Morales Bermúdez Seizes Power: Peru's Military Coup Begins

Prime Minister Francisco Morales Bermudez launched a bloodless coup from the garrison city of Tacna, forcing the ailing President Juan Velasco Alvarado to resign and assuming the presidency himself. The takeover reversed Velasco's radical land reforms and nationalization programs, steering Peru toward a gradual return to civilian democratic rule. The coup, known as El Tacnazo, occurred on August 29, 1975, when Morales Bermudez, who served simultaneously as prime minister and commander of the army, issued a manifesto from the southern city of Tacna declaring that Velasco's government had failed. The military garrisons in Tacna and other southern cities aligned with Morales Bermudez, and the Lima garrison quickly followed. Velasco, who had been in declining health since suffering an aortic aneurysm that required the amputation of his leg, was unable to rally support and resigned within hours. Morales Bermudez presented his seizure of power as a "second phase" of the revolution that Velasco had begun in 1968, when Velasco himself had overthrown President Fernando Belaunde Terry. In practice, the second phase reversed many of Velasco's most radical policies, including the agrarian reform that had redistributed over 15 million acres of farmland, the nationalization of foreign-owned industries, and the workers' self-management programs that had given employees ownership stakes in their companies. Morales Bermudez gradually liberalized the economy, restored press freedom that Velasco had curtailed, and convened a constituent assembly in 1978 to draft a new constitution. Free elections in 1980 returned Belaunde Terry to the presidency, completing Peru's transition back to civilian democracy.