In December 1864, taking advantage of the delicate health of President Achá, Melgarejo revolted against him, and, together with his troops, carried out a coup against the government. By this point, the unpopular government was ruling over a chaotic and anarchic land, making Melgarejo's task far simpler. Melgarejo rose to the
Presidency of Bolivia on 28 December 1864, at the age of forty-four.
The Constitutionalist Uprising of 1865-1865 The early rebellion Even after Belzu had been eliminated, Melgarejo still faced widespread discontent from several sector of society and would face nearly a year of rebellions by a collective group called "Constitutionalists". Having seized power only in December 1864, less than a month later Melgarejo clashed with rebel forces in Tacaquira, located in the southern area of the Chuquisaca Department, on 24 January 1865. The rebels would win this encounter, facing government troops again in a bigger battle on the banks of the Oscara River on 3 February and ultimately retreating.
The assassination of Manuel Isidoro Belzu To Melgarejo's dismay, former President Manuel Isidoro Belzu, who was exiled in Europe, returned to Bolivia to dispute the rise of General Melgarejo, finally sparking a full civil war. On 22 March 1865, Belzu's army defeated the government forces in La Paz with the help of the popular masses. On 27 March, Melgarejo attacked La Paz with his army but was defeated, with several of his men choosing to side with Belzu. Regardless of what happened that fateful day, Belzu was killed and Melgarejo had eliminated a huge threat to his government. According to legend, when Melgarejo's presence was known, a crowd gathered in the
Plaza Murillo, located in front of the Bolivian Government Palace, cheering Belzu's name. However, Melgarejo appeared on a balcony instead and announced, "Belzu is dead. Who lives now?" and the crowd gave a bestial cry: "Long live Melgarejo!"
The May uprising Only two months after Belzu had been defeated and killed, on 25 May another Constitutionalist revolt broke out in La Paz. A week later, on 1 June, a committee was established in Oruro and proclaimed a revolution. The rebels managed to capture the government palace and, two days later, the garrison of Chayanta also rose up against Melgarejo. On 8 June, the Constitutionalists sent an army toward Oruro in the south, being defeated on 1 July by Melgarejo's troops. With Oruro now occupied by the government forces, Melgarejo still was unable to end the anarchy, facing rebellion in many more areas of the country. La Paz, Oruro, and Chayanta joined to create a board to lead the revolution and foment the spread of it to other cities and towns. Very quickly,
Potosí, Sucre,
Cobija,
Tarija, and Cochabamba would join. Although all seemed lost for Melgarejo, by 8 August, he was able to recapture Sucre, Cochabamba, and Potosí. Generals
Ildefonso Sanjinés and
Nicanor Flores had been competing for leadership, resulting in the forestalling of rebel operations and allowing Melgarejo to exploit this weakness. On Septiember 5, Flores decided to lead an attack against the government forces, however, was defeated and was forced to flee to Argentina. On 25 October Santa Cruz declared itself in support of the revolution. However, on 22 November the government had retaken the city after a brief skirmish. The northern rebels, under the command of General
Casto Arguedas, decided to launch an offensive which was ultimately defeated and hastily retreated to Viacha. On 24 January 1866, Melgarejo and his trusted second in command,
Quintín Quevedo, met the remainder of the rebels in the hill of Letanias, scoring a major victory and achieving the unconditional surrender of the Constitutionalist rebels.
Administration After proclaiming himself
president of Bolivia, Melgarejo proceeded to govern without rivals but with great incompetence. One of his first measures was to violently suppress the opposition and annul the traditional rights of the indigenous population, declaring that the communal lands of the native communities would be property of the State. He then ordered the violent eviction of the communities to grant the lands to allied landowners, an aggression that had not even been carried out during Spanish rule. He also abolished municipalities and local governments, refusing to appoint mayors. Melgarejo entrusted the public administration to his chancellor, a young lawyer named Mariano Donato Muñoz, especially in foreign policy. Shortly after assuming power, he was visited by a young woman who belonged to a wealthy family from
La Paz named Juana Sánchez. She had come to Melgarejo to ask for clemency for the life of her brother Aurelio Sánchez, who had been sentenced to death. Melgarejo not only spare his life, but also took Juana Sánchez as his concubine after holding her hostage in the Palacio Quemado for three consecutive days. Madly in love with the young woman (who succumbed to the personality of the general), Melgarejo gave her and her family great influence in the government, which the Sánchez family took advantage of, enriching themselves at the expense of the treasury. Melgarejo's government turned out to be increasingly erratic and unstable. While the dictator spent much of his time in orgies with Juana Sánchez, who was as lustful as the general himself and also addicted to alcohol, her family dominated politics and the governing of the nation. In 1866, Melgarejo signed a border treaty with Chile, establishing the common border but recognizing all Chilean commercial interests in the exploitation of saltpeter on the Bolivian coast of
Antofagasta. This practically left Bolivia without any compensation other than the right to collect taxes in their own territory. Later, in 1867, he negotiated with the
Empire of Brazil the sale of 102,400 km2 of Bolivian territory (from the Acre region) through the
Treaty of Ayacucho. This in exchange for the payment of two million pounds sterling and the Brazilian commitment to build the Madeira railway in the Mamoré region. In 1868, Melgarejo promulgated a new constitution, granting himself omnimodal powers over public administration and attributing to his position the power to "persecute and kill opponents". The promulgation ceremony ended with a banquet and consequent orgy where he made Juana Sánchez participate totally naked.
