Alfredo Ovando Candia (6 April 1918-24 January 1982) was President of Bolivia from 26 May 1965 to 6 August 1966 (interrupting Rene Barrientos' terms) and from 26 September 1969 to 6 October 1970 (succeeding Luis Adolfo Siles and preceding Juan Jose Torres).
Biography[]
Alfredo Ovando was born in Cobija, Bolivia in 1918, and he served in the Bolivian Army during the Chaco War. He was chosen to lead the reconstituted army after the 1952 Bolivian National Revolution, and, in 1964, he and Rene Barrientos overthrew Victor Paz Estenssoro when he tried to amend the constitution to extend his term limits. He briefly served as President from 1965 to 1966, when Barrientos was elected President, and he commanded the Bolivian Air Force during the Barrientos regime and repressed communist agitation. After Barrientos' death in 1969, Ovando served as President, and he shifted his views to the left by nationalizing the Gulf Oil Corporation's assets and inviting leftist intellectuals to join his regime. The military was polarized, and General Juan Jose Torres called for Ovando to pursue more leftist policies, while Rogelio Miranda called for a more pro-US and anti-communist stance. Torres seized power in a coup in 1970, and Ovando was exiled to Spain until 1978. After his return, he supported Hernan Siles' Democratic and Popular Union alliance, and he died in 1982.