José Justo Corro Silva (c. 19 July 1794 – c. 18 December 1864) was a Mexican lawyer and statesman who was made president of Mexico on March 2, 1836, after the sudden death of President Miguel Barragán. During his administration, he oversaw the transition from the First Mexican Republic to the Centralist Republic of Mexico and the publication of the new constitution: the Siete Leyes. The nation also faced the ongoing Texas Revolution, and Mexican independence was recognized by Spain and by the Holy See. Early life and education José Justo Corro was born on July 19, 1794. He began his public life as a provincial ensign in 1810 and had reached the rank of captain lieutenant colonel when he took part in the War of Independence. He went to law school in Guadalajara before moving to Mexico City and made a name for himself in the capital as a lawyer. Career Early positions He was minister of justice and ecclesiastical affairs in the cabinet of President Miguel Barragán from 18 March 1835 to 26 February 1836. Barragán had become interim president in the absence of Antonio López de Santa Anna, who was fighting rebels in Zacatecas. Barragán, however, died of typhus on 1 March 1836, just after resigning office on 27 February due to ill health, with Santa Anna again absent from the capital (this time fighting rebels in Texas). Under those circumstances, the Chamber of Deputies on 27 February 1836 named Corro interim president. He formally took office on 2 March. Presidency He had been president for three months when news arrived of the Battle of San Jacinto, the defeat of Mexico by the Texans, and the capture of Santa Anna. Corro made patriotic appeals to aid the troops and save the president and laid out a plan for which the government could raise more funds. To the Mexican Navy were added a few vessels, and reinforcements were sent out to Texas by the end of 1836. At Puebla appeared a prounciamniento, the Plan of Concordia, calling for the unity of all parties, but it did not seriously threaten the government. Towards the end of 1836, former conservative President arrived back in the nation after an exile in Europe, and public opinion began to favor him for the presidency. Foreign relations The government at this time had to deal with many foreign crises, most apparent of all the