Manuel Isidoro Belzu

Manuel Isidoro Belzu Humerez (14 April 1808 – 23 March 1865) was the 14th President of Bolivia from 1848 to 1855.

Born in La Paz, Bolivia to humble mestizo parents, Belzu was educated by Franciscan friars.

He joined the wars of independence in his youth, fighting under Andrés de Santa Cruz at Zepita (1823) when he was 17. After serving as an aide to Agustín Gamarra, he left the Peruvian army when the latter entered Bolivia in 1828.

Assigned as garrison commander to Tarija, Belzu married "up" in class by wedding a beautiful and intellectual Argentine lady, Juana Manuela Gorriti, who resided there with her family.

Belzu fought in the battles of the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy, during which he was promoted to the post of Army commander by President José Ballivián. He had fought bravely under his orders at the Battle of Ingavi (1841).

Originally a close friend and supporter of President Ballivián, Belzu turned against him about 1845. Ballivián had reportedly attempted to seduce Belzu's wife in his own Oruro home. Surprising the President there, Belzu shot at him and barely missed. The event sealed an undying enmity between the two that would never abate. Political ambitions—typical of upper-level Bolivian military officers at the time—may have played a role in addition to the personal reasons. Belzu decided at that point to try to topple the "Hero of Ingavi" from the presidency. Withdrawing to the countryside (orders for his arrest for the attempted murder of the President had been issued), Belzu never ceased to conspire against his former friend.

Belzu's political stance became more populist as he embraced his mestizo heritage, railed against the power of the "white" oligarchy, and vowed to advance the cause of the poor and the Indian should he come to the presidency. In his travels as a fugitive, Belzu had seen the deplorable conditions under which most of the population lived, with scarcely any improvements or public works by the government. His position established a strong base of support among the peasants, who came to know him as "Tata (Father, or Protector) Belzu."

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