Alberto Natusch

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Natusch and the second or maternal family name is Busch.

Alberto Natusch Busch (May 23, 1933, in Beni, Bolivia – November 23, 1994, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia) was a Bolivian general who served briefly as the de facto 55th president of Bolivia in 1979.

Alberto Natusch
55th President of Bolivia
In office 1 November 1979 – 16 November 1979
Vice President	Vacant
Preceded by	Wálter Guevara (interim)
Succeeded by	Lidia Gueiler (interim)
Minister of Peasant and Agricultural Affairs
In office 14 February 1974 – 21 July 1978
President	Hugo Banzer
Preceded by	Himself (as Minister of Agriculture and Livestock)
Succeeded by	Guillermo Escóbar Uhry
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
In office 23 April 1974 – 14 February 1974
President	Hugo Banzer
Preceded by	José Gil Reyes
Succeeded by	Himself (as Minister of Peasant and Agricultural Affairs)
Personal details
Born	Alberto Natusch Busch (1933-05-23)23 May 1933 Riberalta, Beni, Bolivia
Died	23 November 1994(1994-11-23) (aged 61) Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Spouse	Elba Rubí
Parent(s)	Alberto Natusch Velasco Elisa Busch Becerra
Relatives	Germán Busch (uncle)
Education	Military College of the Army
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Bolivia
Branch/service	Bolivian Army
Rank	Colonel

Background and earlier career

Colonel Natusch visiting General Hernán Terrazas Céspedes in Camiri.

Natusch is of German and French descent, and nephew of former President of Bolivia Germán Busch, he was a career military officer who in the late 1970s rose to the rank of Colonel in the Bolivian Army. He was for many years a trusted member of the cabinet of the military dictator Hugo Banzer.

President of Bolivia following military coup

On November 1, 1979, Colonel Natusch executed a bloody coup d'état against the constitutional government of Dr. Wálter Guevara, which had been constituted by Congress just three months earlier and charged with guiding the country to elections in 1980. The stated reasons for the golpe were the alleged desire of President Guevara to extend his term beyond that established by Congress in order to enact long-term measures designed to stave off a growing economic crisis. Far more likely, it was a traditional right-wing coup staged by officers who had served in the long dictatorship of General Hugo Banzer (1971–78) and who had much to lose by an ongoing congressional investigation of alleged criminal and economic misdeeds committed during the "Banzerato."

In any case, the population resisted the Natusch coup rather heroically, led by a nationwide labor strike called by the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) of Juan Lechín.

Failure of coup after 16 days

1979 Bolivian coup d'état attempt
Date November 1–16, 1979 Location Bolivia Status Natusch stays in power for only 16 days
Belligerents
Bolivian government	Bolivian Armed Forces (Natusch faction)
Commanders and leaders
Wálter Guevara Lidia Gueiler	Alberto Natusch

In the end, Natusch was able to occupy the Palacio Quemado for only sixteen days, after which he was forced to give up his quixotic struggle. The only face-saving concession he extracted from Congress was the promise that former president Guevara not be allowed to resume his duties. This condition was accepted and a new provisional president was found in the leader of the lower congressional house (the House of Deputies), Mrs. Lidia Gueiler. Almost universally reviled for the bloodshed he unleashed in the name of his personal ambitions, Colonel Natusch withdrew from public life. In 1981, he led a military revolt against the regime of Luis García Meza Tejada, while failing to overthrow the regime, led to the resignation of Garcia Meza and his replacement by Celso Torrelio.

Retirement and death

Retired from the military, Natusch died in Santa Cruz on November 23, 1994, at the age of 61.

See also

• Government of Alberto Natusch Busch, 1979

Bibliography

• Mesa José de; Gisbert, Teresa; and Carlos D. Mesa, "Historia De Bolivia," 5th edition.