Enrique Peñaranda del Castillo (15 November 1892 – 22 December 1969) was a
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
n general who served as the 38th
president of Bolivia
The president of Bolivia (), officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia (), is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the captain general of the Armed Forces of Bolivia.
According to the Bolivian C ...
from 1940 until his overthrow in 1943. He previously served as commander-in-chief of the country's
armed forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
during the second half of the
Chaco War
The Chaco War (, Once elected in 1940, Peñarada oversaw the return of the traditional conservative policies Bolivia had seen prior to the Chaco War which had previously been almost completely marginalized by the military socialist administrations of David Toro and Germán Busch. Under his administration, Bolivia entered
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
on the Allied side, pledging its tin resources for the war effort. While popular abroad, discontent continued amongst the Bolivian populace and in late 1943 he was overthrown in
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
which briefly attempted to reassert Toro and Busch-era leftist policies.
Larecaja province
Larecaja is a Provinces of Bolivia, province in the Bolivian La Paz Department, Bolivia, La Paz Department. It was founded by Antonio José de Sucre on October 18, 1826. Its capital is Sorata.
Geography
The Cordillera Real (Bolivia), Cordiller ...
,
La Paz
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
. The plaque beneath his statue in the Sorata plaza presents his date of birth as being 17 October 1892. He was the son of a ''mestizo'' mother, María del Castillo, and an indigenous father, Teodosio Peñaranda, a member of a politically influential family of Aymara heritage. His cousin was Nestor Peñaranda, a well-known Methodist Evangelical missionary who worked among the indigenous peoples of La Paz.
In 1907, he entered the Military College of the Army in the capital of
La Paz
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
where he graduated with the rank of Second Lieutenant 1910. Peñaranda rose quickly through the ranks becoming a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in 1915 and
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in 1920 serving in 1921 as commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment "Perez". In 1924, he was promoted the rank of
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
in 1932.
Chaco War
Pitiantutá Lake incident
In 1932 Peñarada contributed to the outbreak of the Chaco War between Bolivia and
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
over the disputed
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion o ...
. By this point, President Daniel Salamanca had made it his ambition to resolve the territorial dispute which had been present for almost a century. The Bolivian army implemented a triple penetration plan in the Chaco through land surveying expeditions. On 6 May 1932, during negotiations between the two states in Washington D.C., Francis White, president of the Commission on Neutrals, suggested that a non-aggression pact would, as a starting point, define the boundary as being the territories occupied by the parties at the moment of its signature. the Bolivian army accelerated its plan to locate and occupy the lagoon. This encouraged Major Óscar Moscoso, against Salamanca's direct orders not to engage the Paraguayans, to accelerate his plans to occupy the recently discovered Pitiantutá Lake.
On 15 July 1932, Colonel Peñarada, as temporary leader of the 4th Division located in Fort Muñoz, participated in the attack on the Paraguayan Fort Carlos Antonio López at Pitiantutá Lake. Upon learning of these developments, president Salamanca ordered General Filiberto Osorio to immediately vacate the fort. On 19 June, Peñarada agreed to sign a "representation" written by General Osorio stating that they were located on the west bank of the lake. However, Peñaranda knew from a sketch he had received from Moscoso that this information was false and the fort was in fact on the east bank.
Even so, Peñaranda signed the "representation" and justified himself years after the war stating that he had suffered "suffocating moral pressure" from his superiors. President Salamanca, after a heated meeting with Osorio, ended up accepting the false representation. Without knowing where the new fort was, he thought that the Bolivian occupation of the west side of the lagoon could be transformed into a natural boundary between Bolivia and Paraguay.
Battle of Boquerón
On 5 July, negotiations in Washington collapsed when the Paraguayans withdrew due to the "unspeakable" Bolivian attack on the Carlos Antonio López fort. After the initial incident, Salamanca changed his
status quo
is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
policy over the disputed area. Colonel Peñarada was ordered to occupy forts Corrales and Toledo which he did on July 27 and 28. On 31 July, Bolivian forces occupied the Paraguayan fort Boquerón with the Paraguayans beginning a battle to retake it in September.
Peñarada was ordered to move his detachment to bring aid to the encircled forces at Boquerón but was held up from September 11 to 28 in numerous failed attempts to break the Paraguayan resistance in the areas bordering the Yujra and Ramírez fort. On 29 September, Paraguayan forces retook fort Boquerón. After the fall of Boquerón, he replaced Colonel Francisco Peña as commander of the 4th Division and led the withdrawal of the Bolivian army towards Saavedra, abandoning various forts including the important and strategic fort Arce.
