THIRD MILITARISM IN PERU: CAUSES, CHARACTERISTICS - HISTORY - 2025

The third militarism is a stage in the history of Peru in which several military governments followed one another. Its beginning took place in 1930, with the coming to power of Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro through a coup. After having to resign from office, he formed a political party with which he won the 1931 elections.

Some historians extend this period until the 1950s, encompassing the military governments of that time. However, the majority is limited by the mandate of Sánchez Cerro and that of his successor, Oscar R. Benavides. This remained until 1939 in the presidency.

Sánchez Cerro with his government - Source: Center for Military Historical Studies

under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license

The appearance of the third militarism was preceded by the repercussions in Peru of the world economic crisis of 1929. To this was added the fatigue after the eleven years of the Leguía dictatorship, in which instability, repression and corruption were commonplace.

However, Sánchez Cerro did not mean a great change in these aspects. His ideology, very close to European fascism, led him to ban political parties and repress opponents. Benavides softened the situation a bit and undertook a series of social measures.

Causes

The last presidential period of Augusto Bernardino de Leguía is known by the Oncenio, since it lasted 11 years, from 1919 to 1930. This stage was characterized by the displacement of civilism as the dominant political force, by the implantation of an authoritarian government system and for the cult of personality.

The president opened the economy to the outside, especially to Americans. Likewise, it tried to modernize state structures and undertook an ambitious public works plan.

During his mandate, there was a change in Peru with respect to the dominant political forces. Thus, new organizations appeared, such as APRA and the communists.

A coup, led by Commander Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro, put an end to his stay in power.

Economic causes

Leguía's economic policies had made Peru become totally dependent on the United States in this matter. His public works plan, undertaken with US loans, had increased the foreign debt substantially.

The crash of 29 and the subsequent Great Depression made the situation worse. Peru, like the rest of the planet, was seriously affected, to the point of entering into fiscal bankruptcy.

The US, which was also suffering from the crisis, closed the borders to foreign trade. This caused a decline in Peruvian exports, increasing internal economic problems.

Social causes

The Peruvian oligarchy saw its power threatened by growing sociopolitical discontent. This instability led them to form an alliance with the military, supporting the coup.

At the same time, Peru was not alien to a phenomenon that was occurring in much of the world: the birth of fascism. Thus, several movements with this ideology arose, such as National Catholicism, National Syndicalism or clerical fascism. On the other hand, workers and communist organizations also began to strengthen.

Political causes

The political landscape in Peru had undergone great changes during the Eleventh period. It was in those years that the first modern parties in the country appeared, replacing the traditional ones, such as the Civil or the Democratic.

The most important organizations that were formed during those years were the Peruvian Aprista Party and the Peruvian Socialist Party. The first had a markedly anti-imperialist character and contrary to the oligarchy. The second adopted Marxism-Leninism as its ideology, although it was quite moderate.

Both parties caused the most privileged sectors of Peru to feel worried. The fear of losing part of their power made them support the military in their takeover of government.

Territorial instability

During Leguía's mandate there were several insurrections in provinces such as Cuzco, Puno, Chicama and, especially, Cajamarca.

The government's violent response only worsened the situation, creating a climate of instability that had a negative impact on the economy and political and social tranquility.

characteristics

The period of the third militarism began with the coup perpetrated by Luis Sánchez Cerro, who was later elected constitutional president. After his death, he was replaced by General Óscar R. Benavides.

Political aspect

The military men who starred in this stage in the history of Peru were caudillos who responded to the economic and political crisis by taking power. To do this, they established an alliance with the national oligarchy, fearful of the advance of progressive movements.

Sánchez Cerro, who had been in Italy before his coup, had ideas very close to fascism. His government was authoritarian and xenophobic, applying some populist and corporatist measures.

The military man, after having to leave power in 1930, founded a political party to stand in the following elections: the Revolutionary Union. Sánchez managed to win the votes, organizing a repressive government with the opponents.

