Andrés Avelino Cáceres
In office June 3, 1886 – August 10, 1890 August 10, 1894 – March 19, 1895
Preceded by	Miguel Iglesias (1886) Justiniano Borgoño (1894)
Succeeded by	Remigio Morales Bermúdez (1890) Nicolás de Piérola (1895)
Personal details
Born	300px November 10, 1836 Ayacucho
Died	October 10, 1923 Lima Andrés Cáceres
Resting place	300px center Andrés Cáceres
Nationality	not-american
Political party	Partido Constitucional
Spouses	Antonia Moreno
Parent	300px center Andrés Cáceres

Andrés Avelino Cáceres Dorregaray (November 10, 1836 – October 10, 1923) was twice President of Peru during the 19th century, from 1886 to 1890, and again from 1894 to 1895.

In Peru he is also considered a national hero for leading the resistance to Chilean occupation during the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) where he fought as a General in the Peruvian Army.

Cáceres was born on November 10, 1836 in the city of Ayacucho. Cáceres began his primary studies at The National School of Ayacucho an in 1853 entered the local San Cristóbal of Huamanga University in Ayacucho.

Nevertheless, one year later he abandoned his studies and joined the Ayacucho Battalion as a cadet. As part of this unit he participated in the rebellion led by General Ramón Castilla against President José Rufino Echenique, which ended with the victory of the former at the Battle of La Palma (January 5, 1855).

Afterwards he quickly ascended through the military, obtaining the rank of Second Lieutenant later that year and that of Lieutenant in 1857. Between 1857 and 1859 he actively supported Ramón Castilla's government against a rebellion by former president Manuel Ignacio de Vivanco. During the combats, Cáceres was severely wounded in the left eye.

When war broke out between Peru and Ecuador in 1859, he was still suffering from this wound but even so he took part of the campaign. After the conflict ended in 1860, Cáceres was sent to France by Castilla to serve as military associate of the Peruvian delegation to France and also to receive treatment for his eye.

Cáceres returned to Peru in 1862 and joined the Pichincha Batallion in Huancayo. During this period he became known for his outspoken opposition to President Juan Antonio Pezet, who had allowed the Spanish occupation of the Chincha Islands in the Vivanco-Pareja Treaty of 1865.

For his criticism he was exiled to Chile with several other officers but they managed to escape, landing at the southern port of Mollendo. They joined the Revolución Restauradora del Honor Nacional (National Honor Restoring Revolution) led by Mariano Ignacio Prado against Pezet's government.

Cáceres participated in the occupation of Lima and later, with Prado as president, in the Battle of Callao on May 2, 1866 which forced Spanish naval forces to retreat from Peruvian waters and the Chincha Islands.

In 1868, Cáceres decided to end his military career and return to Ayacucho to live as a farmer. However, he returned to the political arena in 1872 opposing colonel Tomás Gutierrez's coup against president Manuel Pardo y Lavalle. Pardo was the first civilian President of Peru and founder of the influential Civilista Party which played an important role in Peruvian political history.

His support for Pardo's Presidency earned him support from Civilista Party leaders and he was appointed head of the Zepita Battalion. As such, in 1874 he supressed a rebellion led by future Peruvian President Nicolás de Piérola in Moquegua. For this action he was awarded the rank of colonel and later named prefect of Cuzco.

After the start of the War of the Pacific (April 5, 1879), Cáceres was sent with his Zepita Battalion to the province of Tarapacá. There he fought against the Chilean Army in the battles of San Francisco and Tarapacá. In the latter, his intervention was decisive to achieve a Peruvian victory against heavy odds.

Despite this victory, the Peruvian Army proved incapable of stopping the invasion of Tarapacá and was forced to retreat north to the province of Tacna. Chileans landed north of this position, at Ilo, from where they attacked the main Peruvian position. A major battle was fought at the Alto de la Alianza (May 26, 1880) where the invaders defeated a combined Bolivian - Peruvian Army. Cáceres had a notable participaction in this action and then retreated to Lima.

At the Peruvian capital, Cáceres was put at the command of the 5th division of the Reserve. As such he took part in the battles of San Juan and Miraflores (January 13 and January 15, 1881), both of which ended with a Chilean victory. He was wounded in the latter combat and retired to Lima and then, when the city was occupied by the Chilean Army, to Jauja in the mountainous hinterland of Peru.

As the senior officer in the region, Cáceres was named Political - Military Chief of the departments of the center (April 26, 1881). He dedicated himself to organizing resistance against Chilean occupation conducting a guerrilla war for which he mobilized the peasant population. Thanks to the local support, the difficult terrain and his own military skills, Cáceres defeated several Chilean expeditions sent against him at the battles of Pucará, Marcavalle, Pucará again and Concepción. For this feats he was nicknamed as the Brujo de los Andes (Wizard of the Andes). But in spite of all his talent and resolve he was finally defeated by the better armed and trained Chilean forces in the Battle of Huamachuco (July 10, 1883). Even though he tried to regroup, a Peruvian government headed by Miguel Iglesias signed the Treaty of Ancón (October 10, 1883), recognizing defeat and bringing an end to the war with Chile.

In Peru, Cáceres is regarded as a nationalist figure. His image symbolizes resistance to influence from foreign colonial forces for his opposition to the Spanish occupation of the Chincha Islands and, more importantly, for organizing the resistance against Peru's traditional enemy Chile during the War of the Pacific.

In recent years, in acknowledgement of this symbolism, militant groups composed of Peruvian military veterans have organized and adopted the name ethnocacerista after Cáceres.

The ethnocaceristas now compose the bulk of the support for the Peruvian Nationalist Party.

• Tauro del Pino, Alberto, Enciclopedia Ilustrada del Perú. Peisa, 2003.

• Andrés Avelino Cáceres Military Museum
• Biography from Peruvian Army
• Biography from Biografias y Vidas (in Spanish)
• Biography from Ayacucho site (in Spanish)