Promotion and conflict with Salamanca
Following the disastrous defeat of Bolivia at the battle of the Campo Vía pocket in which up to 9,000 Bolivian soldiers were encircled and killed or captured, president Salamanca forced the resignation of Hans Kundt, the German head of the army. Salamanca replaced Kundt with Peñarada whom he falsely believed had managed to break out and escape the Paraguayan encirclement, a fact Peñaranda never attempted clarify. In this way, Peñarada went from a regimental commander to being promoted to brigadier general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
.The relationship between Peñaranda and Salamanca, who distrusted the military's ability to conduct the war, quickly degraded. One major point of contention between the two was the question of appointments and promotions of military officers. Peñaranda believed that it was an internal, purely military question, while the president insisted that it was his constitutional prerogative to appoint and dismiss officers as he saw fit. Salamanca also feared that opposition among military leaders to Peñaranda's attempts to promote officers such as Colonel David Toro would lead to rebellion amongst army leadership. Despite this tense relationship, and although Peñarada presented his resignation twice, President Salamanca ignored them because he considered that the different factions of the army respected him because he did not overshadow anyone.
Salamanca's choice to keep Peñarada in charge would soon change after the battle of El Carmen on 16 November 1934, in which two Bolivian divisions were annihilated and the army retreated from the powerful fort Ballivian, a symbol of the Bolivian presence in the Chaco, to Villamontes. Salamanca held General Peñaranda responsible for the disaster and decided then to replace him as head of the army with General José Leonardo Lanza. On 27 November 1934, Salamanca personally arrived at military headquarters in Villamontes just twelve kilometers from the frontline of the war. This decision by Salamanca to personally go to the military headquarters with minimal guard proved to be a mistake. On the orders of General Peñarada and Colonel Toro, Major Germán Busch led troops extracted from the frontline to the staudt house where Salamanca was staying and forced his resignation.
Villamontes itself would fall in a battle that lasted between January and 12 June 1935 when the war finally came to an end with an armistice signed in
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 ...
. On 18 July 1935, in Merino Post, located near Villamontes, the two commanders-in-chief of the opposing armies, General Enrique Peñarada and General José Félix Estigarribia met for the first time following the armistice. The simplicity of Estigarribia's uniform and his calm demeanor contrasted sharply with the decorations, belt and whip carried by Peñaranda who was reportedly "trembling" with emotion.
President (1940–1943)
1940 general election
The period following the end of the Chaco War saw a recognizable leftward shift for the country. The government of
José Luis Tejada Sorzano
José Luis Tejada Sorzano (12 January 1882 – 4 October 1938) was a Bolivian economist, lawyer, and politician who served as the 34th president of Bolivia from 1934 to 1936. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as the 23rd vice president ...
, Salamanca's vice president who had been installed following the 27 November coup, was quickly deposed himself by Germán Busch and David Toro. Between 1936 and 1939, the Toro and later Busch administrations began a trend of "Military Socialism" which mixed military dictatorship in an alliance with
labor unions
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
and
leftists
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
. This came to an end when President Germán Busch suddenly committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
on 23 August 1939. The more conservative elements of the military seized the opportunity and installed General Carlos Quintanilla as interim president until new elections could be called.
Faced with the leftist movements of the so-called "Generacion del Chaco", the traditional Liberal (PL), Genuine Republican (PRG), and Republican Socialist (PRS) parties banded together into an electoral
political alliance
A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...
known as Concordance.Fredrick B. Pike. The United States and the Andean republics: Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Harvard University Press, 1977. p. 255. They presented General Enrique Peñaranda, one of the nearest approximations of a war hero produced by the Chaco War, as their singular candidate. His run for office was aided by the interim government of Quintanilla which on 29 October 1939, arrested, beat, and deported Bernardino Bilbao Rioja, the primary leftist contender, to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
.
The 1940 Bolivian general election was held on 10 March 1940. With most opposition suppressed, Peñaranda won with 85.99% of the vote with the
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
José Antonio Arze of the Revolutionary Left Party (PIR) coming in second with just 11.32% of the vote. Inaugurated on 15 April of that year, the new president did not enjoy the benefit of a congressional majority, and was mistrusted by many in his own coalition, not to mention the gathering forces of the reformist left.
The "Nazi Putsch"
While Peñaranda had successfully managed to wrestle control over the executive from the previous progressive movements, his new administration found itself hampered by its inability to command a majority in Congress. A subject of particular dispute was the controversy over oil in Bolivia. Under the administration of David Toro, the properties of
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
in Bolivia had been seized. With the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
became increasingly concerned over access to oil in the
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...
. The U.S. was willing to provide extensive economic assistance to Bolivia but was hesitant to reward a country which had refused to cooperate in arranging compensation for the confiscated Standard Oil property.
Though Peñaranda was far more willing to negotiate than previous governments, he faced opposition from the newly established
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( , MNR) is a centre-right, conservative political party in Bolivia. It was the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution from 1952 to 1964. It influenced much of the country's history since 19 ...
