Another, more conventional anti-Ballivián insurgent group was commanded by the ambitious former president, José Miguel de Velasco. As a warlord, he led his army in competition with that of Belzu in the race to topple the President. The embattled Ballivián found the country ungovernable, and in December 1847 he fled to exile abroad. He left the government in the hands of General Eusebio Guilarte, head of the Council of State and legally second-in-line to the presidency. At this point Belzu made a pact with Velasco to support the latter's accession to the Presidency while Belzu took the position of Minister of War. Belzu quickly betrayed Velasco and had his troops proclaim him as President. A bloody counter-coup by General Velasco had to be put down, with Belzu commanding the troops that crushed Velasco's. By the end of the year, Belzu had destroyed the opposition (both Ballivián and Velasco) and consolidated his power as the sole "de facto" president of Bolivia. As promised, Belzu led his government in undertaking populist measures, but he also wanted to maintain strong control over power. Most of Belzu's reforms were cosmetic, although his political statements were more liberal than any president's had been since Sucre. During his seven year presidency Belzu attempted to modernize the country through division of wealth and by rewarding poor workers. Belzu also defended the small, indigenous producers by implementing protectionist economic policies as well as enacting a nationalist mining code that kept the nations resources in the hands of Bolivian companies, which in turn provoked many influential British as well as Peruvian and Chilean shipping and mining companies. Belzu also promoted communal state-sponsored social welfare projects that resonated with local Indians, since communalism was more representative of indigenous values than private property.. As a result of Belzu’s appeal to the country’s poor and indigenous groups, he had gained a number of powerful enemies who would want to destroy the state-run projects he created though at the same time gained large support and power. capitalizing on his relative popularity, Belzu managed to legitimize his rule by becoming democratically elected. He faced constant opposition and rebellions from the pro-Ballivián camp, from ambitious fellow military warlords, and later, from the pro-Linares faction that coalesced as a united front against military "caudillism". Belzu's protectionist economic policies were opposed by Great Britain and the United States, and isolated Bolivia from the global economy and ongoing intellectual trends.