First presidency of Fernando Belaúnde

The first presidency of Fernando Belaúnde Terry was the constitutional government of Peru between 28 July 1963 and 3 October 1968. Belaúnde, a leading figure of the Popular Action party, entered office after the 1963 presidential election and presented his administration as a program of democratic modernization, social integration, housing development, and national infrastructure. His inauguration speech emphasized measures intended to broaden local participation in government, address the housing shortage, stimulate economic activity, and begin a major road-building program that would eventually be associated with the Marginal Highway. The administration operated in a politically divided environment. Belaúnde lacked a dependable majority in Congress, where opposition forces constrained the pace and scope of his legislative agenda. His government also confronted deep rural inequality, landlord domination in parts of the Andes, peasant unrest, and guerrilla activity. Some uprisings and insurgent outbreaks were suppressed with military assistance. In the northeast, state military operations against Matsés, also known as Mayoruna, communities in 1964 resulted in deaths and injuries whose total remains uncertain. During its early years, the government benefited from a period of economic expansion and undertook large infrastructure projects intended to improve transport and extend state capacity. These projects included road construction and other public works, but much of the investment was financed through foreign borrowing. The combination of ambitious development plans, political conflict, rural unrest, and external financial dependence made the administration increasingly vulnerable as its term progressed. The most damaging controversy concerned the long-running La Brea and Pariñas oil dispute involving the International Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey. The company had operated the northern Peruvian oil fields under an arrangement that successive Peruvian governments considered unlawful or financially disadvantageous to the state. Belaúnde promised to resolve the issue rapidly. Congress passed Law No. 14,696 declaring the relevant arbitral award invalid, and the executive promulgated the measure in November 1963. A definitive settlement was not reached until the final year of the administration. On 13 August 1968, the government signed the Act of Talara. The agreement transferred the oil fields to the state-owned Empresa Petrolera Fiscal while allowing the International Petroleum Company to retain the Talara refinery, distribution arrangements, and certain concessions. The agreement was initially celebrated by much of the Peruvian press and public as a resolution of a national grievance. Its political standing collapsed after criticism that undisclosed terms favored the company. The resignation of Empresa Petrolera Fiscal president Carlos Loret de Mola on 10 September 1968 and his allegation that a contract page containing the crude-oil pricing terms was missing produced the celebrated “Page 11” scandal. The document's contents and even the circumstances surrounding its absence remained disputed, but the controversy was used by officers who accused the government of surrendering national interests. On 3 October 1968, armed forces led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado removed Belaúnde from office. Military units seized the Government Palace, Congress, communications facilities, and other strategic institutions. Belaúnde was detained and deported to Argentina. Velasco established the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces, ending the constitutional administration and beginning a period of military rule. The first Belaúnde presidency is therefore remembered both for its democratic development and infrastructure agenda and for the unresolved political, social, and economic tensions that culminated in the Talara crisis and coup.

The first Belaúnde administration began on 28 July 1963 after Fernando Belaúnde Terry assumed Peru's presidency. Its governing program combined representative democracy with an ambitious developmental agenda. At his inauguration, Belaúnde proposed measures to expand direct participation in local government, address the housing needs of people without adequate shelter, and use public works as an engine of economic development. He also promoted a major road-building initiative that became associated with the Marginal Highway and was intended to connect and integrate remote regions. The government inherited substantial social and political problems. Rural Peru was marked by poverty, unequal landholding, and the continuing influence of landlords over peasant communities. Peasant protests and guerrilla outbreaks occurred in Andean areas during the administration. The armed forces were used to suppress these challenges. In 1964, military aircraft also conducted operations against Matsés communities in the northeast. The scale of the resulting loss of life remains uncertain in the available account. The administration experienced a notable economic expansion during its initial period and invested in large infrastructure projects. These projects were designed to extend and modernize the transport network and improve the physical infrastructure inherited from earlier governments. They depended significantly on foreign borrowing, however, increasing concern over fiscal vulnerability and the government's reliance on external capital. The central political conflict involved La Brea and Pariñas, a northern oil-field complex operated by the International Petroleum Company. Peruvian governments had disputed the legality and financial terms of the company's position for decades. Belaúnde promised an early resolution. In 1963, Congress passed legislation declaring the relevant Paris arbitration award invalid, and the executive branch promulgated the law in November. The measure did not by itself settle the operational and financial issues, and negotiations continued for years. In July 1968, negotiations with the company resumed at the Government Palace. The resulting Act of Talara was signed on 13 August. It transferred the oil fields to Empresa Petrolera Fiscal, the state petroleum company, while permitting the International Petroleum Company to retain the Talara refinery, its distribution network, and specified concessions. The arrangement initially generated widespread public approval because it appeared to restore national control over the disputed fields. The agreement soon became controversial. Critics alleged that the company had obtained undisclosed favorable conditions. Carlos Loret de Mola, president of Empresa Petrolera Fiscal, resigned in September and stated that page 11 of the contract was missing. That page was said to contain the formula or price terms governing crude-oil purchases by the state company. Newspapers and political opponents treated the episode as evidence of governmental misconduct or national betrayal. Other interpretations held that the page was blank or that the controversy was being misrepresented. Regardless of the document's precise status, the affair severely damaged the administration and supplied the immediate political justification for military intervention. Before dawn on 3 October 1968, army units entered the Government Palace and seized strategic buildings, including Congress, the prefecture, political-party offices, broadcasting facilities, and the Interior Ministry. Belaúnde was detained and transported to Argentina. General Juan Velasco Alvarado, then head of the armed forces' Joint Command, announced the formation of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces. The coup ended Peru's constitutional government and brought the first Belaúnde presidency to a close.

