Sorata ( Aymara : Surat'a ) is a small town in the La Paz Department in the Bolivian Andes , northwest of the city of La Paz and east of Lake Titicaca . It is the seat of the Larecaja Province and the Sorata Municipality . At the time of census 2001 it had a population of 2,217. It is a somewhat popular weekend getaway and a relaxing base camp for a growing number of hikers . It includes several small hotels, including a converted Italian mansion.
8-473: Bautista Saavedra Mallea (30 August 1870 in Sorata – 1 March 1939) was a Bolivian lawyer and politician who served as the 29th president of Bolivia from 1921 to 1925. Prior to that, he was part of a governing junta from 1920 to 1921. As leader of the insurgent Republican Party, he instigated and led the coup d'état of 1920 against the long-ruling Liberal Party of President José Gutiérrez Guerra . He had
16-652: A turbulent term, as his party fragmented almost immediately after the coup, with a large fraction of it going on to form the Partido Republicano-Genuino (Genuine Republican party). Essentially, the split was due to opposition to the largely personalist, centralized, and caudillo -like governing style of Saavedra. He quickly expelled from the country most top-leaders of the Genuino party, and often made use of extra-constitutional means to remain in power. Unable to run for re-election in 1925, Saavedra did
24-540: Is graced by towering date palms and immaculate gardens. The main town fiesta is held on September 14. Of note is Casa Gunthere, a historic mansion that now houses the Residencial Sorata. It was built in 1895 as the home of the Richters, a quinine trading family. Sorata is located at the base of the mountains Illampu , 6,368 m (20,892 ft), and Janq'u Uma , 6,427 m (21,086 ft), which are
32-594: The President of the Senate. The latter, clearly a "Saavedra's man," called elections for 1926. Saavedra thus renewed his quest to find the ideal proxy candidate through which to rule. He found the perfect man in Hernando Siles , who ran in the elections along with Bautista Saavedra's own brother, Abdón Saavedra , as his Vice-Presidential running mate. This allowed the meddling former President to continue to run
40-464: The next best thing and made sure a hand-picked successor would follow him, presumably one firmly under his thumb. His first choice, Gabino Villanueva, failed to be sufficiently pliable for the President's liking, and Saavedra annulled the 1925 elections on a technicality. Nationwide protests at this transparent effort to manipulate the elections and prolong Saavedra's stay in office forced the President to resign, leaving in his place Felipe Segundo Guzmán ,
48-462: The slopes of the nearby peak Illampu , they opened the floodgates and the town was washed away. Sorata is no longer a major commercial center, as there is now a more direct route to the Yungas from La Paz . Today it is best known to foreign tourists, trekkers, and climbers, who visit this formerly little-known destination. The main square, Plaza General Enrique Penaranda, is Sorata's showcase. It
56-640: The strings of the Bolivian government. However, President Siles eventually, tired of Saavedra's heavy-handed meddling, exiled him along with his brother (his own Vice-President). Saavedra remained an influential political leader after that, but never returned to power, especially since his arch-rivals of the Partido Republicano Genuino finally gained power in 1930. He died while exiled in Chile on May 1, 1939. The Bautista Saavedra Province
64-546: Was named after this former president. Its capital is Charazani . Sorata In colonial days, Sorata provided a link to the Alto Beni goldfields and rubber plantations, and a gateway to the Amazon Basin . In August 1781 it was the site of an unorthodox siege by the nephew of Tupac Amaru , Andres, and his 16,000 soldiers. They constructed dikes above the town, and when these had been filled with runoff from
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