Baptista, Mariano (1832–1907)

Mariano Baptista (b. 16 July 1832; d. 19 March 1907), president of Bolivia (1892–1896). One of the greatest political orators of Bolivia, Baptista is also considered the ideologist of the Conservative (or Constitutionalist) Party, which prevailed from 1884 to 1899. Dedicated to politics all his adult life, Baptista was a supporter of the dictatorship of José María Linares (1857–1861). As a diplomat, Baptista represented Bolivia well in border negotiations with virtually all neighboring countries. Elected vice president during the Gregorio Pacheco administration (1884–1888), Baptista became one of the most important Conservative politicians. He wrote profusely in various newspapers in favor of the Catholic church, mining interests, and railroad development, and against the anticlerical Liberal Party. When Baptista was elected president in 1892 he had the misfortune of presiding over the collapse of international silver prices and the economic crisis it triggered in Bolivia. During his administration he fostered railroad construction and the exploitation of rubber resources in the Acre region of northeast Bolivia.

See alsoBolivia, Political Parties: Conservative Party .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

There is no biography of Baptista. The best source on his life is his monumental Obras completas (1932). References to Baptista are in Herbert S. Klein, Bolivia: The Evolution of a Multi-Ethnic Society (1982), pp. 159-161.

                                          Erick D. Langer