Having allies in control of municipalities allowed both men to influence how votes would be cast in polling stations during the 1919 presidential election.

[2] Palomo convinced many military officers to support him, and Quiñónez accused him of attempting to influence the election.

[5] In mid 1918, Quiñónez established the National Democratic Party (PND) to support his presidential campaign as well as the Red League paramilitary.

[6] On 7 December 1919, the day before the municipal election, Córdova received several telegraphs warning him that militants supporting Quiñónez and Palomo were being mobilized.

[9] Although Quiñónez's municipal candidates had won and he was now unopposed, effectively guaranteeing him the presidency, Quiñónez also withdrew from the election as the constitution of El Salvador prohibited individuals from running for election if they held the presidency for six months prior to the end of a presidential term.

[12] In response, Quiñónez and Jorge Meléndez installed Pío Romero Bosque, an ally and the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, as a third candidate and instructed polling stations to tabulate their votes in favor of Jorge Meléndez first, Romero second, and Araujo third.

Araujo's plot was discovered by Salvadoran authorities and he subsequently fled the country to Honduras in March 1920 after a shootout at his hacienda in Armenia.

[14] In May 1920, Araujo commanded an army numbering 300 to 1,000 men and invaded El Salvador, seeking to forcefully take the presidency for himself.

[17] During Jorge Meléndez's presidency, he and Quiñónez sought to consolidate their power through the PND and eliminate any potential rivals both within and outside the party.

[19] Jorge Meléndez ruled El Salvador until 1923 when he was succeeded by Quiñónez;[20] he ruled until 1927 when he was succeeded by Romero, who, instead of continuing the PND's political dynasty as expect, introduced democratic reforms and forced Quiñónez, Jorge Meléndez, and their supporters to flee the country.