Fernández Alonso, Sévero (1849–1925)

Sévero Fernández Alonso (b. 15 August 1849; d. 12 August 1925), president of Bolivia (1896–1899). Born in Sucre, Fernández Alonso was a silver-mine owner, lawyer, and minister of war (1892–1896). He was the last president of the Conservative oligarchy that ruled Bolivia in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. Despite his efforts at conciliation with the rival Liberal and Federalist parties, the Federalist War (1898–1899) broke out during his presidency and effectively ended Conservative Party hegemony. Unable to fashion a compromise between the Sucre-based Conservatives and the northern Federalists, Fernández Alonso personally led the national army in an effort to crush the rebellion by the La Paz-based Federalists and Liberals. By remaining in Oruro with his army and vacillating in his attack on the city of La Paz, Fernández Alonso assured the military defeat of his government and the rise to power of the Liberal Party.

See alsoBolivia, Political Parties: Conservative Party; Bolivia, Political Parties: Liberal Party.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The best and most detailed summary of Fernández Alonso's term is in Ramiro Condarco Morales, Zárate, el "Temible" Willka: Historia de la rebelión indígena de 1899, 2d ed. (1983).

Additional Bibliography

Irurozqui, Marta. La armonía de las desigualdades: Elites y conflictos de poder en Bolivia, 1880–1920. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Cusco: Centro de Estudios Regionales Andinos Bartolomé de las Casas, 1994.

                                        Erick D. Langer