 The party was formed following the "Grito de Lares" revolt.Unlike the other party at the time, the Liberal Conservative Party, and which advocated assimilation into the political party system of Spain, the Autonomists—as the Liberal Reformist Party supporters were called—advocated decentralization away from Spanish control.The party was led by Pedro Gerónimo Goyco (president), José Julián Acosta, José Celis Aguilera, Román Baldorioty de Castro, Julián Blanco, Nicolás Aguayo and Manuel Corchado Juarbe.