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54-511: The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement was begun in 1941 by future presidents Víctor Paz Estenssoro and Hernán Siles Zuazo . It soon attracted some of the brightest members of the Bolivian intelligentsia. Among the party's most prominent supporters were Humberto Guzmán Fricke , Juan Lechín , Carlos Montenegro , Walter Guevara Arze , Javier del Granado , Augusto Céspedes , Lydia Gueiler , Guillermo Bedregal , and Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada ,

108-420: A boat. He returned in 1982, when the military's experiment had run its course and the Bolivian economy was on the verge of collapse. With its reputation badly damaged by the excesses of the 1980–82 dictatorship, the military faced two options—call new elections, or accept the 1980 results. By this time, however, it was obvious that the country would crumble into civil war before new elections could be held. Under

162-505: A collective 71.88% of the vote almost evenly divided between Siles Zuazo's 35.99% and Paz Estenssoro's 35.89% with Siles Zuazo taking the plurality by just 0.10% and 1,512 votes. Banzer emerged with 14.88% of the vote, a margin considered a triumph for the ex-dictator. Quiroga was also an indisputable victor, rising from 8th place in 1978 to 4th place in 1979 and expanding his vote margin by almost ten times from 8,323 to 70,765. Despite not being elected president, Quiroga and 4 other members of

216-640: A hunger strike as a desperate way to gain public sympathy. Finally, he agreed to shorten his own term and Congress moved the presidential election forward by a year. One bright point in the Siles administration was the 1983 extradition to France of the Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie , known as the Butcher of Lyon. He had been living in Bolivia since the late 1950s or early 1960s, after being smuggled out of Europe with

270-944: A number of whom later became presidents of Bolivia. At the time of its establishment it was a leftist/reformist party, along the lines of similar Latin American parties such as the Brazilian Labour Party , the Socialist Party of Chile , the National Liberation Party in Costa Rica , Dominican Revolutionary Party , the Guatemalan Revolutionary Action Party , the Mexican Institutional Revolutionary Party ,

324-669: A useful counterbalance to the possibility of a conservative or military coup against the Revolution, but were by now serving the growing ambitions of the head of the Bolivian Workers' Center (COB) Juan Lechín . Meanwhile, the Falange Socialista Boliviana party schemed to topple the MNR from power, causing a rather disproportionate repressive backlash that diminished MNR's (and Siles') popularity. After

378-476: A year or two before calling elections that the MNR would almost certainly win. If so, he badly miscalculated; Banzer exiled Paz in 1975. The main body supported Paz in exile, while a faction continued to back Banzer. Paz' support of the Banzer dictatorship was a move that was to cost his party dearly at the polls in subsequent years. While Paz seemed to be moving steadily to the right, Siles Zuazo broke off to found

432-545: Is a single ballot sheet presenting segments divided by party colors with symbols of parties and pictures of candidates running for office. The result was a virtual tie between Siles Zuazo of the UDP and Paz Estenssoro of the MNR-A. As such, the MNR and its splinters returned to being the primary protagonists of Bolivian politics, a fact which had not been the case since the deposition of Paz Estenssoro in 1964. The MNR and MNRI received

486-453: Is led by Luis Eduardo Siles . Hern%C3%A1n Siles Zuazo Hernán Siles Zuazo (21 March 1914 – 6 August 1996) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 46th president of Bolivia twice nonconsecutively from 1956 to 1960 and from 1982 to 1985. He also briefly served as interim president in April 1952, and as the 27th vice president of Bolivia from 1952 to 1956. Hernán Siles

540-410: The 1978 , 1979 , and 1980 general elections, mostly as a result of a serious erosion of support for Estenssoro. The 1978 election was annulled due to massive fraud in favor of the official military candidate, General Juan Pereda , though exit polls showed Siles would have won handily had the election been conducted honestly. The 1979 contest remained inconclusive because no candidate received 50% of

594-607: The American Popular Revolutionary Alliance in Peru , Democratic Action in Venezuela . The MNR first came to power in 1943, as supporters of the reformist military regime of Gualberto Villarroel . The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement led the leftist Bolivian National Revolution of 1952 and ruled the country until 1964 when it was overthrown by the military coup of René Barrientos . During

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648-520: The Chamber of Senators , double the number of the next largest party. However, it was the presence of the ADN, which had no feasible path to victory and yet uncompromisingly decided to vote entirely for their candidate Hugo Banzer, and the decision of the minor parties to abstain which ultimately cost Paz Estenssoro the presidency by just 5 votes. After a total of six ballots, no candidate was able to achieve

702-705: The Democratic and Popular Union received the most votes in the Congressional elections, the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement-Alliance (MNR–A) won the most seats, largely as a result of the electoral system giving more seats to sparsely populated rural areas where the MNR–A was more popular. General elections had previously been held on 9 July 1978, the first since 1966 , with several military coups taking place during

756-976: The Popular Alliance for National Integration (APIN) made up of the Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB), the Revolutionary Agrarian Movement of the Bolivian Peasantry (MARC), and the Christian Democratic Union (UDC). Bernal had received 8.63% of the vote (4th place) in 1978 as a member of the alliance between the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and the Barrientista Revolutionary Party (PRB). However, in this election,

