Background
José Cecilio del Valle was born on 20 November 1780 in Honduras.
journalist politician elected President
José Cecilio del Valle was born on 20 November 1780 in Honduras.
By 1820 he was writing articles that brought him prominence and amity among conservative elements. When Mexican leader Agustín Iturbide invited Central America to join Mexico after Mexican independence, Valle wrote a circular asking each region to decide on the issue. Union with Mexico was finally accepted, and Valle became a representative in the Mexican Congress. However, he was soon jailed by Iturbide. He was freed on the overthrow of Iturbide and elected to the provisional government of the Central American Federation. A member of its second Federal Congress, after failing to be elected president, he ran for a second time but was narrowly defeated by Francisco Morazán. In 1834 del Valle was finally elected president of the Central American Federation but died before he could take office.