Augusto B. Leguía

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Augusto B. Leguía
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65th President of Peru
In office September 24, 1908 – September 24, 1912
Preceded by	José Pardo
Succeeded by	Guillermo Billinghurst
69th President of Peru
In office July 4, 1919 – August 25, 1930
Preceded by	José Pardo
Succeeded by	Manuel Ponce
Personal details
Born	February 19, 1863
Died	February 7, 1932 (aged 68)
Political party	Civil Party, Democratic Reformist Party
Profession	Economist

Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (1863-1932) was a Peruvian politician who twice occupied thePresidency of Peru, from 1908 to 1912 and from 1919 to 1930.

Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 First presidential term 3 Second presidential term 4 Overthrow 5 Reception 6 Notes

Second presidential term

In 1919, he again sought the presidency of Peru by trying to succeed José Pardo. Fearing that the former president's government along with the Civilist Parliament would not recognise his victory, he launched a successful military coup, which led Leguía to succeed Pardo as an interim president. He then proceeded to dissolve Congress and the new parliament elected him constitutional president of Peru.

During Leguía's presidency, Peru celebrated its centenary since independence from Spain. Leguía's name figures prominently on the diploma which accompanied the commemorative decoration awarded to Captain Ernesto Burzagli of the Italian Royal Navy when his ship visited Peru as part of a round-the-world voyage.

Leguía changed the Peruvian constitution (which had the longest continuance since 1860), and promulgated a new one in 1920, which was more liberal than its predecessor and provided more civil guarantees and unlimited reelections. Nevertheless, having himself promulgated the constitution, Augusto B. Leguía almost completely ignored it.

The years of his tenure were marked with a dictatorial styleof ruling by suppressing all opposition harshly.

Various political opponents of his government were exiled, of which the most prominent was Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, who while in exile in Mexico founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) in 1924. It became one of modern Peru's most active and also most trouble-maker political parties. Another important political figure that would emerge during this era was José Carlos Mariátegui, leader of the Communist Party of Peru.

Among the positive initiatives that occurred during Leguía's second term was a program to modernize Lima by planning and starting public works through various loans. These included improving the health-care system by founding hospitals and building drainage systems around the cities. Peru'sGovernment Palace ("Palacio de Gobierno") was also remodeled in 1926. Banks such as the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú and Banco Hipotecario of Peru were also created during his second presidency.

Treaties of limits with Colombia and Chile were also signed:

• The boundary with Colombia was settled with the secession of all the lands between the Putumayoand Caquetá rivers. This was officially solved with the signing of the Treaty of Salomón-Lozano in 1922. (However, the treaty was published after the overthrow of Leguía in 1930.)
• The Tacna-Arica compromise was also signed with Chile, which unfortunately led to economic depression in later years. Leguía was bitterly criticized for accepting the compromise.

[edit]Overthrow

The world depression had drained foreign investment in Peru and after eleven years in power, Leguía's government was overthrown. The coup, on August 22, 1930, was led by Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro inArequipa. Leguía was arrested and charged with misappropriating government funds. He remained in confinement in the Panóptico of Lima, and died at a naval hospital on February 6, 1932.

[edit]Reception

Augusto B. Leguía is depicted as a tyrant in the 1937 novel Pity the Tyrant by American novelist Hans Otto Storm.^[1]

[edit]Notes

1. ^ Hans Otto Storm at 'The Neglected Books Page', May 29th, 2010

Political offices
Preceded by Pablo Sarria	Minister of Finance September 8, 1903 – May 15, 1904	Succeeded by Juan José Reynoso
Preceded by Juan José Reynoso	Minister of Finance September 24, 1904 – August 2, 1907	Succeeded by Germán Schereiber
Preceded by Alberto Fernández de Cordoba	Prime Minister of Peru September 24, 1904 – August 2, 1907	Succeeded by Agustín Tovar
Preceded by José Pardo	President of Peru September 1908 – September 1912	Succeeded by Guillermo Billinghurst
Preceded by José Pardo	President of Peru July 1919 – August 1930	Succeeded by Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro

Fuente.wikipedia