José María Linares Lizarazu (10 July 1808 – 23 October 1861) was a Bolivian lawyer and politician who served as the 13th president of Bolivia from 1857 to 1861. Early life and education He was born in Tical, Potosí, in his family's hacienda. Belonging to the noble and wealthy family of the Counts of Lords and House of Rodrigo in Navarre, Linares was related to the Spanish nobility. He was educated at the Royal and Pontifical University of San Francisco Xavier, in Sucre. Political career Early in his life, Linares gravitated toward the world of politics, earning a number of administrative appointments in various governments. In 1839 he was called by the new president, General José Miguel de Velasco, to take charge of the portfolio of the Interior. After this Linares was appointed Minister to Spain, where he negotiated the treaty that recognized Bolivia's independence. Serving as president of the Senate, in 1848 he was briefly called (in Velasco's temporary absence) to take provisional charge of the executive. Soon thereafter, he became leader of the so-called Partido Generador (Generator Party), which advocated democracy, civilian control of politics, and a return of the Bolivian military to its barracks. This earned Linares the mistrust of most governments of the time (which were de facto), and a few stints in exile. Nevertheless, he became the country's most important civilian and constitutionalist leader, with a growing following. During the regime of Manuel Isidoro Belzu, Linares relentlessly plotted and conspired, aiming to bring down the caudillo.These conspiracies alongside the many rebellions under Belzu falied. They were not, however, sterile because they achieved to tire Belzu. Tired of the constant uprisings, the caudillo surrendered and left command to his son-in-law, General Jorge Córdova. Belzu wrote to him stating:I solemnly protest [he said in his message to the Congress of 1855] that no consideration will bind me to continue holding a position that is already unbearable for me, completely unbearable. Yes, a thousand times unbearable! Bolivia has become incapable of any sort of order and government. It has not seen a single stable regime. Virtue, which is the soul of the republican system and the vital principle of its conservation and progress, has been replaced by a profound demoralization that contaminates all classes. Patriotism is a vain word. In its place, a cold indifference to the common good has taken hold of everyone, and a hard selfishness