 1851
President	José Joaquín de Herrera
Preceded by	Manuel María de Sandoval
Succeeded by	Manuel Robles Pezuela
Personal details
Born	(1802-07-26)26 July 1802 San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, New Spain
Died	7 August 1855(1855-08-07) (aged 53) Lisbon, Portugal
Resting place	Panteón de Dolores
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Guadalupe Martell

José Mariano Arista (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician who also became president of Mexico.

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 Jose Joaquin 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.^[1] 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.