José Gerardo Barrios Espinoza (September/October 1813 – 29 August 1865) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as president of El Salvador on three occasions between June 1858 and his overthrow in October 1863.

Born in 1813, Barrios was taught various fields of education by his grandfather and a family friend, who also instilled in him his liberal ideals he held throughout his life.

As minister of internal affairs in 1857, Barrios attempted a coup d'état against President Rafael Campo but failed.

Despite his attempted coup, he was appointed as minister of external affairs in January 1858 by President Miguel Santín del Castillo.

Santín resumed his presidency on 17 September 1858 and appointed Barrios as minister of internal and external affairs three days later.

During his presidency, Barrios worked to improve the country's education system and reduce the influence of the Catholic Church.

[7] Barrios was a coquimbo, a liberal who fought until the very end of the second civil war and fled on the ship of the same name after Morazán was executed in 1842.

[9] Barrios was called to participate in the Filibuster War against William Walker's Nicaraguan government where he commanded a division.

In January 1857, Campo appointed Barrios as El Salvador's minister of interior relations and was named as a designated successor to the presidency the following month.

[5][9] On 24 June 1858, Barrios assumed the presidency in an acting capacity when Santín temporarily left politics due to illness.

[1] On 20 September 1858, Santín appointed Barrios as minister of interior and exterior relations and as general commander of the state.

Barrios left office on 16 December 1860 so that he could make a state visit to Guatemala and was replaced by Peralta as acting president.

[17] On 11 October 1861, Barrios issued a decree which ordered all priests in the country to swear loyalty and submission to the constitution and the government.

Many priests, including Tomás Miguel Pineda y Saldaña [es], the archbishop of San Salvador, left the country in protest on 19 November 1861.

[2] On 11 January 1862, Honduran President José Santos Guardiola was assassinated and Barrios sought to influence the succeeding liberal government.

On 30 June 1863, Marshal Santiago González Portillo defected to the Guatemalans and declared himself as provisional president in opposition of Barrios.

[22] On 26 October 1863, after a long siege, Carrera captured San Salvador, deposing Barrios from power and forcing him to flee the country.

On 15 May 1865, Cabañas attempted a rebellion in San Miguel to restore Barrios as president, and the government declared a state of siege.

In June 1865, Barrios returned to El Salvador with 800 rifles on the ship Manuela Planas sailing under the American flag with hopes of seizing the presidency by force,[9] however, his ship was damaged by a lightning strike and was forced to divert for El Realejo, Nicaragua.

[9] In 1882, when a monument to Morazán was inaugurated, Barrios was given a tribute due to their shared ideology of Central American unification.

[30] The military school retained its name until it was closed and demolished in June 2022 to make way for the construction of the Estadio Nacional de El Salvador.