Juan Velasco Alvarado

Juan Velasco Alvarado
50th President of Peru
1st President of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces
In office October 3, 1968 – August 30, 1975
Prime Minister	Ernesto Montagne Sánchez Luis Edgardo Mercado Jarrín Francisco Morales Bermúdez
Preceded by	Fernando Belaúnde
Succeeded by	Francisco Morales Bermúdez
General Commander of the Peruvian Army
In office 1967–1968
President	Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Preceded by	Julio Doig Sánchez
Succeeded by	Ernesto Montagne Sánchez
Personal details
Born	Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (1910-06-16)June 16, 1910 Castilla, Peru
Died	December 24, 1977(1977-12-24) (aged 67) Lima, Peru
Spouse	Consuelo Gonzales Posada ​ ​ (m. 1940)​
Profession	Military officer
Military service
Allegiance	Peru
Branch/service	Peruvian Army
Rank	General

Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a Peruvian general who served as the President of Peru after a successful coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency in 1968. Under his presidency, nationalism, as well as left-leaning policies of state capitalism that addressed indigenous Peruvians,^[1] such as nationalization or agrarian reform were adopted. These policies were reversed after another coup d'état in 1975 led by his Prime Minister, Francisco Morales Bermúdez.

Velasco had a confrontational foreign policy towards the United States, as he pushed for renegotiation of treaties and criticized what he perceived as a pernicious dependence of Latin American states on the United States.^[2] While he strengthened Peruvian relations with the Soviet Union, Velasco was firmly anti-communist.^[2] His foreign policy has been described as "third way."^[2]