Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885.

A summary of his reforms is:[1] Barrios had a National Congress totally pledged to his will, and therefore was able to enact a new constitution in 1879, which allowed him to be reelected as president for another six-year term.

[1] He also was intolerant with his political opponents, forcing many to flee the country and building the infamous Guatemalan Central penitentiary where he had numerous people incarcerated and tortured.

Decree #177 Day Laborer regulations(NOTE: Only main sections are presented) During Barrios' tenure, the "Indian land" that the conservative regime of Rafael Carrera had so strongly defended was confiscated and distributed among those officers who had helped him during the Liberal Revolution in 1871.

Census redemption decree) made it easy to confiscate those lands in favor of the army officers and the German settlers in Verapaz, as it allowed to publicly sell those common Indian lots.

[8] Therefore, the fundamental characteristic of the productive system during Barrios' regime was the accumulation of large swaths of land among few owners[9] and a sort of "farmland servitude," based on the exploitation of the native day laborers.

Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras agreed to re-form the Central American Union, but the then Salvadoran President Rafael Zaldivar decided to withdraw, and sent envoys to Mexico to join in an alliance to overthrow Barrios.

"[11] On 4 April the defeated Guatemalan forces arrived in Guatemala City, where Reyna Barrios was promoted to general for his valiant battle services.