Bernardino Bilbao Rioja
Encyclopedia
Bernardino Bilbao Rioja (1895 – 1983) was a Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n officer who served during the Chaco War
Chaco War
The Chaco War was fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region of South America, which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil. It is also referred to as La Guerra de la Sed in literary circles for being fought in the semi-arid Chaco...
(1932–35). He pioneered the use of air force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
s in combat (the first to be used in this capacity in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
).
Bilbao had already made enemies among his cohorts when he refused to participate in the 1930 coup against President of Bolivia
President of Bolivia
The President of Bolivia is head of state and head of government of Bolivia. According to the current Constitution, the president is elected by popular vote to a five year term, renewable once...
Hernando Siles Reyes
Hernando Siles Reyes
Hernando Siles Reyes was the 31st President of Bolivia, serving from 1926-1930.Founder of the Nationalist Party, he soon gravitated toward the Saavedrista faction of the Republican Party, which had come to power in 1920...
. This enmity led him to be vetoed for most major promotions within the military, both during the war and after. One of the reasons for the 1934 military uprising that toppled the Constitutional President Daniel Salamanca Urey
Daniel Salamanca Urey
Daniel Domingo Salamanca Urey was President of Bolivia from March 5, 1931 until he was overthrown in a coup d'état on November 27, 1934, during the country's disastrous Chaco War with Paraguay.-Political career:...
was the latter's desire to replace the ineffective current commanders with Generals Lanza and Bilbao Rioja at the head of the army.
After the war, Bilbao's popularity converted him into a potential enemy to the aspirations of the likes of Col. David Toro Ruilova and Gen. Enrique Peñaranda
Enrique Peñaranda
Enrique Peñaranda del Castillo was a Bolivian general who served as commander of his country's forces during the second half of the Chaco War...
. In particular, it was rumored that Bilbao would present himself in the 1940 elections against Peñaranda, a prospect that obviously troubled Peñaranda's supporters in the "Concordancia" (the agglomeration of most of the oligarchic, old-style parties united behind one candidate). Thus, Bilbao was promptly detained and then flown to exile in Chile. But he eventually returned, and indeed, ran for President in 1951 and 1966, both times representing the right-of-center Bolivian Socialist Falange
Bolivian Socialist Falange
The Bolivian Socialist Falange was a Bolivian political party established in the year 1937. A right-wing party drawing inspiration from fascism, it was the country's second-largest party between approximately 1954 and 1974...
. In the 1951 election, he placed third while Víctor Paz Estenssoro
Víctor Paz Estenssoro
Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro was a politician and president of Bolivia. He ran for president 8 times , winning in 1951, 1960, 1964, and 1985....
of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement is a Bolivian political party, perhaps the most important in the country during the 20th century. At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won, in an alliance with the Free Bolivia Movement, 26.9% of the popular vote and 36 out of 130 seats in the...
came first; the anti-system MNR and FSB won a combined majority of the vote, which was to be followed by the 1952 Revolution.
In 1966, he finished a distant second to René Barrientos
René Barrientos
René Barrientos Ortuño was a Bolivian politician who served as his country's Vice President in 1964 and as its President from 1964 to 1969....
. Despite losing both elections, he remained popular and universally respected.
Bilbao Rioja died in La Paz
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
on May 13, 1983, at age 88.