Guardia, Ricardo Adolfo de la (1899–1970)
Guardia, Ricardo Adolfo de la (1899–1970)
Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia (b. 14 June 1899; d. 29 December 1970), president of Panama (1941–1945). Minister of government and justice under president Arnulfo Arias Madrid, Guardia organized a movement to depose the dictator. He assumed the office of president with the support of the National Guard, the oligarchy, and much of the Panamanian populace. The attack on Pearl Harbor brought fear that the Panama Canal would become a target, and Guardia endorsed controversial plans for the construction of U.S. bases in Panama. In 1944 the National Assembly rebelled against Guardia's authority, insisting that he name a constitutional successor. In response, he dissolved the assembly and abrogated the 1941 constitution. He called elections in 1945 that established a new assembly and installed Enrique A. Jiménez as provisional president. Arias returned to power in 1949, forcing Guardia to flee to the Canal Zone, where he remained until 1951.
See alsoJiménez, Enrique A.; Panama Canal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Manuel María Alba C., Cronología de los gobernantes de Panamá, 1510–1967 (1967), pp. 329-333.
Ernesto J. Castillero R., Historia de Panamá (1982), pp. 253-255.
Additional Bibliography
Lindsay-Poland, John. Emperors in the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2003.
Sara Fleming