José Manuel Inocencio Pando Solares (27 December 1849 – 17 June 1917) was a Bolivian explorer, military officer, and politician who served as the 25th president of Bolivia from 1899 to 1904.

[1] At the age of twenty-three, Pando fought alongside the people of La Paz to overthrow the government of Mariano Melgarejo on 15 January 1871, after which he was incorporated into the Bolivian Army.

However, on 27 November 1872, when Morales was assassinated by his nephew and also aide-de-camp, Federico Lafaye, a heartbroken Pando resigned from the position of assistant to the President of Bolivia.

Several of his expeditions to the region took place around the Madidi, Madre de Dios, and Mamoré rivers, collective studies were made on the subject and published by the University of La Plata, in Argentina.

[7] Furthermore, Pando's exploration greatly contributed to Bolivia's cartography, providing crucial knowledge about uncharted lands in the Amazon rainforest.

[3] Pando would be the leader of the Federalists when they rose up against the government in 1898, obtaining the support of the Aymaras of the country and of Colonel Pablo Zárate Willca, known as the "Fearsome Willka".

[10] Pando ordered the construction of roads going from the valleys to the plains, linking the distant settlements to the major urban centers of Bolivia in an attempt to connect the country and to improve infrastructure.

[1] Another crucial event during Pando's presidency was the arrival of the first car imported in Bolivia, brought to the country by adventurer Arthur Posnansky.

Pando signed the Treaty of Petrópolis with Brazil by which Bolivia ceded territory in the north in exchange for significant financial compensation of two million pounds sterling.

[12] Shortly after returning to La Paz, at the end of his term, Pando handed over power to Ismael Montes, who succeeded him as leader of the Liberal Party.

[13][14] Modern investigations, however, maintain that Pando's death was due to natural causes, when he suffered a stroke while he was going from his farm in Catavi to the city of La Paz.