Guillermo Enrique Billinghurst Angulo (
AricaArica is a commune and a port city with a population of 192,300 in the Arica and Parinacota Region in northern Chile, located only 18 km south of the border with Peru.-History:...
, July 27, 1851 –
Iquique||-||-||-||-||}Iquique is a city in northern Chile, capital of Tarapacá Region, on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
, June 28, 1915) was a
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
vian politician. He succeeded Augusto B. Leguía as President of Peru from 1912 to 1914.
During his presidency, Billinghurst became embroiled in an increasingly bitter series of conflicts with Congress, ranging from proposed advanced social legislation to settlement of the
Tacna-Arica disputeThe Tacna Arica compromise was a series of documents that settled the territorial dispute of both Tacna and Arica provinces.The controversy was a direct legacy of the War of the Pacific , a confrontation that involved Chile against Peru and Bolivia. Chile emerged victorious, and conquered the...
.
This provoked a military uprising led by Colonel Óscar Benavides to seize power and take control of the country. He was sent into exile and died in
Iquique||-||-||-||-||}Iquique is a city in northern Chile, capital of Tarapacá Region, on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
.
Member of the Civilista Party
Billinghurst belonged to the Civilistas group, which were then considered the architects of unprecedented political stability and economic growth in the country, but they also set in motion profound social changes that would, in time, alter the political panorama of Peru.
As Vicepresident under the
PiérolaH.E. Don Jose Nicolás Baltasar Fernández de Piérola y Villena was a prominent Peruvian politician, the Finance Minister and twice President of the Republic of Peru .-Early years:Nicolás de Piérola was born and educated in the southern Peruvian city of Arequipa...
Administration (1895 – 1899), Billinghurst was involved in several attempts to solve the
Tacna and AricaThe Tacna Arica compromise was a series of documents that settled the territorial dispute of both Tacna and Arica provinces.The controversy was a direct legacy of the War of the Pacific , a confrontation that involved Chile against Peru and Bolivia. Chile emerged victorious, and conquered the...
territorial dispute with
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. In April 9, 1898, a memorandum was subscribed between the
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an Minister of Foreign Affairs Raimundo Silva Cruz and Billinghurst. It established that before a plebiscite could be held between both countries, an arbitrage would first be requested to the Queen of
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
,
María Cristina de Habsburgo-LorenaMaria Christina of Austria was the second Queen consort of King Alfonso XII of Spain and was Queen Regent of Spain during the minority of her son Alfonso XIII and during the abeyancy of the throne before his birth, from 25 November 1885 – 7 May 1902.-Biography:Known...
(1858–1929) to determine the conditions of the vote.
Subsequent events led the
Protocol of Billinghurst-Latorre not to be ratified by the Chilean Chamber of Deputies. A direct result of this setback was the break of diplomatic relations between Peru and Chile in 1901.
The 1912 elections
The elections of 1912 were the most passionate ones of the so-called
Aristocratic Republic (a term coined by Peruvians referring to those in power that were mostly from the social elite of the country). The
Civilist Party rallied behind the candidacy of Antero Aspíllaga, one of the most prominent and conservative members of the Party. His opponents accused him of being a
Chilean-born Peruvian unfit for office.
The Civilistas, however, were unable to manage the new social forces that their policies unleashed. This first became apparent in 1912 when the millionaire businessman Guillermo Billinghurst-–the reform-minded, populist former mayor of
LimaLima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao...
-–was able to organize a general strike to block the election of the official Civilista presidential candidate and force his own election by Congress.
Presidency
One of main accomplishments of the Billinghurst administration was the establishment of important legislation that guaranteed the 8-hours of work.
When Congress opened impeachment hearings against Billinghurst in 1914, he threatened to arm the workers and forcibly dissolve Congress.
Guillermo Billinghurst was overthrown on February 4, 1914, in a military coup headed by colonel
Oscar R. BenavidesÓscar Raymundo Benavides Larrea , prominent military man with the rank of Field Marshal and politician, was the President of Peru from 1914 to 1915 and from 1933 to 1939.- Early life :...
, Javier and
Manuel PradoManuel Prado y Ugarteche was a Peruvian banker and political figure. Son of former president, Mariano Ignacio Prado, he was born in Lima and served as the President of Peru twice, from 1939 until 1945 and again between 1956 and 1962...
, and conservatives members of the
Civilista PartyThe Civilista Party was a conservative party in Peru.Founded as a counter measure against the growing power of the military in Peru during the first half of the Republic, the party's sole purpose was to establish a civilian rule in the country...
. Later in exile, Billinghurst claimed the following:
"The young Prado, in an extense and pathetic speech, gave me the details and motives behind the coup: All of them (the mutineerered) recognised my patriotism, integrity and my capability to handle the government. However, the only and most serious mistake that I made was the course that my internal politics was doing to the country and, finally, I think the sons of former president Prado must «clean his fathers memory»"
See also
- Politics of Peru
Politics of the Republic of Peru takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Peru is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
- List of Presidents of Peru