Once elected in 1940, Peñarada oversaw the return of the traditional conservative policies Bolivia had seen prior to the Chaco War which had previously been almost completely marginalized by the military socialist administrations of David Toro and Germán Busch.

While popular abroad, discontent continued amongst the Bolivian populace and in late 1943 he was overthrown in coup d'état which briefly attempted to reassert Toro and Busch-era leftist policies.

[2] He was the son of a mestizo mother, María del Castillo, and an indigenous father,[3] Teodosio Peñaranda, a member of a politically influential family of Aymara heritage.

On 6 May 1932, during negotiations between the two states in Washington D.C., Francis White, president of the Commission on Neutrals, suggested that a non-aggression pact would, as a starting point, define the boundary as being the territories occupied by the parties at the moment of its signature.

This encouraged Major Óscar Moscoso, against Salamanca's direct orders not to engage the Paraguayans, to accelerate his plans to occupy the recently discovered Pitiantutá Lake.

Peñarada was ordered to move his detachment to bring aid to the encircled forces at Boquerón but was held up from September 11 to 28 in numerous failed attempts to break the Paraguayan resistance in the areas bordering the Yujra and Ramírez fort.

Following the disastrous defeat of Bolivia at the battle of the Campo Vía pocket in which up to 9,000 Bolivian soldiers were encircled and killed or captured, president Salamanca forced the resignation of Hans Kundt, the German head of the army.

[9] In this way, Peñarada went from a regimental commander to being promoted to brigadier general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.The relationship between Peñaranda and Salamanca, who distrusted the military's ability to conduct the war, quickly degraded.

Salamanca also feared that opposition among military leaders to Peñaranda's attempts to promote officers such as Colonel David Toro would lead to rebellion amongst army leadership.

On the orders of General Peñarada and Colonel Toro, Major Germán Busch led troops extracted from the frontline to the staudt house where Salamanca was staying and forced his resignation.

The government of José Luis Tejada Sorzano, Salamanca's vice president who had been installed following the 27 November coup, was quickly deposed himself by Germán Busch and David Toro.

His run for office was aided by the interim government of Quintanilla which on 29 October 1939, arrested, beat, and deported Bernardino Bilbao Rioja, the primary leftist contender, to Chile.

While Peñaranda had successfully managed to wrestle control over the executive from the previous progressive movements, his new administration found itself hampered by its inability to command a majority in Congress.

The U.S. was willing to provide extensive economic assistance to Bolivia but was hesitant to reward a country which had refused to cooperate in arranging compensation for the confiscated Standard Oil property.

Though Peñaranda was far more willing to negotiate than previous governments, he faced opposition from the newly established Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) whose founding members had been strong supporters of the efforts of Toro in defense of the nation's resources.

The announcement came after the alleged uncovering of a letter sent by the Bolivian military attaché in Berlin, Major Elias Belmonte, addressed to the German minister in La Paz, Ernst Wendler.

[19] Wendler asserted that "the charges against the legation are pure fabrications," while Belmonte, who only learned of the affair on 26 July after returning from vacation in southern Germany, claimed that the letter was an "obvious falsification.

The next day in Rio de Janeiro, the U.S. signed a $25 million economic program with Bolivia while La Paz severed diplomatic relations with the Axis Powers.

Just under a year later on 20 December 1943, President Enrique Peñaranda was deposed in a coup d'état led by the young military officer Gualberto Villaroel and supported by the MNR.