Linares, José María (1808–1861)

José María Linares (b. 10 July 1808; d. 6 October 1861), president of Bolivia (1857–1861). Linares was born in Tilcala into an important Spanish family from colonial Potosí. Heir to one of the largest fortunes in Bolivia, he became the first civilian president in Bolivia's history. After the death of General José Ballivián in exile, Linares became the undisputed champion of the enemies of Manuel Isidoro Belzú (president, 1848–1855), who had mobilized Bolivia's lower classes to remain in power. A widely read and charismatic man, Linares, with his supporters, known as the "Rojo," conspired ceaselessly to overthrow the government. When they finally did so, he quickly established a dictatorship because he felt that this was the only way to reform Bolivian society. In particular, Linares attempted to rid the government of the corruption inherent in previous military regimes. Although a devout Catholic and proclerical, on other issues Linares was a precursor to later liberal administrations, fostering the mining industry and free trade and trying to inculcate European culture into Bolivian society. He tried to do this through dictatorial means, however, and ultimately failed. He was overthrown by members of his own administration in 1861.

See alsoBallivián, José .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alcides Arguedas, Historia de Bolivia: La dictadura y la anarquía (1926).

Manuel Frontaura Argandoña, El dictador Linares (1970).

Herbert S. Klein, Bolivia: The Evolution of a Multi-Ethnic Society (1982), pp. 130-134.

Additional Bibliography

Vazquez Machicado, Humberto. La diplomacia boliviana en la corte de Isabel II de España: La mision de José María Linares. La Paz: Libreria Editorial "Juventud," 1991.

                                    Erick D. Langer