Positions hardened, and no solution seemed possible, until an alternative was offered in the form of the President of the Senate, Wálter Guevara, who was named President for one year pending the calling of new elections in 1980. Padilla duly transferred power to Guevara on 8 August 1979, as he had promised he would. He left the governing palace as an almost universally respected former de facto military leader — a rarity indeed in the history of Bolivia.
Positions hardened, and no solution seemed possible, until an alternative was offered in the form of the President of the Senate, Walter Guevara, who was named President for one year pending the calling of new elections in 1980. Padilla duly transferred power to Guevara on August 8th, 1979, as he had promised he would. He left the presidency with widespread respect, an uncommon feat for a former military leader in Bolivian history.