El presidente de una república latinoamericana recibe en París la noticia del levantamiento de un general. Parte inmediatamente y sofoca la rebelión. El presidente regresa a París, donde han publicado las fotos de la masacre. Estalla la guerra mundial y este recobra la tranquilidad… hasta que se produce un nuevo alzamiento que lo hace volver a su país para sofocarlo. Otras revueltas se sucederán hasta que se ve obligado a huir.
Adaptación de la novela homónima de Alejo Carpentier.
Set in the early 1900s, this film charts the rule of a Latin American dictator as he moves from being a charming despot to a tyrannical ruler before he is finally ousted, only to die in obscurity in Paris. Early in his regime, the resources and agricultural products his country sells command high prices, and he is a reasonably confident, even gentle, ruler who likes to take long vacations with his daughter in Paris. After World War I, with falling prices and a number of coup attempts behind him, his rule becomes quite cruel.