Evening star., 1950-06-25

claimed.
Actually the uprising in Are
quipa, the second city of the
country, was one more evidence of
the explosive situation in Peru.
and at least a half dozen other
important nations of Latin Amer
lea that are dominated by military
or dictatorial regimes. It must
not be overlooked that the pres
ent government in 1eru has not
only had difficulty holding down
the once powerful Aprista move
ment. but many of the ultra con-
servatives who originally gave it
their wholehearted support and
backing. have now deserted it.
Pedro Beltran, a former Am
bassador in Washington, and in
the first year OF the Junta's rule
head of the all important Banco
Central de Reserva. modelled after
our Federal Reserve Bank. was
known as the father" of the
coup d'etat that ousted President
Luis Bustamante Rivero in
October, 1948. AS leader Of the
old Conservatives and big land
owners he was credited with hav-
ing masterminded that revolu-
ton. But Beltran long since
stepped out, If he did not join the
opposition. He quit when the Junta
arrested an employe of one of his
own business Arms as an alleged
Communist.
In fact Beltran had already be-
come disillusioned. More and more
the military functionaries were
meddling In fiscal matters, about
which they knew little or nothing.
As further evidence of declining
military prestige among civilians,
Beltran's successor as head of the
leading banking institution of the
country. DR.. Carlos RHO Patron,
also resigned a few weeks ago.
Other prominent conservatives,
and even middle Of the readers.
including professors and intel
lectuals. have left the country and
are now living abroad, several in
the United States.
Odria Seeks Presidency
One Of the richest and most
prominent members of the Lima
aristocracy. who has served on
many diplomatic missions abroad
under various governments, ad-
mits that the conservatives guessed
wrong. "We thought" he told me
recently, that the military men
would restore order, hold formal
elections, turn over the govern
ment to civilians and retire to
their barracks. But" he added
sadly, "they have delayed for near
1y two years while consolidating
their own forces and now they
are determined to keep rulership
completely in their own hands"
Gen. Manuel Odria, who led
in the overthrow of the Busta-
mante government, and headed
the Junta until the first of June,
when he resigned" to become the
official. or government candidate
in the elections scheduled for
July 2. insists that Bustamante
was deposed in order to restore
the government to the people.
He calls himself the candidate
of "the restoration" He declares
he will reestablish the "consti-
tuition" But his opponents
charge that he means a restora-
ton of his own Interpretation"
of the constitution. At any rate,
1t is apparent that he and his
associates are booking no opposi-
ton. So far Odria is the only
candidate permitted to remain in
the race for the presidency.
The revolt in Arequipa was led
by DR.. Juan Francisco Montajo,
a prominent physician of that
city, who was a candidate for
the vice presidency on an opposi-
ton ticket headed by Gen. Err
nesto Montague of Lima. Only
a week before the uprising Gen.
Montague had been ruled out of
the race because, according to
the military junta, his candidacy
was "the result of fraud"
Press Controlled
While the Arequipa uprising has
been the most spectacular out
burst against the authorities, it
was not the first evidence of in
ternal strife in the past few
months. A firm control of the
press, and much of the time out
right censorship, has kept the real
situation from becoming publi-
cized, except as the authorities
themselves have wanted such dis
turbances to become known.
There have been frequent Official
reports of attempted sabotage
and the capture by the military
and police of stores of arms and
bombs in various parts of the
country.
The Arequipa revolt seems to
have been a formidable uprising,
and its violence even greater than
the government communicates ad-
NIT. First press reports from the
scene estimated the dead at SO
and the wounded 300.
Whatever the real facts, the
present state of affairs in the old
land of the Incas is nothing new
or unusual. Only twice since the
long dictatorship of Agusto B.
Leguia, which ended in a bloody