Member of the liberal party, Mariano Gálvez was appointed chief of state in 1831, during a period of turmoil that made governing difficult; after the expulsion of the conservative leader of the Aycinena family and the regular clergy in 1829, was appointed by Francisco Morazán as Governor of Guatemala in 1831. Liberal historians such as Ramón Rosa and Lorenzo Montúfar y Rivera, refer that he promoted major innovations in all aspects of the administration, to make if less dependent on the Catholic Church influence. It is also reported that he made public instruction independent of the Church, fostered science and the arts, eliminated religious festivals as holidays, founded the National Library and the National Museum, promoted respect for the laws and the rights of citizens, guaranteed freedom of the press and freedom of thought, established civil marriage and divorce, respected freedom of association and promulgating the Livingston Code (penal code of Louisiana), against much opposition from the population who was not used to the fast pace the changes were taking place; he also initiated judicial reform, reorganized municipal government and established a general head tax which severely impacted the native population. However, this were all changes that the liberals wanted to implement to completely eliminate the political and economic power of the aristocrats and of the Catholic Church -whose regular orders were expelled in 1829 and the secular clergy was weakened by means of abolishing mandatory tithing.