[6] After Joaquín Crespo established himself as president by force in October 1892, Villegas Pulido left the country.

[1] In the early 1970s[1] Villegas Pulido moved to Caracas[7] to study law at the Central University of Venezuela, where he graduated in 1875.

[3] On 31 August,[citation needed] 1892,[1] following the resignation of his uncle,[4] Villegas Pulido was selected by the Federal Council as the provisional president of Venezuela.

[1] Before his short tenure ended on 7 October[citation needed] of that year,[1] he helped establish the Psychiatric Hospital of Caracas (Hospital Psiquiátrico de Caracas), after visiting the Insane Asylum of Los Teques and seeing the neglected conditions of its patients.

Seeking better alternatives, Villegas Pulido remodeled an old barracks located in west Caracas,[6] and with contributions[1] and help from the San José de Tarbes Nuns Community, enabled a train to facilitate the transfer of patients to the new building.

[6] His revolution successful, Joaquín Crespo reached Caracas in October 1892 and established himself as president.

[4] From 1906 until 1907, he was Consul of Venezuela in the island of Trinidad,[1][4] and in 1909 he served as president of the chamber of deputies[7] (cámara de diputados).

[1] In 1912, he started a 22-year term as interim president of the Order of the Liberator (Orden del Libertador) that lasted until 1934.