[5] Reyes Ortiz was captain of the Academic Company of the National Guard of La Paz in 1861, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and as of 7 May 1862, he served as First Chief of the Civic Column.

In the years of consolidation of the country's republican institutions, he served as Minister of Public Instruction and Worship between 1862 and 1863 in the administration of José María de Achá.

After being exiled and working as a lawyer on the coast of Peru, he returned to Bolivia in 1871 when Melgarejo was ousted by a massive revolution headed by Commander of the Army Agustín Morales.

For his part, the Chilean Minister in Lima, Joaquín Godoy, went to confer again with President Mariano Ignacio Prado and to learn the reasons for the mission of the Bolivian Envoy Extraordinary.

[14] However, Peru wanted to mediate in the conflict instead of joining the war, and sent Special Mission headed Don José Antonio Lavalle to solve the crisis.

[citation needed] In April of that year, Daza decided to command the Bolivian Army himself, leaving the executive power to a Council of Ministers headed by Pedro José de Guerra.

[16] In 1893, Reyes Ortiz was appointed president of the Extraordinary Commission sent to the city of Puno to transfer the ashes of General José Ballivián to Bolivia.

Although Reyes Ortiz was a member of the Conservative Party, when the Federal Revolution of 1899 triumphed, he was appointed to the Government Junta alongside José Manuel Pando and Macario Pinilla.