Aparicio Méndez
Aparicio Méndez Manfredini (24 August 1904 – 27 June 1988) was a Uruguayan lawyer and politician.[1] He was a de facto President of Uruguay from 1976 to 1981 as a non-democratically elected authority of the civic-military dictatorship.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Méndez and the second or maternal family name is Manfredini.
Aparicio Méndez
Carlos Stajano
Francisco Rodríguez Camusso
27 June 1988 (aged 83)
Montevideo, Uruguay
Blanca Alonso González
Lawyer, politician
Background[edit]
Born in the northern city of Rivera, Méndez was a member of the National Party, traditionally strong in the interior of the country whence he originated. He built up a reputation as an expert in administrative law.
Méndez served as Health Minister from 1961 to 1964.
In addition to his political life, Méndez was a close personal friend of the Spanish classical guitarist Andrés Segovia. Segovia lived in Montevideo during the 1940s, and came into contact with Méndez during this time. Segovia composed two original pieces for Méndez, the Anecdote #4 (published in Guitar Review Magazine in 1947), and the Preludio #8 (subtitled "on a theme by Aparicio Méndez") which was published by Edizioni Musicali Bèrben in 1998.
Death and legacy[edit]
Méndez died in Montevideo in 1988. Some would argue that, in agreeing to serve as president with military support, Aparicio Méndez was effectively repudiating the principles of the National Party with which he had been associated. Others would point out that Méndez was far from alone among the various civilian party political figures who participated in the Civic-military dictatorship (1973–1985), and that he presided over a free referendum.