up the sole remaining owner of the Bolivian mining interests in the Atacama. 1873 general election The date for the general election was set to be on the first Sunday of March, 1873, by a supreme decree issued on December 13, 1872. During the general election of 1873, Adolfo Ballivián, Casimiro Corral and Quintín Quevedo were the most prominent candidates. While the first two candidates represented their own constitutional factions, Quevedo represented the remnants of the old melgarejista party. This faction hoped to retake the lands which had been repatriated to its previous owners, seized by the government of Melgarejo and bestowed to his loyal allies during the regime of the caudillo. The top three candidates of the election were Ballivián, Corral, and Quevedo, receiving 6,442; 5,352; and 3,313 votes respectively. There was a total of 16,674 votes, and none of the candidates achieved the majority necessary as stipulated by the Constitution, meaning that the National Assembly was now tasked to choose among the three candidates with the most votes. The first round concluded with 31 votes for Ballivián, 20 for Corral, and 6 for Quevedo. The second round, contested between Ballivián and Corral, finalized with the former obtaining 41 votes and the latter 19. Thus, Ballivián defeated both Corral and Quevedo and was proclaimed President of Bolivia. Both Corral and Quevedo, as they had promised prior to their respective candidatures, accepted and acknowledged the victor of the elections as the legitimate successor to Frías. The entirety of this short first term was dedicated to presiding over these elections in the most transparent way possible. Through intense scrutiny, Frías conducted, by far, the cleanest elections in 19th century Bolivia. Second term (1874–1876) On February 14, 1874, Ballivián died. Frías had been exercising the executive power, as acting President, since January 31, when Ballivián no longer had the strength to continue with his administrative roles. The entire ministerial cabinet which had served under Ballivián offered its resignation, however, Frías opted to maintain the same ministers as he had done after the death of Morales. It was no surprise to the general public that Frías found himself as President yet again. It was known for some months that Ballivián was severely ill. Although at first there were no challenges to the new administration, soon discontent spread throughout the nation. Especially in the Departments of La Paz and Cochabamba, a robust opposition against