Eusebio Guilarte Mole (15 October 1805 – 11 June 1849) was a Bolivian military officer and statesman who served as the tenth

president of Bolivia The president of Bolivia (), officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia (), is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the captain general of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. According to the Bolivian C ...

from 1847 to 1848.

Biography

A career military officer (not an uncommon choice at the time), Guilarte had fought under

Andrés de Santa Cruz Andrés de Santa Cruz y Calahumana (; 30 November 1792 – 25 September 1865) was a Bolivian general and politician who served as interim president of Peru in 1827, the interim president of Peru from 1836 to 1838 and the sixth president of ...

at Zepita, and also in the battles of the

War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation () was a military confrontation waged by the United Restoration Army, the alliance of the land and naval forces of Chile and the Restoration Army of Peru, formed in 1836 by Peruvian soldiers opposed to the conf ...

(Yanacocha and Uchumayo, among others). He had been José Ballivián's deputy aide at the Battle of Ingavi, for which he was rewarded as Ambassador to Brazil. Later, the President recalled Guilarte and appointed him a member of the powerful Council of State. Unable to sustain himself in power, in light of the vast conspiracies of Manuel Belzu, Ballivián chose to leave the country and, in late 1847, turned over power to General Guilarte.

Presidency and death

As head of the Council of State, Guilarte succeeded Ballivián. By then the die was cast, as Belzu and his supporters were closing in on the capital. Guilarte's investiture simply provided cover for the president to get away while he could. Guilarte attempted to reach an understanding with the rebels, but was overthrown by Belzu in less than two weeks. Allowed to live under house arrest in internal exile at the Pacific port of Cobija, Litoral, Guilarte was assassinated less than two years later after attempting to stage a coup, in 1849. After one of his own officers gave away the plot, Guilarte was executed by orders of the military governor of the region, who was allied to Belzu.

References

1805 births 1849 deaths 19th-century Bolivian politicians Ambassadors of Bolivia to Brazil Assassinated Bolivian politicians Bolivian generals Defense ministers of Bolivia Guilarte administration cabinet members José Ballivián administration cabinet members Leaders ousted by a coup Military personnel from La Paz People murdered in Bolivia People of the War of the Confederation Presidents of Bolivia 1849 crimes in South America People murdered in 1849 19th-century murders in Bolivia Assassinated presidents of Bolivia Assassinated presidents in South America Politicians assassinated in the 1840s National presidents assassinated in the 19th century {{Bolivia-politician-stub