• 1968

  Act of Talara

  [1]First presidency of Fernando Belaúndeen.wikipedia.org

  The government reached an agreement transferring the disputed oil fields to the state petroleum company while preserving the International Petroleum Company's refinery and related interests.

• 1968

  Military overthrow

  [1]First presidency of Fernando Belaúndeen.wikipedia.org

  Juan Velasco Alvarado led a coup on 3 October that deposed Belaúnde and established military rule.

• 1964

  Military operations against Matsés communities

  [1]First presidency of Fernando Belaúndeen.wikipedia.org

  State forces carried out bombing operations against Matsés, or Mayoruna, communities in northeastern Peru.

• 1963

  Belaúnde assumes the presidency

  [1]First presidency of Fernando Belaúndeen.wikipedia.org

  Fernando Belaúnde Terry was inaugurated on 28 July, beginning the administration's five-year constitutional term.

• 1963

  Congress declares the La Brea and Pariñas award invalid

  [1]First presidency of Fernando Belaúndeen.wikipedia.org

  Law No. 14,696 declared invalid the arbitration award at the center of Peru's dispute with the International Petroleum Company.

A democratic, developmentalist Peruvian administration focused on infrastructure, housing, economic modernization, and national control of strategic resources.

• 1968

  The Page 11 affair

  The Talara oil agreement became the subject of a major scandal after Carlos Loret de Mola alleged that a page containing crude-oil pricing terms was missing from the contract. The dispute intensified accusations that the Belaúnde government had conceded too much to the International Petroleum Company and became a key pretext for the October coup. Accounts differed over whether the page existed, was blank, or contained commercially significant information.

  Source

Read more

• 1963Housing and public-works program

  Peru

  At inauguration, Belaúnde presented housing construction and infrastructure investment as linked tools for relieving homelessness, stimulating the economy, and extending national development.

  Outcome. The administration undertook major infrastructure projects, although the broader program faced political opposition and relied substantially on foreign borrowing.

  Source
• 1963Marginal Highway initiative

  Peru

  The government announced a road-traffic and connectivity plan intended to produce the Marginal Highway and improve links between Peru's regions.

  Outcome. The initiative became one of the administration's principal infrastructure ambitions.

  Source

• 1968

  Sign the Act of TalaraStrategy

  Background

  After years of unresolved conflict over La Brea and Pariñas, the administration negotiated directly with the International Petroleum Company under intense domestic political pressure.

  Action taken

  The agreement transferred the oil fields to Empresa Petrolera Fiscal but left the International Petroleum Company with the Talara refinery, distribution arrangements, and certain concessions.

  Aftermath

  Initial public approval turned into intense criticism after allegations about undisclosed terms and the missing Page 11. The controversy contributed directly to the political crisis preceding the military coup.

  Source

• 1968

  Respond to the military coupOther

  Background

  The Talara controversy and broader disputes over the government's economic and social direction created conditions for intervention by senior armed-forces officers.

  Action taken

  Belaúnde sought support from senior military ministers, but army units occupied the Government Palace and other state institutions, detained him, and deported him to Argentina.

  Aftermath

  Juan Velasco Alvarado established the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces, ending the administration and Peru's constitutional government.

  Source

• 1963

  Invalidate the La Brea and Pariñas arbitration awardOther

  Background

  The government regarded the long-running oil-field dispute with the International Petroleum Company as a matter of national sovereignty and unpaid or disputed obligations to the Peruvian state.

  Action taken

  Congress passed Law No. 14,696 declaring the relevant award invalid, and the executive branch promulgated the law on 4 November 1963.

  Aftermath

  The legislation did not resolve the operating and financial dispute, which remained active until negotiations produced the Act of Talara in 1968.

  Source

1. 1First presidency of Fernando Belaúndeen.wikipedia.org