War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) In 1864,
Paraguay had been invaded by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in what is known as the
War of the Triple Alliance. Melgarejo expressed solidarity with Paraguay, giving his full support to this nation. But his supposed support remained only in words, since Melgarejo in fact maintained a neutral stance and never mobilized troops to help Paraguay.
Franco-Prussian War (1870) In July 1870, when
Prussia invaded
France, starting the
Franco-Prussian War, Melgarejo asked one of his high-ranking generals to immediately send Bolivian troops to help the French army defend
Paris. This was city that Melgarejo was fascinated by with its stories of sophistication and elegance but which he did not even know how to locate on a map. The Bolivian general replied that the plan was impossible, since it would take a long time to cross the
Atlantic Ocean. Enraged, Melgarejo replied, "Don't be silly! We'll take a shortcut!" Blinded by anger, Melgarejo arranged to gather a troop of 3,000 men to embark for
Europe and help France. Attending a horse race in
Oruro, he suffered a broken foot that stopped him for a month, and planned to cross the
Amazon jungles of Brazil to reach the Atlantic Ocean and reach Europe. Resuming his march, Melgarejo received news that France had already capitulated to Prussia but he refused to believe such events. In mid-November, he was informed that
Great Britain was expelling Bolivian residents from British soil and refusing to recognize the existence of Bolivia in retaliation for the British ambassador to Bolivia having been expelled by Melgarejo from the country, giving him a beating shortly before doing so. While this occurred, the city of
Potosí revolted against the government.
Downfall Alarmed, Melgarejo attacked Potosí and crushed the revolt through a series of massacres and cruelties, but soon he learned that, taking advantage of his absence, La Paz, Cochabamba, and other major cities had also joined in a general uprising. Melgarejo gathered his troops and marched on La Paz, but soon his men began to desert en masse. Finally, on 15 January 1871, his battered army, under the command of
José María Calderón, was completely defeated by the Commander of the Army, General
Agustín Morales. Author Moisés Alcázar describes the jubilant sentiment of the Bolivian people after Melgarejo's overthrow: Melgarejo's star had definitively died out. Bolivia jubilantly celebrated its liberation, taking in happily the awakening from a terrible nightmare, determined to return to normality, and to reverse the values invested in the dark and mournful times [of Melgarejo's regime] because the world has to regain its balance. In the history of humanity, power is nothing more than frequent alternative. Life is stronger than despotism and errors, and sometimes, gently or painfully, order and progress are restored, without which the existence of peoples would be impossible. Because good is imperative for superior souls, dignifying the human species. The malignant ends by being irretrievably defeated and devastated, although the brutality is supported by force, which is also transitory and variable. And there will be jubilant mornings like that of January 15, 1871, as there will be Melgarejos and crime and barbarism blocks, although only for a short time, the sun of Liberty. Melgarejo was abandoned to his fate and, lacking troops and allies, had to flee to Chile. Almost in misery, Melgarejo learned in Chile that Juana Sánchez and her family had fled to
Lima with part of their wealth. The ousted dictator managed to borrow money and went to Lima in search of his former partner. However, Juana Sánchez refused to receive the bankrupt Melgarejo at her residence, who spent days in front of the building crying out to be admitted by his former concubine. Finally, Melgarejo was shot dead on 23 November of the same year in front of Juana's house, at the hands of the man he had pardoned, Juana's brother, Aurelio Sánchez. ==Legacy==