Appointed to negotiate loans from London bankers in 1870, he seized power and two years later had himself elected President. He was absolute ruler of Venezuela (1870–89). He fostered railroad construction, public education, and free trade. An efficient administrator, he reformed the civil service and instituted public works. His extravagance gradually alienated the Venezuelan populace and in 1888, while visiting Paris, he was deposed by Juan Paúl.