Adolfo Ballivián Coll (15 November 1831 – 14 February 1874) was a Bolivian military officer and politician who served as the 18th President of Bolivia from 1873 to 1874. His presidency was brief, yet serious financial and legislative problems, worsened or neglected by previous administrations, began to appear. These would have serious effects for Bolivia, leading up to the War of the Pacific.
Early life
Youth and first exile
Adolfo Ballivián was born on November 15, 1831 in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. He was the son of former Bolivian President and war hero José Ballivián. Highly educated, he had the opportunity to travel to many places. He was a member of the armed forces, orator, composer of classical music, writer, and deputy.
From a very young age he accompanied his father in the War of the Confederation and also participated in the Battle of Ingavi. During his first trips, living in exile with his father, he met Carmen Grimwood Allende de Quillota in Valparaíso, Chile, whom he married.
Early political career and second exile
Following his father's unexpected death in Brazil in 1855, he returned to Bolivia, rejoined the army and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He ran for Congress and also became a part-time journalist, serving as aide-de-camp to José María Linares. Between 1862 and 1864 he participated as a representative in the National Assembly, and was exiled from the country after the triumph of Mariano Melgarejo over José María de Achá. He was to spend seven years in exile and only returned to Bolivia after the death of President Agustín Morales.
Return to Bolivia
Third exile and the death of Morales
He returned to Europe when relations between President Morales and Congress and civil society deteriorated in 1872. However, Morales was weary of Ballivián's presence in the country and sent him away on a diplomatic mission to Europe in May of that year. He was still in Europe when his name was invoked by congressional forces and constitutionalists to participate as a candidate in the 1873 elections, which had been quickly called after the unexpected assassination of President Morales. Tomás Frías, who had assumed the presidency by virtue of his position as the President of the Council of State, refused to finish the constitutional term and called elections.
The General Elections of 1873
During the General Elections of 1873, Adolfo Ballivián, Casimiro Corral and Quintín Quevedo were the most prominent candidates. While the first two candidates represented their own constitutional faction, Quevedo represented the old melgarejista interests. This faction hoped to retake the lands which had been repatriated to its previous owners, seized by the government of Melgarejo and bestowed to his loyal allies. The top three candidates of the elections were Ballivián, Corral, and Quevedo, receiving 6,442, 5,352, and 3,313 votes respectively. There was a total of 16,674 votes, and none of the candidates achieved the majority necessary according to the Constitution, meaning that the National Assembly was now tasked to choose among the three candidates with the most votes. The first round concluded in 31 votes for Ballivián, 20 for Corral, and 6 for Quevedo. The second round, contested between Ballivián and Corral ended with the former obtaining 41 votes and the latter 19. Thus, Ballivián defeated both Corral and Quevedo and was proclaimed President of Bolivia. Both Corral and Quevedo, as they had promised prior to their respective candidatures, accepted and acknowledged the victor of the elections as the legitimate successor to the Presidency. He was elected president in what were possibly the cleanest elections up to that point in Bolivian history. Interestingly, Ballivián had been elected while he was still in Europe, only returning to Bolivia on April 21, 1873. By this time, the electoral question had been answered and Frías was ready to hand over the executive power to him.