The Spanish surname Camacho likely originates from the region of Galicia, meaning "crooked" or "bent" in Old Spanish. The name arrived in The New World in the 16th Century when Francisco Camacho, who arrived in Hispaniola (modern-day Dominican Republic and Haiti) around 1512 as part of Spain’s colonizing efforts. Many settlers with the Camacho surname subsequently spread throughout Latin America. Notable bearers of the surname Camacho include Eliodoro Camacho the nineteenth century Bolivian politician. The Eliodoro Camacho Province is named after him. Camacho was born in Inquisivi, Department of La Paz, but grew up in Cochabamba. He founded the Liberal Party, which espoused freedom of religion, a stricter separation between church and state, legal acceptance of civil marriages and divorce, and strict adherence to democratic procedures. Camacho also participated as an officer in the 1879-80 War of the Pacific against Chile, and later played a key role in the 1880 Constitutional Convention. Following the establishment of the new post-war order (which he himself authored, along with Conservative Party leader Aniceto Arce), he led the opposition against the Conservatives. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 1884, 1888, and 1892. Eliodoro was born in 1831 and died in 1899.