Following the resignation of President Manuel Gondra, the National Congress named Eusebio Ayala as temporary president on November 7, 1921, due to a political crisis and the impossibility of forming a government by Vice President Félix Paiva. Ayala served in this position until April 12, 1923. These were extremely difficult times for the country, and Ayala's presidency played a role in the civil war of 1922, during which he resigned his post and defeated political opponents who staged an insurrection after Ayala blocked their attempts to hold a presidential election.