1. Narciso Campero Leyes was a Bolivian general and politician who served as the 20th president of Bolivia from 1880 to 1884.
17 Facts About Narciso Campero
1. 2.
Narciso Campero began his military career at the Battle of Ingavi in 1841 and later studied at the French Military Academy of Saint Cyr while serving as secretary of the Bolivian legation in France.
3.
Narciso Campero participated in the tragic events of 26 March 1865, when a rebellion led by former president Manuel Isidoro Belzu, with the support of the popular masses of La Paz, expelled Melgarejo from the city.
4.
Narciso Campero stood between Melgarejo and Belzu, begging him to spare his life.
5.
Narciso Campero was given the mission to reconquer Calama from the hands of the Chilean Army, with the intention of recovering Antofagasta.
6.
Alcides Arguedas maintains that Narciso Campero wandered through the southern Bolivian mountain range as a result of Daza's contradictory orders and whims.
7.
Narciso Campero assumed the provisional presidency at the request of a Board of Notables meeting in La Paz after the overthrow of Hilarion Daza in December 1879.
8.
The rebellion was crushed and Narciso Campero was able to consolidate his power.
9.
The beginning of his government coincided with the virtual dismemberment of the Bolivian forces that were fighting alongside the Peruvians in the War of the Pacific, which motivated Narciso Campero to call for a new mobilization effort and personally assume the leadership of the allied troops.
10.
The Narciso Campero government faced serious difficulties as a result of the war such as the abrupt interruption of foreign trade and the epidemics and famines ravaging the population, aggravated by the military demobilization.
11.
Narciso Campero tried to govern while complying with the new constitution and the political equidistance between the political groups of Bolivia, divided between liberals, led by Eliodoro Camacho, and conservatives led by Arce.
12.
Narciso Campero had serious personal and political confrontations with Arce, who served as his vice president and supported the need for an immediate peace with Chile.
13.
Narciso Campero was succeeded by his first cousin, Gregorio Pacheco Leyes, an opposition candidate.
14.
Narciso Campero had demanded that Pacheco deliver the dividends produced by the Guadalupe mine that both had owned in a commercial partnership.
15.
The confrontation led to a judicial ruling which forced Narciso Campero to remain detained in his hacienda for a short time, with the courts later ruling in favor of Pacheco.
16.
Narciso Campero soon accused Arce of treason and exiled him precisely to Chile.
17.
Narciso Campero is best remembered as the founder of the most stable era of Bolivian politics, with regular elections and rare and brief coups.