The Tacnazo was a military coup launched by then

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian Prime Minister, General Francisco Morales Bermúdez against the administration of President Gen.

Juan Velasco Alvarado Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a Peruvian general who served as the President of Peru after a successful coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency in 1968. Under his presidency, nationalism ...

in 1975. This led to what is known in Peru as the "

Second Phase The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

" of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces, which lasted until the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

of 1980.

Background

On February 5, 1975, there was a

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

strike that turned into riots and looting in the historic center of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, which were then violently suppressed by the Peruvian Army. This event continued to destabilize the Velasco administration, already unstable after growing discontent and demands for economic reform from the public. On the morning of Thursday, August 28, 1975, the annual ceremony commemorating the return of the Province of Tacna to Peru took place, with the presence of then Prime Minister Francisco Morales Bermúdez and the heads of the military and without the presence of President Juan Velasco Alvarado, who was in

Coup

The coup was planned at the Tarapacá barracks as a military uprising in the southern city of

Tacna Tacna was known for its mining industry; it had significant deposits of sodium nitrate and other resources. Its economic prosperity attracted a wave of immigrants from Italy. Today, their Italian Peruvian descendants live in the city and many of t ...

, and was supported unanimously by several of the most prominent members of the Armed Forces. The next day, at 2:00 am, neighboring

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an radios received the news regarding the coup. After an improvised speech in the

main square Main Square may refer to: * Main Square, Plzeň * Main Square (Bratislava) * Main Square, Kraków * Main Square, Maribor * Main Square Festival, named after the Grand-Place in Arras, France * Main Square (Toronto), a building complex See also * ...

Tacna, General Morales Bermúdez urged President Velasco to leave office peacefully and avoid a direct confrontation. President Velasco, already having come down with illness, resigned after realising that little could be done to resist. He died in 1977.

Aftermath

The Morales Bermúdez administration proved unable to continue with the original leftist military government program. President Morales Bermúdez did not continue with what was supposed to be the "Revolution", but his own program, which was supposed to mitigate the pseudo-Communist experiments of Velasco's administration. A purge in the Army saw most of Velasco's supporters forced to resign or leave their commissions. He was forced to call a Constitutional Assembly (which was led by

Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (February 22, 1895 – August 2, 1979) was a Peruvian politician, philosopher, and author who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political movement, the oldest currently existing political p ...

) and new elections.

References

{{Peru-stub 1970s coups d'état and coup attempts 1975 in Peru Conflicts in 1975 August 1975 events in South America Military history of Peru Political history of Peru 1975 in politics