Tomás Frías Ametller
Tomás Frías Ametller (born December 21, 1804 in Potosí , † May 10, 1884 in Florence ) was President of Bolivia from 1872 to 1873 and from 1874 to 1876 .
Life
Tomás Frías was born into a latifundist family. His parents were José María Frías and Alejandra Ametller. Frías became foreign minister under the José Ballivián government and was a member of the Partido Liberal . He was elected President by Parliament when the dictator Agustín Morales died in November 1872. Direct presidential elections took place under Frías' government and in May 1873 Adolfo Ballivián , the son of José Ballivián, took over the presidency. After Adolfo Ballivián fell ill with cancer and died in February 1874, Frías was initially again executive president. In August 1874 the parliament sat in Sucre Frías constitutionally until the end of the regular term of office (that would have been 1877) as president.
In 1874, the 70-year-old president signed an economic agreement with Chile, which exempted Chilean citizens and their companies from taxes in Bolivia for 25 years. In return, Chile also granted Bolivian citizens and their societies in Chile tax exemption. Chilean companies, which were able to mine the (then) Bolivian Pacific coast on a large scale tax-free, benefited from the corresponding laws; In contrast, there were hardly any Bolivian societies operating in Chile. Frías was overthrown by Hilarión Daza in a coup on May 4, 1876 .
In 1877 the infrastructure of the coast around the Región de Antofagasta was destroyed by a severe tsunami. At the beginning of 1878 Hilarión Grosolé Daza declared the clause granting tax exemption null and void and required Chilean companies to pay taxes retroactively up to 1874. When these companies, with the support of the Chilean government, refused to pay, companies were confiscated and put up for auction in January 1879. This led to the saltpeter war . After its defeat, Bolivia had to surrender the lucrative Pacific provinces of Región de Antofagasta and Atacama to Chile in the peace treaty of 1884 .
Alsop & Co
In 1876, the US company Alsop & Co redeemed a loan from the Brazilian citizen Pedro López Gama for 835,000 Bolivianos to the Bolivian government under Tomás Frías, for which guano deposits in Arica served as security. Arica was in Chile after the Saltpeter War, which is why the US company demanded the money from the Chilean government in 1909, the US Ambassador Thomas Cleland Dawson left Chile and a process was initiated at the Permanent Court of Arbitration .
The province of Tomás Frías commemorates Frías .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Agustín Morales Hernández |
President of Bolivia November 28, 1872–9. May 1873 |
Adolfo Ballivián Coll |
| Adolfo Ballivián Coll |
President of Bolivia January 31, 1874–4. May 1876 |
Hilarión Daza |
Individual evidence
- ↑ REPORTS OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRAL AWARDS The Alsop Claim (PDF; 517 kB) Chile / United States 5 July 1911
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Frías Ametller, Tomás |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bolivian politician, President of Bolivia (1872–1873) and (1874–1876) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 21, 1804 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Potosí |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 10, 1884 |
| Place of death | Florence |