[1] A distinguished military leader in the independence war and a colleague of Bolívar, Páez had a strong claim to the Presidency, especially as, despite his pardo origins, the white oligarchy in Caracas supported him enthusiastically.

In July 1835 the Revolution of the Reforms led by José Tadeo Monagas outed Vargas, but he returned to power when Páez defeated the rebels.

Although defeated, he suffered few consequences because he had his base in the Eastern llanos, a region where Páez had no effective control.

It is the accepted wisdom that all the "elections" that are mentioned as occurring in the Venezuelan 19th century were a sham or non-existent, but this is not exactly accurate.

His younger brother, José Gregorio Monagas, won election as President for the 1851–1855 term and also governed dictatorially.

Three days after José Tadeo Monagas' resignation, Julián Castro seized the Presidency in a coup d'état.

Castro was not competent either as president or as soldier and he handed power to the civilians of the oligarchy, who were soon being overwhelmed by insurrections in the central and western llanos, with Federalist leaders including Ezequiel Zamora.