José María Linares (1857-61), a member of…

José María Linares (1857-61), a member of the Bolivian elite that had opposed Belzu, overthrows Belzu's son-in-law, General Jorge Cordova (1855-57), and becomes the country's first civilian president.

Linares reverses Belzu's protective policies and encourages free trade and foreign investment, mainly from Britain and Chile.

During his presidency, mining output increases because of technological innovations, such as the steam engine, and the discovery of huge nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert (in present-day Chile).