Lázaro Chacón González
Lázaro Chacón González (27 June 1873 – 9 April 1931) was the acting President of Guatemala from 26 September 1926 to 18 December 1926 and President of Guatemala from 19 December 1926 to 2 January 1931. Born in Teculután, Zacapa he was the son of Juan José Chacón Paiz and Soledad González Paiz who died during his birth. He is grandson of José Deciderio Chacón and María del Rosario Paiz, and also grandson of Vicente González Chacón and Josefa Paiz Cordón. Chacón's aunt, Cleta Chacón became his adopted mother. He married Josefina Pazos. Interim President. On 25  May 1926, "El Imparcial" -a private newspaper- had published a news flash: "Martial law enacted" which referred to executive decree 916, in which President Orellana had suspended the individual guarantees contained in the Constitution; the main reason for such decision was that "insidious and unpatriotic activities of certain elements" tended "to disrupt the peace and development of the country", which, at once, made it impossible to solve the national economic problem. Although "El Imparcial" was not circulating regularly in the previous days -due to a government boycott-, after May 26 it ceased publication indefinitely. Thereafter, only the official news outlets , such as "Diario de Centro América" and "El Guatemalteco", could circulate, carrying irrelevant information. The story took a sudden turn on Sunday September 26, when, at 0:15 pm, Orellana died during a vacation trip to Antigua Guatemala; he was in a room at Hotel Manchén. "A violent angina attack ended the life of our illustrious president," explained "Diario de Centro America" in a special edition that day. These strange circumstances led to the suspicion that he was poisoned. General Lázaro Chacón assumed as interim President and immediately lifted Martial Law and allowed private newspaper to be published again. Presidency. Chacón  was first appointed to the position of Chairman and interim president following the death of General José María Orellana. He then called for elections in which his main opponent was general Jorge Ubico. Chacón defeated Ubico thanks in part to the strong campaign that journalist Clemente Marroquín Rojas made against the latter in his column called "Desnudando al ídolo". Chacón government took some liberties such as creating the National Mortgage Bank (Crédito Hipotecario Nacional) as well as constructing the Faculty of Medicine building for the Faculty of Natural Sciences. During his tenure the Legislative Palace and the national railroad were  also completed. During his presidency, the Guatemalan currency was stabilized, but Guatemala suffered the effects of the Great Depression in 1929. Stroke and resignation. In December, 1930 the following events occurred in a rapid succession: Death. Chacón died in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States on 9 April 1931 at age 57 as a consequence of his stroke. Additional information. His granddaughter Josefina Chacon de Machado was a magistrate and President of the Guatemalan Supreme Court. His grandson Carlos Gilberto Chacon Torrebiarte was also magistrate and President of the Guatemalan Supreme Court.