1914 Peruvian Coup D'état
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The 1914 Peruvian coup d'état took place on January 4, 1914, headed by Colonel
Óscar R. Benavides Óscar Raymundo Benavides Larrea (March 15, 1876 – July 2, 1945) was a Peruvian field marshal, diplomat, and politician who served as the 38th (1914–1915, by coup d'état) and 42nd (1933–1939) President of Peru, with his latter term being ...
, who a day earlier was removed from his position as chief of the Army General Staff. The coup was aimed at preventing
Guillermo Billinghurst Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo (27 July 1851, Arica – 28 June 1915, Iquique) was a Peruvian politician of English descent who served as the 37th President of Peru. He succeeded Augusto B. Leguía, from 1912 to 1914. An Anglo-Peruvia ...
's government from dissolving the
Peruvian Congress The Congress of the Republic of Peru () is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Due to broadly interpreted impeachment wording in the Constitution of Peru, the President of Peru can be removed by Congress without cause, ...
, which opposed him. It was the first successful coup d'état of the 20th century in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
.


Overview

Guillermo Billinghurst Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo (27 July 1851, Arica – 28 June 1915, Iquique) was a Peruvian politician of English descent who served as the 37th President of Peru. He succeeded Augusto B. Leguía, from 1912 to 1914. An Anglo-Peruvia ...
's government was marked by a progressive confrontation with the Congress of the Republic, dominated by the opposition. The continuous labour reforms implemented by his populist government, such as the approval of the
eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated i ...
, created a climate of tension between political elites and businessmen. The first serious confrontation occurred in October 1913 when Billinghurst refused to call an Extraordinary Legislature so that Congress could approve the Budget Law, as it was required to do. Billinghurst approved this law by decree, thus usurping a constitutional power of Congress. As Congress continued to be adverse, Billinghurst decided to dissolve it and then hold a plebiscitary consultation to reform the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
. His idea was to make the election of the President and the members of Parliament coincide, so that the former could have a congressional majority, in order to facilitate the work of the Executive. He also sought a reform of the electoral process, incorporating the Supreme Court, which was at that time a very prestigious institution. The inspiration for these advanced plans was the talented lawyer . The conflict between Billinghurst and Congress thus reached its highest point. Armed groups of the people hailed the President at night; It was even said that he had planned to arm the Billinghurist artisans and workers, in order to have a shock force ready to carry out his purposes. To maintain constitutional formality, a group of congressmen, meeting at the house of deputy , agreed to declare the vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic due to the moral incapacity of its holder (invoking an article of the 1860 Constitution), as well as to launch a Manifesto to the Nation expressing the rejection of the systematic attacks on the Constitution committed by Billinghurst and calling on the people to unite in the defense of constitutionality and legality. That document was signed by more than 80 congressmen. In addition to Osores, the conspiracy against the government included the journalist , director of the newspaper ''
La Prensa La Prensa may refer to: Argentina * ''La Prensa'' (Buenos Aires) Bolivia * ''La Prensa'' (La Paz), a newspaper in Bolivia Chile * ''La Prensa'' (Curicó) Cuba * ''Prensa Latina'', the official state news agency of Cuba Ecuador * ''La Pren ...
'', who was opposed to the government; the Montonero Augusto Durand; and the brothers , and
Manuel Prado Ugarteche Manuel Carlos Prado y Ugarteche (21 April 1889 – 15 August 1967) was a Peruvian politician and banker who served twice as president of Peru. Son of former President Mariano Ignacio Prado, he was born in Lima and served as the nation's 43rd ...
. To ensure the effectiveness of the measure they were going to take, the conspirators initiated contacts with the military leaders, reaching an understanding with the Chief of the Army Staff, Colonel
Óscar R. Benavides Óscar Raymundo Benavides Larrea (March 15, 1876 – July 2, 1945) was a Peruvian field marshal, diplomat, and politician who served as the 38th (1914–1915, by coup d'état) and 42nd (1933–1939) President of Peru, with his latter term being ...
. The conspiring parliamentarians furtively discussed when would be the opportune time to declare the presidential vacancy: before or after Billinghurst decreed the dissolution of Congress. While in this, a denunciation occurred from an army officer, who informed Billinghurst of the plot, thus beginning the government repression on February 2, 1914. Several opposition politicians and deputies were arrested, ''La Prensa'' was closed, Benavides was removed from his position as chief of staff, and the popular militias were armed to defend the government. All of which precipitated the events, when the armed forces intervened in defence of Congress. In the early morning of February 4, 1914, the Lima garrison started the coup under the direction of Colonel Benavides. The Government Palace was attacked, and the presidential guard was reduced after a bloody confrontation. Billinghurst was taken prisoner, forced to resign and then deported to
Iquique Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the At ...
. Meanwhile, the
Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
, General Enrique Varela Vidaurre, was murdered, shot while he slept in the Santa Catalina barracks. Once Billinghurst was overthrown, a Government Junta chaired by Benavides was formed with the consent of Congress. A few months later, Congress elected Benavides as Provisional President. The coup d'état broke the continuity of twenty years of civil governments, returning power to the oligarchy. Benavides met a convention of the
Civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...
,
Constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
and Liberal parties that chose former president
José Pardo y Barreda José Simón Pardo y Barreda (February 24, 1864 – August 3, 1947) was a Peruvian politician who served as the 35th (1904–1908) and 39th (1915–1919) President of Peru. Biography Born in Lima, Peru, he was the son of Manuel Justo Pardo y L ...
, leader of the civilistas, as a consensus candidate for early elections. Opposite his popular candidacy was that of , for the Democratic Party. After the elections were held in 1915, Pardo won the elections with 131,289 votes compared to 13,151 for his opponent, governing until 1919.


See also

* Aristocratic Republic (Peru)


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{Americas coup d'état Military coups in Peru 1914 in Peru 1914 in politics History of Lima 1910s coups d'état and coup attempts February 1914 in South America