Juan Pereda
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Juan Pereda | |
---|---|
52nd President of Bolivia | |
In office 21 July 1978 – 24 November 1978 | |
Vice President | Vacant |
Preceded by | Hugo Banzer |
Succeeded by | David Padilla |
Minister of Interior, Migration, and Justice | |
In office 14 February 1974 – 28 November 1977 | |
President | Hugo Banzer |
Preceded by | Walter Castro Avendaño |
Succeeded by | Guillermo Jiménez Gallo |
Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism | |
In office 10 September 1973 – 14 February 1974 | |
President | Hugo Banzer |
Preceded by | Héctor Ormachea Peñaranda |
Succeeded by | Miguel Ayoroa Montaño |
Personal details | |
Born | Juan Pereda Asbún 17 June 1931 General |
Juan Pereda Asbún (17 June 1931 – 25 November 2012[1]) was a Bolivian military general who served as the de facto 52nd president of Bolivia in 1978. Although he ruled for only four months, his ascent to the presidency marked the beginning of the most unstable period in Bolivian history, with nine presidents in a little over 4 years (1978–1982), in comparison to only one in the previous seven.
Born in La Paz on 17 June 1931,
When in 1978 the then-dictator decided to call
Pereda ran as the candidate of the Nationalist Union of the People, a right-wing alliance. Official results showed Pereda winning with just over 50 percent of the vote, a few thousand votes over the threshold for an outright victory. However, protests paralyzed the country and independent organizations agreed that all exit polls indicated Siles had won handily—a result quite different from what was being purported. Additionally, the official results showed that some 200,000 more votes were cast than registered voters. At this point, Banzer annulled the elections, denounced the electoral fraud, and disassociated himself from it altogether, basically blaming Pereda and his closest supporters. He declared he would call elections again within a year or two.
Banzer reckoned without Pereda, however, who felt used by Banzer as a tool to remain in power. He launched a coup d'état, with the support of many military officers who felt Banzer manipulated the armed forces for his own political ends. After Banzer was forced to leave the Palacio Quemado in July 1978, Pereda was sworn in as president, although not a constitutional one, since the fraud had been so conspicuous that it was plain to see. He did blame Banzer, however, and stated non-commitally that he would call new elections within a reasonable span of time. His lack of clarity in this regard, and his obvious paucity of a coherent government program, proved to be his undoing. After four months in office, General Pereda was overthrown by democratically oriented officers under the leadership of General David Padilla.[5] Feeling betrayed by everyone (from Banzer to his co-conspirators in the July 1978 coup d'état), at that point Pereda withdrew from public life and never again participated in politics.
See also
References
- ^ "Murió expresidente boliviano Juan Pereda Asbún". La Opinión (in Spanish). AP. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ Farfán, Williams (18 August 2010). "Detienen con drogas a un ex presidente". La Razón (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ^ de Onis, Juan (25 July 1978). "Air Force General Who Seized Power in Bolivia". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- Times-Post News Service. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- UPI. 24 November 1978. Retrieved 10 March 2011.