Third Militarism
The Third Militarism (Spanish: Tercer Militarismo) was the period between 1930 and 1939 in Peruvian history, in which Peru was ruled by a series of military governments.
In 1930, dictator of Peru, Augusto B. Leguia, was ousted by military forces led by Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro in the 1930 Peruvian coup d'état, ending his regime known as the Oncenio. Sánchez Cerro ruled Peru as leader of a military junta for 6 months, which oversaw the liquidation of the Oncenio and the rise of the left-wing American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) in politics. By 1931, he forced to resign due to opposition from several sectors of the nation. After a month of political instability with 3 temporary presidents, David Ocampo assumed the presidency for 8 months and reformed the electoral law until elections were called, which Sánchez Cerro won.
Sánchez Cerro's 2-year presidency (1931–1933) was marked by heavy repression of APRA, through the use of martial law and arresting many of the party's followers, known as Apristas. The Apristas fought back, conspiring with dissident military officers and starting uprisings, such as the 1932 Trujillo uprising. In the same year, Peruvian forces illegally marched into Colombia, beginning a border conflict known as the Colombia–Peru War which lasted a year. In 1933, Sánchez Cerro was assassinated, which led to General Oscar Benavides taking power.
Benavides' regime (1933–1939) was initially conciliatory and hoped to build a rapport between APRA and the government. However, discord between the two parties erupted soon after, and conflict began again. His term was meant to end in 1936, with a new president being elected in the 1936 Election. However, when Luis A. Eguiguren won with votes of the banned APRA, the results were declared invalid and Benavides' term was extended to 1939. For the remainder of his term, he focused on large-scale infrastructural and economic development of Peru, which helped to quieten the political scene against him. Following a failed coup d'état against him, new elections were held in 1939, in which Manuel Prado Ugarteche was declared the winner, restoring civilian rule in Peru.