The 1948 Peruvian coup d'état took place on October 27, 1948, headed by general

Manuel A. Odría Manuel Arturo Odría Amoretti (26 November 1896 – 18 February 1974) was a military officer who served as the 45th President of Peru. He ousted President José Luis Bustamante y Rivero in the 1948 Peruvian coup d'état and seized power. He pr ...

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

, referred to by him as the "Restorative Revolution" (), against the government of

José Luis Bustamante y Rivero José Luis Bustamante y Rivero (January 15, 1894 – January 11, 1989) was a lawyer, writer, politician, and diplomat who served as the 44th President of Peru from 1945 to 1948. He was ousted from office in the 1948 Peruvian coup d'état. Presid ...

. Odría seized power. The military coup gave way to a period of almost twenty months in which the deposed president was prosecuted, a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

was declared throughout the country, and the

national congress National Congress is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures. Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress, original name of the Oromo People's Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress Reform *India: **In ...

was dissolved.

Background

became the

president of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...

in the 1945 elections with the support of the National Democratic Front, an alliance of parties including APRA (under the name "People's Party"), the

Peruvian Communist Party The Peruvian Communist Party (; PCP) is a communist party in Peru that was founded as the Peruvian Socialist Party (, PSP) in 1928 by a group led by José Carlos Mariátegui until its name change in 1930. In contemporary Peruvian politics, it is ...

, and other democratic and left-leaning parties. He also had the support of unionists and the popular classes. Bustamante's government had to face difficult political and social situations, such as the predominance of APRA in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and the subsequent confrontation between executive and legislative, and the murder allegedly at the hands of Apristas of the 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 ...

'', . The disagreements between the conservative and military sectors with the government due to the refusal to distance itself from APRA caused the crisis to escalate until the resignation of the cabinet chaired by . The turning point for the export oligarchy and the anti-APRA sectors to begin the path to taking power through a coup d'état occurred on October 3, 1948, with the uprising of the sailors in

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

, encouraged by the APRA and related soldiers.

Coup

On October 27, 1948,

, who had been Minister of Government and Police in the Bustamante y Rivero government, revolted at the head of the

garrison. He called his subversive act the "Restorative Revolution." A visibly nervous Odría read his Manifesto to the Nation on ''Radio Continental'', in which he declared the following: The other garrisons in the country, such as

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

and those in the north of the country, hesitated to join the movement initiated in Arequipa, but its triumph was decided when the garrison at

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, under the command of General Zenón Noriega, joined Odría. The coup d'état culminated successfully with the deportation of President Bustamante to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. Noriega assumed interim power, as President of the Military Junta, until the arrival of Odría on October 29, 1948.

References

{{Americas coup d'état Military coups in Peru 1948 in Peru 1948 in politics 20th-century coups d'état

Background

Coup

See also

References