(MNR) whose founding members had been strong supporters of the efforts of Toro in defense of the nation's resources. Fearing angering the opposition as well as the popular sentiments of the citizenry against Standard Oil, Peñaranda sought a method of acquiring U.S. aid while circumnavigating the issue. This opportunity came with the so-called "Nazi Putsch" of July 1941.
On 24 July 1941, Peñaranda declared a state of siege in the country. The announcement came after the alleged uncovering of a letter sent by the Bolivian military attaché in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Major Elias Belmonte, addressed to the German minister in La Paz, Ernst Wendler. The letter, photocopied by Douglas Jenkins, U.S. minister in La Paz, and delivered on 18 July to Foreign Minister Ostria Gutiérrez, declared that "the time is approaching to carry out our coup to liberate my (Belmonte's) poor country from a weak government of completely capitalist inclinations." While Jenkins claimed the source of the letter merited full confidence, the
Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...
was unable to guarantee the authenticity of the signature.
Authentic or not, Wendler was declared ''persona non grata'' and expelled from the country on 19 July while Belmonte was dismissed from the army for "treason" on 24 July. Wendler asserted that "the charges against the legation are pure fabrications," while Belmonte, who only learned of the affair on 26 July after returning from vacation in southern
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, claimed that the letter was an "obvious falsification."
While the Belmonte-Wendler letter made no reference to the MNR, the result of the "Putsch" was nevertheless used by Peñaranda as an opportunity to silence the opposition. Using the powers allotted to him by the state of siege, Peñaranda closed three periodicals published by the MNR and arrested various MNR military officers and civilian leaders including Armando Arce,
Wálter Guevara
Wálter Guevara Arze (March 11, 1912 in Ayopaya Province, Cochabamba Department, Bolivia – June 20, 1996 in La Paz, Bolivia) was a Bolivian statesman, cabinet minister, writer, and diplomat, who served as the 54th president of Bolivia on an ...
, Carlos Montenegro, and Augusto Céspedes. MNR legislators such as
Víctor Paz Estenssoro
Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (2 October 1907 – 7 June 2001) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 45th president of Bolivia for three nonconsecutive and four total terms from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964 and 1985 to 1989. He ran for pr ...
were only spared arrest due to
parliamentary immunity
Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians or other political leaders are granted full immunity from legal prosecution, both civil prosecution and criminal prosecution, in the course of the exe ...
. As a result of the arrests, the MNR was made to be associated with Nazi Fascism in the minds of the Bolivian public.
It would eventually be revealed on 18 March 1971 that the letter had been fabricated by British Intelligence at Station M as a maneuver to combat German influence in Bolivia.
The event also succeeded in giving confidence to the U.S. government that Bolivia would work as an anti-Nazi partner in Latin America. Just 10 days later on 1 August, the Department of State proposed a long-term collaboration including a loan. On 27 January 1942, Bolivia and Standard Oil reached a settlement for $1.7 million. The next day in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, the U.S. signed a $25 million economic program with Bolivia while La Paz severed diplomatic relations with the Axis Powers. The settlement with Standard Oil was criticized widely in Bolivia. Paz Estenssoro charged that Peñaranda cared more for the interests of the company than the interests of his own country. Céspedes called the action a "vulgar deal" which infringed Bolivian sovereignty and hurt national pride.
World War II
Following the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the tim ...
, Bolivia became one of the later countries to join the United States in World War II. Immediately after the events of 7 December 1941, Bolivia declared its solidarity with the U.S. Despite this, the Peñaranda administration was late to declare war and join the Allies, doing so with Chile and
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
on 7 April 1943.
Starting in May 1943, Peñaranda began a diplomatic tour of various American countries visiting
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 ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, Colombia,
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
,
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the United States where he toured the country and was received by President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
on 5 May. It was during this visit that Peñaranda pledged the country's tin resources to the allied war effort. Bolivia at the time was the only producer and supplier of the ore in the Western Hemisphere since the
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
n producing regions were under Japanese occupation. However, Peñaranda's decision to sell the country's tin at exorbitantly low rates of as low as 40.5 cents per pound resulted in further discontent amongst the Bolivian populace.
Coup d'état and exile
Despite the popularity of his government in Washington, at home the Peñaranda administration was difficult and marred by repression. Peñaranda continued to suffer from popular dissatisfaction from the citizenry especially miners as economic conditions continued to deteriorate, prompting a number of crippling strikes that, in turn, led to the proclamation of extra-constitutional means to restore order. Worker's movements had managed to make gains under the Toro and Busch administrations and feared the loss of these now that the traditionalist parties had returned to power. The culmination of this discontent came with the Catavi Massacre of miners on 21 December 1942. The death of 19 miners demanding increased wages further tarnished the Peñaranda administration.
Just under a year later on 20 December 1943, President Enrique Peñaranda was deposed in a coup d'état led by the young military officer Gualberto Villaroel and supported by the MNR. After briefly being held under house arrest, Peñarandad began a long life in exile and never participated in Bolivian politics again.
He died in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...