# 1935 Salvadoran presidential election

Presidential elections were held in El Salvador between 13 and 15 January 1935. Maximiliano Hernández Martínez was the only candidate and was elected unopposed.

## Background

On 2 December 1931, the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES) overthrew President Arturo Araujo and installed Brigadier General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (Araujo's vice president) as the country's provisional president. On 8 June 1932, Martínez announced that he would serve out Araujo's 1931–1935 presidential term.

## Electoral campaign

In July 1933, Martínez announced that he intended to run for president in 1935. That month, Martínez established the National Pro Patria Party (PNPP) to support his electoral campaign. Many of Martínez's pro-democracy government officials resigned from their positions after Martínez's announcement, many of whom were placed under government surveillance or exiled.
Independent observers believed that Martínez would run unopposed, and British foreign minister John Simon remarked that "no organised opposition would be tolerated, and the term 'elections' is a recognised euphemism". Martínez forced both former president Pío Romero Bosque and military officer Antonio Claramount into exile as their supporters attempted to challenge Martínez in the 1935 election; they were exiled under the guise of planning a "communist sedition". Romero, Simon, and U.S. chargé d'affaires Jefferson Caffery believed that Martínez faced the risk of a coup if he ran unopposed as many military officers may have wanted to run for president themselves. In January 1934, Martínez announced that he foiled a coup planned by Minister of Government Salvador Castaneda Castro and had him arrested, but Simon believed that Castaneda had no involvement and that Martínez only sought to "eliminate a potential rival". In 1935, Simon wrote that "nothing short of assassination can prevent him from being reelected".
During the 1933 and 1934 municipal elections, Martínez ensured that members of the PNPP were elected so that they can ensure that polling stations in their municipalities favor Martínez in the 1935 presidential election. According to historian Erik Ching, Martínez wanted a "unanimous victory" to serve as a "public demonstration of [his] power and capacity as the supreme political boss". All government employees were required to vote and PNPP members were encouraged by local officials to vote by simplifying the voting process to only requiring them to show their party membership card.
According to the constitution of El Salvador, re-election was prohibited. To get around this restriction, Martínez obtained a leave of absence from the Legislative Assembly and resigned as provisional president on 28 August 1934. He handed the provisional presidency to Brigadier General Andrés Ignacio Menéndez, his minister of defense and the first presidential designate. According to Martínez's logic, him running for re-election was not him seeking re-election but instead seeking a second mandate as he would not be in office exercising the duties of the presidency at the time of the election.

## Results

   "Throughout Cabañas Department elections for supreme authorities are being conducted in the greatest of order. Voting is unanimous in favor of the noble cause postulated by General Maximiliano H. Martínez [...] People are providing a civic and patriotic demonstration. We expect complete success."
The 1935 presidential election was held from 13 to 15 January 1935. According to the Salvadoran government, 77 percent of registered voters participated in the election. The final results announced that Martínez won unanimously with 329,555 votes. Martínez was the only candidate. Regarding the result, Simon remarked that "The election itself on the 13th to the 15th January, was the usual farce. There was no other candidate, but the people were nevertheless urged to record their votes."
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Maximiliano Hernández Martínez | National Pro Patria Party | 329,555 | 100.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | 329,555 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | | 77 |
| Source: Ching 1997, pp. 398–399 |||||

## Aftermath

Ever since the 1931 coup, the United States refused to recognize Martínez as the president of El Salvador due to the coup violating the 1923 Central American Treaty of Peace and Amity. After Martínez's 1935 electoral victory, the United States recognized his presidency. Martínez was inaugurated on 1 March 1935; he was re-elected unopposed in 1939 and 1944. Martínez resigned on 9 May 1944 during the Strike of Fallen Arms and left the country for exile in Honduras.