Celso Torrelio

58th President of Bolivia

Celso Torrelio


58th President of Bolivia
In office 4 September 1981 – 19 July 1982 Junta: 4 August 1981 – 4 September 1981
Vice President	Vacant
Preceded by	Luis García Meza
Succeeded by	Guido Vildoso
Minister of Interior, Migration, and Justice
In office 26 February 1981 – 30 June 1981
President	Luis García Meza
Preceded by	Luis Arce Gómez
Succeeded by	Jorge Salazar Crespo

Personal details
Born	Celso Torrelio Villa (1933-06-03)3 June 1933 Padilla, Chuquisaca, Bolivia
Died	23 April 1999(1999-04-23) (aged 65) La Paz, Bolivia
Spouse	Teresa Pacheco
Parent(s)	Abel Torrelio Estefania Villa
Education	Military College of the Army
Signature

Celso Torrelio Villa (3 June 1933 – 23 April 1999) was a military general and a member of the Junta of Commanders of the Armed Forces (1981), who served as the de facto 58th president of Bolivia from 1981 to 1982.

A native of Padilla, department of Chuquisaca, Torrelio joined the Bolivian Army and rose to the rank of general. He served as the notorious dictator Luis García Meza's Minister of Interior after the departure, forced by Washington, of the equally-infamous Colonel Luis Arce. The García Meza regime became internationally known for its extreme brutality. Some 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed by the Bolivian army and security forces between July 1980 and August 1981. In addition, the García Meza government was deeply involved in drug trafficking activities, and may have come to power financed directly by the drug cartels. This led to the complete isolation of the regime. Even the new conservative government of U.S. President Ronald Reagan kept its distance and seemed to prefer better options. Eventually, the international outcry was sufficiently strong to force García Meza's resignation on 3 August 1981. The high command of the Military of Bolivia at that point entrusted General Celso Torrelio with the presidency.

Although the military's idea was to replace the polarizing García Meza with a less controversial and more acceptable leader equally committed to the principles of the anti-communist National Security Doctrine, their plan did not come to fruition. The regime continued to be shunned internationally and despised domestically. Furthermore, a very grave economic crisis loomed on the horizon, the result of years of mismanagement, a global recession, and the onset of the so-called Latin American debt crisis. Faced with the choices of mounting a fresh repressive campaign to re-equilibrate the reeling regime (with the increased international isolation such a move would entail) or call elections, the high command chose the latter. In July 1982, General Torrelio was replaced with General Guido Vildoso, who was charged with returning the country to democratic rule. Torrelio then retired and did not return to play any role in Bolivian politics.

Torrelio was replaced by the Junta of Commanders of the Armed Forces (1982).

Sources

Prado Salmón, Gral. Gary. "Poder y Fuerzas Armadas, 1949-1982."

External links

Obituary from The Independent

Presidents of Bolivia

▌Simón Bolívar (1825)

▌Antonio José de Sucre (1825–1828)

▌José María Pérez de Urdininea (1828)

▌José Miguel de Velasco (1828)

▌Pedro Blanco Soto (1828–1829)

▌José Miguel de Velasco (1829)

▌Andrés de Santa Cruz (1829–1839)

▌José Miguel de Velasco (1839–1841)

▌Sebastián Ágreda (1841)

▌Mariano Enrique Calvo (1841)

▌José Ballivián (1841–1847)

▌Eusebio Guilarte (1847–1848)

▌José Miguel de Velasco (1848)

▌Manuel Isidoro Belzu (1848–1855)

▌Jorge Córdova (1855–1857)

▌José María Linares (1857–1861)

▌José María de Achá (1861–1864)

▌Mariano Melgarejo (1864–1871)

▌Agustín Morales (1871–1872)

▌Tomás Frías (1872–1873)

▌Adolfo Ballivián (1873–1874)

▌Tomás Frías (1874–1876)

▌Hilarión Daza (1876–1879)

▌Narciso Campero (1880–1884)

▌Gregorio Pacheco (1884–1888)

▌Aniceto Arce (1888–1892)

▌Mariano Baptista (1892–1896)

▌Severo Fernández (1896–1899)

▌José Manuel Pando (1899–1904)

▌Ismael Montes (1904–1909)

▌Eliodoro Villazón (1909–1913)

▌Ismael Montes (1913–1917)

▌José Gutiérrez Guerra (1917–1920)

▌Bautista Saavedra (1921–1925)

▌Felipe Segundo Guzmán (1925–1926)

▌Hernando Siles Reyes (1926–1930)

▌Carlos Blanco Galindo (1930–1931)

▌Daniel Salamanca (1931–1934)

▌José Luis Tejada Sorzano (1934–1936)

▌David Toro (1936–1937)

▌Germán Busch (1937–1939)

▌Carlos Quintanilla (1939–1940)

▌Enrique Peñaranda (1940–1943)

▌Gualberto Villarroel (1943–1946)

▌Néstor Guillén (1946)

▌Tomás Monje (1946–1947)

▌Enrique Hertzog (1947–1949)

▌Mamerto Urriolagoitía (1949–1951)

▌Hugo Ballivián (1951–1952)

▌Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1952–1956)

▌Hernán Siles Zuazo (1956–1960)

▌Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1960–1964)

▌René Barrientos (1964–1966)

▌Alfredo Ovando Candía (1966)

▌René Barrientos (1966–1969)

▌Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas (1969)

▌Alfredo Ovando Candía (1969–1970)

▌Juan José Torres (1970–1971)

▌Hugo Banzer (1971–1978)

▌Juan Pereda (1978)

▌David Padilla (1978–1979)

▌Wálter Guevara (1979)

▌Alberto Natusch (1979)

▌Lidia Gueiler Tejada (1979–1980)

▌Luis García Meza (1980–1981)

▌Celso Torrelio (1981–1982)

▌Guido Vildoso (1982)

▌Hernán Siles Zuazo (1982–1985)

▌Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1985–1989)

▌Jaime Paz Zamora (1989–1993)

▌Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (1993–1997)

▌Hugo Banzer (1997–2001)

▌Jorge Quiroga (2001–2002)

▌Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (2002–2003)

▌Carlos Mesa (2003–2005)

▌Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé (2005–2006)

▌Evo Morales (2006–2019)

▌Jeanine Áñez (2019–2020)

▌Luis Arce (2020–present)

Category
List

Offices and distinctions

Political offices
Preceded by Luis Arce Gómez	Minister of Interior, Migration, and Justice 1981	Succeeded by Jorge Salazar Crespo
Vacant Government Junta Title last held by Luis García Meza	President of Bolivia 1981–1982	Vacant Government Junta Title next held by Guido Vildoso