General Carlos Quintanilla (Cochabamba, 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...

, January 22, 1888 – June 8, 1964) served as the de-facto President of Bolivia from August 1935 until April 1940. Quintanilla saw action 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...

 of 1932-35, and managed to ascend the echelon of the Bolivian armed forces until he became Commander of the Army during the administration of Germán Busch

Germán Busch

Germán Busch Becerra was a former Bolivian military officer, hero of the Chaco War , and president of Bolivia between 1937 and 1939.Germán Busch was born in San Javier, in central Bolivia's hot, fertile, coffee-growing region to a physician, a German...

. When President Busch committed suicide on August 23, 1939, the Bolivian military entrusted Quintanilla with the role of assuming power and calling elections.

Prior to the Election

It is certain that Quintanilla, like many of his fellow officers, was weary of the reckless reformist wave unleashed by the "Military Socialist" Toro and Busch regimes of 1936-39, and wanted a return to the pre-war oligrachic status quo, complete with its faults and relative stability (not to mention rewards for those who collaborated with the economic powers that be).

Political Unity

If the military was weary, the politicians from the traditional (oligarchic) parties were downright scared, having witnessed the mobilization of the masses behind "extremist" programs that boded ill for the continuity of their liberal, laissez-fair agenda. The 1930s had been extremely turbulent politically, with the formation of many new parties of Socialist

Socialism

Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

, Communist

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

, anarchist

Anarchy

Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...

, and reform

Reform

Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....

ist persuasion, all calling for the end of the established order. It was time to unite all the old parties (which now realized how much they had in common and how minor their differences were) behind a single candidate, to present a monolithic front to the gathering forces of reform and revolution. Eventually, they all settled on General 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...

, the controversial commander of the Bolivian forces during the second half of the Chaco War. How the "Genuine Republican

Republicanism

Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...

" faction of former President Salamanca (who died in 1935) could reconcile itself with supporting the man who had overthrown the Commander in Chief in the middle of a war seems incomprehensible, but this is a testament to the fear of losing power that now guided all the actions of the old-style parties.

Victory

To ensure Peñaranda's victory, the Quintanilla government exiled a number of prominent opposition leaders, real and potential, including the popular Bernardino Bilbao

Bernardino Bilbao Rioja

Bernardino Bilbao Rioja was a Bolivian officer who served during the Chaco War . He pioneered the use of air forces in combat ....

.

Peñaranda won the elections and in 1940 General Quintanilla left the Palacio Quemado

Palacio Quemado

The Palacio Quemado is a popular name to denote the Bolivian Palace of Government, located on Plaza Murillo in downtown La Paz. It is the building from which the Bolivian executive conducts its business.The building has had many incarnations...

 bound for Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, where he served as the Bolivian ambassador to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. Quintanilla died in his native Cochabamba on June 8, 1964, at the age of 76.

Source

• Mesa José de; Gisbert, Teresa; and Carlos D. Mesa, "Historia De Bolivia", 5th edition.