the peoples; that freedom and that justice that these men do not know. Assassination of President Morales With the speech concluded, Morales invested himself with dictatorial powers, which was met with opposition from his own ministers. All of whom had sent their resignation letters on November 26. Casimiro Corral, a minister of the Morales canine, had a turbulent meeting with Morales, the President throwing himself onto him. Morales was only stopped by those present at the meeting, which included José Morales, his son, General Sanjinés, Julio La Faye, Colonel Daza, and Fernando Valverde. That night, Corral fled to the safety of the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States in Bolivia, Leopold Markbreit. Morales, afraid of a revolution, placed General Sanjinés in charge of all the ministries, convinced that Corral would lead an insurrection against the government. The President is said to have been neurotic and incoherent, sitting on the benches outside the Government Palace and muttering about his two greatest concerns: the closure of the National Assembly and the conspiracies which were unfolding. At 21:45, Morales called one of his aides-de-camp into his office, immediately attacking him. Federico La Faye, aide-de-camp and nephew to the President, tried to calm his uncle down. Then, the President summoned Colonel Nicanor Lavadenz. Punching Colonel Lavadenz twice, Morales said: "Colonel, I hear that you are among those who ruthlessly conspire against me. Go ahead, start a revolution. I authorize you!". Lavadenz replied: "My general, how could I start a revolution against you?"; Morales struck Lavadenz yet again. Then, La Faye, begging his uncle to stop, was struck. Outraged, La Faye asked: "Uncle, how could you disrespect me too!"; he is struck again by the irate President, who retired to his desk. Indignant, La Faye stated: "No one disrespects me"; then, he proceeded to shoot his uncle once. After receiving the first shot, Morales uttered: "You to me, Federico?"; his nephew replied: "Yes, me to you", shooting him five more times. After the dramatic events that unfolded on the night of November 27, Frías was named President by Congress. President of Bolivia First term (1872–1873) When Morales was assassinated in 1872, deputies gathered in the city of La Paz, formed a Council of State and appointed Frías as president so as not to leave the government headless while the political uproar settled. Thus, on November 28, 1872, he assumed the presidency, immediately calling for elections.