President of Bolivia. He served from December 20, 1943 to July 21, 1946. Prior to becoming president, he had an uneventful career in the military. He was an unknown military officer when he came to power in a coup against the administration of General Enrique Peñaranda. An instructor in the reformist military college and a key figure in the secret nationalist military Razón de Patria, he aligned himself with the fascist-oriented Nationalist Revolutionary Movement during the coup. As head of Razón de Patria, he was made president. While his administration is noted for attempts at social reform, he is better remembered for suppressing the opposition and executing various opposition leaders after a failed coup in 1944. His dictatorial behavior led to great discontent and a national revolt by the people, especially students and teachers, occurred. When a teacher's strike turned violent, a mob stormed the presidential palace, shot the president and threw him from a balcony. A mob below then hanged the president from a lamppost in the adjoining plaza. Villarroel was buried in the Cementerio General de Cochabamba. A cenotaph in his honor along with Germán Busch and two urns with the remains of Juan José Torres and Juan Lechín Oquendo, are exhibited in the Monumento a la Revolución.
President of Bolivia. He served from December 20, 1943 to July 21, 1946. Prior to becoming president, he had an uneventful career in the military. He was an unknown military officer when he came to power in a coup against the administration of General Enrique Peñaranda. An instructor in the reformist military college and a key figure in the secret nationalist military Razón de Patria, he aligned himself with the fascist-oriented Nationalist Revolutionary Movement during the coup. As head of Razón de Patria, he was made president. While his administration is noted for attempts at social reform, he is better remembered for suppressing the opposition and executing various opposition leaders after a failed coup in 1944. His dictatorial behavior led to great discontent and a national revolt by the people, especially students and teachers, occurred. When a teacher's strike turned violent, a mob stormed the presidential palace, shot the president and threw him from a balcony. A mob below then hanged the president from a lamppost in the adjoining plaza. Villarroel was buried in the Cementerio General de Cochabamba. A cenotaph in his honor along with Germán Busch and two urns with the remains of Juan José Torres and Juan Lechín Oquendo, are exhibited in the Monumento a la Revolución.
Bio by: letemrip
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