The Revolutionary Union had a populist side, combined with a powerful cult of the leader.

When Benavides came to power, he tried to relax the more repressive aspects of his predecessor. Thus, he decreed an Amnesty Law for political prisoners and the parties were able to reopen their headquarters.

However, he did not hesitate to repress the Apristas when he considered that they threatened his presidency.

Economic aspect

The Crisis of 29 had hit Peru hard. There was a shortage of products and inflation was very high. This caused the population to start protesting and several strikes were called during the 1930s.

Sánchez Cerro hired the Kemmerer Mission to try to find solutions to the situation. The economists on this commission recommended economic reforms, but the president accepted only a few. Even so, Peru was able to readjust its monetary policy somewhat and replaced the Peruvian pound with the Sol.

During Benavides' tenure, the business cycle had begun to change. The oligarchy opted for a liberal conservatism, with a strong state that will guarantee law and order, conditions that they considered essential to achieve economic stability.

Social aspect

The third militarism, especially during the presidency of Sánchez Cerro, was characterized by repression against opponents and against minority sectors of society. Its fascist character appeared in the acts of violence against the Apristas and the Communists, in addition to the control exercised over the press.

Another area in which the government demonstrated great cruelty was in its treatment of foreigners. During the 1930s, they launched several xenophobic campaigns against Asian immigration. This was accentuated after the death of Sánchez and the appointment of Luis A. Flores as leader of his party.

The Revolutionary Union was organized as a vertical structure, with a militia closely related to the church. Her political action was focused on the creation of a corporatist and authoritarian state, with a single party.

This was not an obstacle to the enactment of some social measures in favor of the working class throughout the Third Militarism. On the other hand, that aspect was also very typical of fascism.

International appearance

An apparently minor incident was about to provoke a war between Peru and Colombia during the presidency of Sánchez Cerro. The Peruvians arrived to mobilize their troops and were prepared to send them to the border.

However, the assassination of the president, just after reviewing the troops, made it possible to avoid the conflict. Benavides, Sánchez's replacement, proceeded to settle the problem peacefully.

Presidents

After the departure from power of Augusto Leguía, a Military Junta chaired by General Manuela Ponce Brousset took over the government of the country. The lack of popularity of the new president caused him to be replaced by Luis Sánchez Cerro, much better known to the people.

Sánchez, who had taken up arms, like others, against Leguía, arrived in Lima on August 27, 1930. His reception, according to the chronicles, was apotheosis. The Military Junta of Brousset was dissolved and another was formed under the command of Sánchez Cerro.

Provisional government of Sánchez Cerro

The situation in Peru when the new president took office was critical. The riots occurred in much of the country, led by workers, students and the military.

Cerro enacted measures to stop the protests and also created a special court to try corruption cases during Leguía's presidency.

The policy of repression, including the outlawing of some union, culminated in the Malpaso massacre on November 12. In it, 34 miners were killed.

On the economic side, Sánchez Cerro hired the Kemmerer Mission, a group of American economists. The measures proposed by the experts were, for the most part, rejected by the president, although those approved had a small positive effect.

Before he called elections, a group of army officers and members of the police rebelled against the provisional government in February 1931. The uprising failed, but showed discontent with the regime.

A new rebellion, this one in Arequipo, forced Sánchez Cerro to resign on March 1, 1931. After him a series of interim presidents followed one another who barely lasted in office. The most important of these was Samanez Ocampo.

Provisional government of Samanez Ocampo

Samanez Ocampo took command of the Constituent Congress and managed to momentarily pacify the country. His short term was dedicated to preparing the next elections. For this, it created an electoral statute and the National Elections Jury.

Within the laws approved for the elections, priests, the military, women, the illiterate and those under 21 years of age were excluded from the right to vote. Likewise, any supporter of former President Leguía was prohibited from appearing.

Despite the improvement in the situation, Samanez Ocampo had to face some rebellions in Cuzco. All were violently repressed.

Finally, the presidential elections were held on October 11, 1931. Some historians consider them the first modern elections in the history of Peru.

