Coup Atlas Research Database
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13510291948SuccessfulMilitary coup

Peru, 1948 — military coup

Peru (PER)South America, AmericasOctober 29, 1948

Event Summary

On October 27, 1948, General Manuel A. Odria, a former interior minister, launched a military revolt at the head of the Arequipa garrison against the elected government of President Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero, calling it the Restorative Revolution. The rising was fueled by hardline anti-APRA sentiment in the army and quiet backing from conservative economic elites.

After the Lima garrison under General Zenon Noriega joined the movement, the coup succeeded; Bustamante was forced onto a plane to Buenos Aires on October 29, and Odria formed a military junta that dissolved Congress, banned APRA and the Communist Party, and governed by decree. Odria then ruled Peru for eight years, a period known as the Ochenio, marked by liberal economic policy, populist public works, and repression of the APRA opposition.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero, President of Peru (deposed, deported to Argentina)
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero (deposed president)
Manuel A. Odria (coup leader, later president)
Zenon Noriega (Lima garrison commander whose defection decided the coup)

Sources

The 1948 Peruvian coup took place on October 27, 1948, headed by General Manuel A. Odria in Arequipa, called the Restorative Revolution, against the government of Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, "1948 Peruvian coup d'etat" open source ↗
The coup's triumph was decided when the Lima garrison under General Zenon Noriega joined Odria; Bustamante was forcibly put on a plane bound for Buenos Aires on October 29 and Noriega assumed interim power until Odria's arrival.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, "History of Peru (1948-1956)" open source ↗
Bustamante was overthrown by a military revolt in Arequipa; the resulting military junta under General Odria confirmed the ban on APRA, outlawed the Communist Party, dissolved Congress, and governed as a dictatorship until 1950.
SOURCE REVIEWED U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Vol. II, Document 865 open source ↗
In October 1948 Odria headed a military junta which deposed Bustamante and was proclaimed provisional president, then promptly dissolved the legislature and declared military rule.
SOURCE REVIEWED Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero" open source ↗

Editorial Note

The revolt began 27 October in Arequipa, Bustamante was deported 29 October (the date the Cline dataset codes), and the junta took full control 30 October. Wikipedia (two articles), a State Department FRUS document, and Britannica were read directly and agree on the leader, the decisive role of the Lima garrison, and the dissolution of Congress and banning of APRA.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
13510291948

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero, President of Peru (deposed, deported to Argentina).

Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; exiled. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
Open dataset DOI ↗
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Luttwak (27 October 1948)

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Bustamante_y_Rivero

New York Times

“Five Peruvian Army Units revolt in Arequipa,” October 28, 1948
“Peru- Right and Left,” October 30, 1948
“Peru’s Army wins three-day revolt,” October 30, 1948
“New Peruvian Revolt Denied,” November 2, 1948

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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Related Records

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