Aniceto Arce

Who was Aniceto Arce?

Aniceto Arce Ruiz de Mendoza was President of Bolivia from 1888 until 1892. The Aniceto Arce Province is named after him. Arce was a native of Tarija but was educated as a lawyer and resided most of his life in Sucre, where he became one of the country's foremost silver-mining tycoons. A supporter of Linares and Constitutionalist government, he later served in Congress during the 1870s until the time of the Daza dictatorship.

Unlike other capable leaders of his day, Arce did not enlist to serve when the War of the Pacific developed in 1879. Indeed, his became one of the most accommodationist voices in the political spectrum, perhaps as a result of his extensive business connections to Chile, where he sold much of his silver, invested his profits, and sought financing for his projects. His position was that the Litoral was, for various lamentable reasons, largely indefensible. Thus, the country should cut its losses and seek an alliance with Chile rather than with Peru.