Manuel Ceferino Oribe

Manuel Ceferino Oribe (born August 27, 1792, Montevideo, Río de la Plata [now in Uruguay]—died November 12, 1857, Montevideo) was the second president of Uruguay (1835–38), a member of the Treinta y Tres Orientales, the legendary 33 nationalists who successfully fought for Uruguayan independence in the Cisplatine War (1825–28).

Although he had been allied with José Fructuoso Rivera, the first president of Uruguay, their ambitions eventually clashed. As president, Oribe sought to extend government control over rural districts ruled by Rivera. Angered by this challenge and by accusations of financial mismanagement during his term in office, Rivera rose in revolt in 1836, eventually forcing Oribe’s resignation in October 1838. Oribe then emigrated to Buenos Aires along with his supporters and was given a military commission by Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas. In 1842 he defeated Rivera’s army with Argentine troops, returned to Uruguay, and laid siege to Montevideo for nine years (1843–51). This civil strife divided the nation into rival factions named Blanco (White) and Colorado (Red), led by Oribe and Rivera, respectively. These two main parties, with the Blancos representing the conservative rural population and the Colorados representing the liberals, have dominated Uruguayan politics to the present day. From 1853 to 1855 Oribe was forced into exile in Europe by the Colorados, who feared his return to the military leadership of the Blancos. Eight more years of civil strife, complicated by Brazilian and Argentinian interference, followed Oribe’s death before the Colorados were finally able to establish their control, ruling almost continuously for nearly a century thereafter.