Gutiérrez served as provisional president until being officially inaugurated in March 1895 after his victory in the 1895 presidential election, in which he was the only candidate.

During his four-year presidency, Gutiérrez settled land disputes, attempted to combat an economic crisis, and was a key figure in the foundation of the short-lived Greater Republic of Central America.

Gutiérrez's overthrow subsequently lead to a revolt in Izalco the following day and the dissolution of the Greater Republic of Central America on 29 November 1898.

[1] His daughter Marcela married a son of Fernando Figueroa, another Salvadoran general who served as president of El Salvador provisionally in 1885 and officially from 1907 to 1911.

[5] On 29 April 1894, Gutiérrez, along with several other military officers, began a rebellion against President Carlos Ezeta, a pragmatic reformist, who had allowed a financial crisis to arise.

[16] A separate petition, signed by 120 comuneros, stated that Luciano Argueta, another partidor, had the actual authority over the land being partitioned and requested him to be the surveyor, as he had been an administrator since 1890.

[24][26] On 28 September 1898, he issued a decree that would grant the university more autonomy from the government and was signed by Minister of Public Instruction Francisco Gavidia, but the bill never went into effect.

[30][31] The union did not last long, however, as he was overthrown in a coup d'état led by General Tomás Regalado, a pragmatic liberal who had helped him rise to power in 1894, on 13 November 1898.