Guido Vildoso
Encyclopedia
General Guido Vildoso Calderón (b. 1937, La Paz
, Bolivia
) was an officer in the Military of Bolivia
and de facto
President of Bolivia
in 1982.
Born in La Paz
, Vildoso joined the Bolivian armed forces and took specialized courses in Brazil, Panama, and the United States. In the 1970s he served in the cabinet of military dictator General Hugo Banzer
. Vildoso was second in command in the Bolivian Army when, in July 1982, he was entrusted by his peers with the task of extricating the military from power and returning the country to constitutional, democratic rule. His appointment followed the debacle of the highly unpopular 1980-82 dictatorships of generals Luis García Meza (1980-81) and Celso Torrelio
(1981-82).
Faced with a grave social, economic and fiscal crisis, Vildoso accelerated the re-democratization process. In essence, he and his fellow commanders had two options: to call new elections, or to reconvene the 1980 Congress and respect the results of that year's presidential contest. Choosing the latter in order to avoid further social unrest and quite possibly civil war, the 1980 Congress was recalled, which confirmed the election of Hernán Siles
as per the results of the 1980 elections. Vildoso returned the presidential emblems and control of power to Congress on October 10, 1982, thus closing the door on military control of Bolivia. This gesture allowed Congress to annoit the democratically elect candidate Hernán Siles
. Nonetheless, Vildoso and his cabinet were loudly booed by the population present at the transfer of power to Siles. The Bolivian Congress did later acknowledge Vildoso for his two main accomplishments: restoring democracy to Bolivia with no bloodshed and developing the fundamentals of the economic plan, 21060, that was later used by Victor Paz Estenssoro
to restore sound macroeconomic variables to the nation.
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...
, 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...
) was an officer in the Military of Bolivia
Military of Bolivia
- Army :The Bolivian Army has around 55,500 men. There are six military regions in the army. The Army is organized into ten divisions...
and de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
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...
in 1982.
Born 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...
, Vildoso joined the Bolivian armed forces and took specialized courses in Brazil, Panama, and the United States. In the 1970s he served in the cabinet of military dictator General Hugo Banzer
Hugo Banzer
Hugo Banzer Suárez was a politician, military general, dictator and President of Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from August 22, 1971 to July 21, 1978, as a dictator; and then again from August 6, 1997 to August 7, 2001, as constitutional President.-Military and ideological...
. Vildoso was second in command in the Bolivian Army when, in July 1982, he was entrusted by his peers with the task of extricating the military from power and returning the country to constitutional, democratic rule. His appointment followed the debacle of the highly unpopular 1980-82 dictatorships of generals Luis García Meza (1980-81) and Celso Torrelio
Celso Torrelio
Celso Torrelio Villa was a military general, a member of the Junta of Commanders of the Armed Forces , and de facto President of Bolivia between September 1981 and August 1982....
(1981-82).
Faced with a grave social, economic and fiscal crisis, Vildoso accelerated the re-democratization process. In essence, he and his fellow commanders had two options: to call new elections, or to reconvene the 1980 Congress and respect the results of that year's presidential contest. Choosing the latter in order to avoid further social unrest and quite possibly civil war, the 1980 Congress was recalled, which confirmed the election of Hernán Siles
Hernán Siles Zuazo
Hernán Siles Zuazo was a politician from Bolivia. He served as his country's constitutionally elected president twice, from 1956 to 1960 and again from 1982 to 1985....
as per the results of the 1980 elections. Vildoso returned the presidential emblems and control of power to Congress on October 10, 1982, thus closing the door on military control of Bolivia. This gesture allowed Congress to annoit the democratically elect candidate Hernán Siles
Hernán Siles Zuazo
Hernán Siles Zuazo was a politician from Bolivia. He served as his country's constitutionally elected president twice, from 1956 to 1960 and again from 1982 to 1985....
. Nonetheless, Vildoso and his cabinet were loudly booed by the population present at the transfer of power to Siles. The Bolivian Congress did later acknowledge Vildoso for his two main accomplishments: restoring democracy to Bolivia with no bloodshed and developing the fundamentals of the economic plan, 21060, that was later used by Victor 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....
to restore sound macroeconomic variables to the nation.
After Presidency
After the handover of authority, Vildoso retired from the military. To date, he is the last non-constitutional ruler in his country.See also
- Government of Guido Vildoso Calderón, 1982Government of Guido Vildoso Calderón, 1982The High Command of the Military of Bolivia entrusted General Guido Vildoso Calderón with the Presidency on 21 July 1982, and he formed his cabinet.mil – militaryind – independentMNR – Revolutionary Nationalist MovementFSB – Bolivian Socialist Falange...