Peru's 1968–1980 military government enacted sweeping socialist reforms including agrarian reform and nationalizations, reshaping the country's political and economic structure.
Key Facts
- Duration of rule
- 1968 to 1980
- Initial leader
- Juan Velasco Alvarado
- Successor leader
- Francisco Morales Bermúdez (from 1975)
- Constituent Assembly convened
- 1978
- New constitution promulgated
- 1979
- Restoration of civilian rule
- Fernando Belaúnde elected 1980
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Growing political instability and dissatisfaction with the civilian government led the Peruvian Armed Forces to stage a coup d'état in 1968. The military leadership sought to implement nationalist and left-wing reforms it believed the existing government was unable or unwilling to pursue, particularly regarding land redistribution and control of natural resources.
The Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces, headed by Juan Velasco Alvarado, ruled Peru from 1968 as a military dictatorship promoting revolutionary nationalism. It enacted agrarian reform, nationalized industries and media, officially recognized Quechua, and expanded workers' and indigenous rights. Severe economic crisis and international isolation followed, and Velasco was ousted in 1975 by Prime Minister Francisco Morales Bermúdez.
Morales Bermúdez reversed his predecessor's socialist policies and initiated a transition to democracy by convening a Constituent Assembly in 1978, which produced a new constitution in 1979. Elections in 1980 returned Fernando Belaúnde to the presidency, ending twelve years of military rule and reshaping Peru's political landscape for subsequent decades.