Eduardo González Arévalo

Invasion of Tabasco

At age 24, González Arévalo sailed from the island of Carmen aboard the warships La Corina and La Diana to suppress a rebellion at Palizada and capture Jonuta. After receiving reinforcements at Palizada, and following the refusal of Tabasco governor Victorio Victorino Dueñas to join the French and Imperial Mexicans, Arévalo besieged Jonuta, beginning the invasion of Tabasco. He ordered the seizure of the port of Frontera, which was taken on March 15, 1863 with support from the warships Darien and El Conservador, establishing a naval blockade. On June 18, 1863, Arévalo arrived at the state capital San Juan Bautista, bombarding it and landing 150 men, forcing the Tabasqueño authorities to flee.

Governorship

By June 19, 1863, San Juan Bautista was fully occupied, and González Arévalo declared himself governor and military commander of Tabasco, a position he held until January 20, 1864. His governorship conflicted with that of Victorio Victorino Dueñas, who continued governing from Tacotalpa. Arévalo appointed a Government Council that took possession on September 16, 1863, the same day the Imperial Regency ratified him. The council divided Tabasco into four districts: Centro, Chontalpa, Sierra, and Pichucalco.

He turned Tabasco into his fiefdom, enriching himself while decreased profits, rape, murder, robbery, property seizures, and requisitions continued, growing popular discontent. He appointed army personnel as plaza bosses in municipalities, but Colonel Andrés Sánchez Magallanes took up arms on October 6, Colonel Gregorio Méndez Magaña on October 8, and others soon followed, forming the Liberal Army of Tabasco. Arévalo intimidated San Juan Bautista's population, forcing merchants to open businesses and threatening suspected rebel sympathizers.

He met with Governor Dueñas at the great ceiba in Atasta, but Dueñas stated the only possible agreement was French evacuation from the state.

Defeat, disposition and death

The Liberal Army captured Comalcalco, Jalpa de Méndez, Teapa, and Pichucalco, and attacked Cunduacán, defeating Arévalo's army at the Battle of El Jahuactal on November 1. Arévalo entrenched in San Juan Bautista, and Tabasqueño troops besieged the city from December 2, 1863.

The Imperial Regency removed him as governor, appointing General Manuel Díaz de la Vega, who entered San Juan Bautista on January 20, 1864 via the Grijalva River. Arévalo moved to Mexico City, continuing to serve Maximiliano I. He obtained Mexican nationality in 1865, and on June 16 of that year issued a Manifesto from Sacluk, Guatemala explaining his conduct and dismissal. He died leading an assault on the imperial commissariat building of Yucatán on May 6, 1867.