A brief review by the military governments that Peru suffered during its first years as the Independent Republic.
The first years of the Peruvian Republic were characterized by a constant struggle of powers between the different movements and sectors of society. If an account of the facts is made, only between 1821 to 1845, there were 53 governments and 6 Constitutions.
The brother’s Julio, Silvestre, Marceliano and Marcelino Gutiérrez carried out the first military coup d’état that included the assassination of the then governor of Peru, José Balta in 1872, just one week after he assumed office with the successor of Manuel Prado, the rebellion of the brothers was repudiated by the Peruvian people and ended with the death of three of the brothers, who were hung on the towers of the cathedral of Lima.
Later, in 1884, after the war with Chile, General Andrés Avelino Cáceres led the fight against the Church’s government and obtained its resignation. Cáceres assumed power from 1886 to 1890 and his successor was his vice president, Remigio Morales Bermúdez. At the end of Morales Bermúdez’s term, Marshal Cáceres took advantage of the influence he still had in the government to win the 1894 elections. However, this fact was rejected by much of the population and generated a new civil war led by Nicolás de Piérola, who assumed power in 1895 after the forced resignation of Cáceres.
After more than three decades, the military decided to return to power, this time at the hands of Augusto B. Leguía, he began his government in 1929, which is considered one of the most authoritarian in Peruvian history. After approving a Constitution that did not contemplate immediate reelection, he quickly modified this article to remain in power for 11 years. This passage from Peruvian history is known as the Leguía’s Oncenium. Due to the economic crisis resulting from the First World War in 1930, Commander Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro began to rise in popularity, later he called for elections and was elected as the next president.
In 1963, the leader and founder of the Peruvian Aprista Party, Fernando Belaúnde Terry assumed power amid a climate of deep instability and economic crisis. The situation would be made worse by the scandal due to the loss of page 11 of the agreement signed with the International Petroleum Company, where it is believed that the amount of compensation that the State would pay to the said company was stipulated. Faced with this scenario, Juan Velasco Alvarado decides to carry out a coup d’état on October 3rd, 1968 and marks the beginning of the last military dictatorship that the country has suffered.