Among the candidates was Luis Sánchez Cerro, who had founded a fascist party to run, the Revolutionary Union. APRA was its main rival.

The votes were favorable to Sánchez Cerro, although his rivals denounced electoral fraud and did not know the result. However, Samanez Ocampo stood firm and gave his position to Sánchez Cerro.

Constitutional government of Luis Sánchez Cerro

Sánchez Cerro assumed the presidency on December 8, 1931. One of his first measures was to order that work begin on the drafting of a new Constitution, which was finally promulgated on April 9, 1933.

His government was characterized by the repression unleashed against his opponents, especially Apristas and Communists. In addition, he launched campaigns labeled as xenophobic against workers from Asia.

The new president had to deal with the economic crisis that the country was already suffering before he took office. Raw materials were losing more and more value and inflation had soared. Despite hiring the Kemmerer Mission, tax revenues fell and unemployment reached very high figures.

Political instability, with numerous strikes called by the Communist Party and APRA, did not help the economy to recover. The president even suffered a failed attack and saw the Callao ships revolt against him.

During his tenure he was about to declare a war against Colombia. Only his assassination, which occurred on April 30, 1933, stopped preparations for the conflict.

Government of Oscar Benavides

Benavides was named president by Congress on the same day that Sánchez Cerro was assassinated. Despite the fact that the measure contravened the Constitution, he took office to complete the term of the late president, until 1936.

Benavides managed to stop the conflict with Colombia, reaching a peace agreement in 1934. Likewise, he took advantage of the change in the economic cycle to leave behind the worst of the crisis.

In 1936, Benavides ran as a candidate for the new elections. His main rivals were Jorge Prado (initially supported by the government) and Luis Antonio Eguiguren, who had more social support.

As soon as the scrutiny began, the National Jury annulled the elections. The excuse was that the Apristas, whose party was forbidden from voting, had massively supported Eguiguren.

Congress decided that Benavides would extend his term for another three years and also assume the legislative power. His motto for that period was "order, peace and work." He had the support of the army and the oligarchy.

At the end of his term, he had to face an attempted coup. Although he managed to stop the attempt, Benavides assumed that he should not continue in office.

Consequences

The 1939 elections marked, for many historians, the end of the third militarism. Benavides gave his support to Prado Ugarteche, son of the then president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru.

The other main candidate was José Quesada Larrea, a young businessman who fought for electoral freedom in the face of evidence that the government could commit fraud.

On the other hand, APRA was still outlawed, although it was the largest in the country. Finally, the Revolutionary Union was also banned.

The votes declared Prado the winner, with a considerable advantage. Many denounced massive irregularities during the elections, but nothing changed the end result.

New Constitution

The Third Militarism did not end the political instability of the country. The Unión Revolucionaria de Sánchez Cerro, with its fascist ideology, harshly repressed all kinds of popular protest and opposition parties, especially APRA and the Communist Party.

Despite the persistent economic crisis, the middle classes grew. The oligarchy, for its part, strengthened its privileged position by supporting the military governments and the presidents elected after them.

According to historians, the end of the Third Militarism brought to Peru what has been classified as a weak democracy, with governments largely controlled by the aforementioned oligarchy.

The most important legacy of this period was the Constitution of 1933. This became the economic, political and social base of the country until 1979.

References

1. History of Peru. Third Militarism. Obtained from historiaperuana.pe
2. Salazar Quispe, Robert. Aristocratic Republic - Third Militarism. Recovered from visionhistoricadelperu.files.wordpress.com
3. Schoolchildren. Militarism in Peru. Obtained from escolar.net
4. The biography. Biography of Luis Sánchez Cerro (1889-1933). Retrieved from thebiography.us
5. John Preston Moore, Robert N. Burr. Peru. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. World Biographical Encyclopedia. Oscar R. Benavides. Retrieved from prabook.com
7. Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress. Mass Politics and Social Change, 1930-68. Recovered from motherearthtravel.com