In 1841, the new Parliament elects governor of South General Juan José Flórez as President of Colombia, and General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera as vice-president. Once Flórez assumes the presidency, an aristocratic group from Quito rebels with the intention to secede from Colombia, and to form a Republic of Quito with all former colonial provinces. However, the lack of support from the peasants, as well as from the leading classes from Popayán and Guayaquil, and the opportune intervention of the Colombian army, crushes the rebellion.