810-665: The Revolutionary Nationalist Leftwing Movement (MNRI) and Lechín the Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left (PRIN). Falling from power only deepened the intra-party squabbles. With the main body of the MNR firmly behind Paz Estenssoro, the old leader made what can be seen as a major mistake in 1971, when he supported the coup d'état of Hugo Banzer Suárez . He apparently believed that Banzer would only rule for

864-606: The Workers' Vanguard Party (VO) a small Trotskyist party led by Ricardo Catoira. A total of 1,378 candidates contested the 144 seats in Congress. An important novelty of the 1979 electoral process was the introduction of the multi-color and multi-sign ballot. Previously, each political party had its own ballot, which opened up wide possibilities for manipulation by simply removing ballots for opposition candidates. The multi-color ballot, still in use in Bolivian elections today,

918-421: The Bolivian congress at his assigned bench demanding his back pay--this public relations coup cements his image as a leader of the resistance against a tyrannical government. In the 1951 elections Paz Estenssoro run for presidency with Siles as his vice-presidential running mate, and won the contest with 42.9% of the vote. However, the ultra-conservative government of Mamerto Urriolagoitía refused to recognize

972-485: The Bolivian legislature, which he wins. However, he is soon arrested for continuing agitation against the government in power and sent to the island prison of Isla de la Luna (Coati) on lake Titicaca . In September 1949, he escapes from the island prison together with a number of fellow political prisoners and, with Bolivian police in hot pursuit, is able to reach Peru, where he is granted political asylum. In October 9, 1949, he returns clandestinely to Bolivia and appears in

1026-483: The MIR's Jaime Paz as his vice-president. In 1983, Siles Zuazo reopened relations with Cuba after the relationship ended twenty years previous. Cuban doctors began reorganizing the Bolivian health system. On 30 June 1984 he was abducted from his home and held for ten hours during a failed military coup. 60 members of the army and police force sought to bring about a coup. According to the Bolivian government, members of

1080-407: The MNR in the center of the Bolivian political spectrum. Siles and Paz split in the 1960s over Paz's ambitions and personal control of the party. Filled with many strong personalities, the party had in fact begun to fragment along political and personal lines since the late 1950s, with Wálter Guevara being the first to leave and the popular Juan Lechín being expelled in 1964. Siles went on to form

1134-539: The MNR leader Paz Estenssoro was at the time in exile in Argentina. Having defeated the military and toppled the Ballivián government, Siles served as provisional president from 11 April 1952 until 16 April 1952, when Estenssoro returned from exile. The 1951 electoral results were upheld, and Paz Estenssoro became constitutional president of Bolivia with Siles as his vice-president. During the MNR's first 4 years in

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1188-510: The MNR which had both opposed and supported Paz Estenssoro in various elections. The proposal was accepted by all parties except the PS-1 and MITKA. On 8 August 1979 Padilla handed his mandate to Guevara with new elections scheduled for 29 June 1980 . However, Guevara's mandate would be cut short before that date as his government was deposed on 1 November by Alberto Natusch , who himself would last only until 16 November when he agreed to resign on

1242-499: The MNR won the 1993 elections and Sanchez was confirmed as president by parliament. He continued the policies of the NEP. The party placed second in 1997 elections , with the presidential candidate Juan Carlos Durán (at the time, the Bolivian constitution prohibited direct re-election of a sitting president) losing to the former dictator Banzer. At the legislative elections 2002 MNR in alliance with Free Bolivia Movement , won 26.9% of

1296-660: The PDC opted to join in alliance with the MNR–A with only a right-wing splinter group, the UDC, remaining. In turn, the PRB had joined in alliance with the Bolivian Union Party of Walter Gonzáles Valda which positioned itself as a 'revolutionary democratic centre-left nationalist' party. Also in contention were Luciano Tapia Quisbert, the founder and leader of the indigenous political party Indian Movement Túpac Katari (MITKA), and

1350-422: The PS-1 would enter Congress, a position he would use just a month after the election on 30 August to initiate a "trial of responsibilities" to impeach former president Banzer for crimes of state violence and economic malfeasance. Bernal, in turn, fell from 167,131 votes and an 8.63% margin in 1978 to 60,262 votes and a 4.10% margin, a loss of half of his support. As no party reached an absolute majority, Congress

1404-545: The Republic on 6 August 1956. The first Siles' administration was more contentious and difficult than revolutionary Estenssoro's had been. During this time MNR began to fragment along personal lines and due to growing disagreements over policy. The economy was in deep trouble, as food and mineral production had plummeted; consequently, inflation soared, and the United States conditioned any further aid and support on

1458-428: The adoption of an economic program of its own prescription (the so-called Eder plan ) in late 1956. Siles accepted these conditions, receiving North American aid in return for cutting government expenses and social programs. Siles also had to tackle the difficult issue of disarming the worker and miner militia members who had fought in the 1952 Revolution and who had been allowed to keep their weapons. They had served as

1512-411: The assistance of the United States, and was often employed by the 1964–82 dictatorships as an interrogation specialist. Following his extradition he was condemned for his crimes and died in a French prison. By 1985 the government's impotence prompted Congress to call early elections, citing the fact that Siles had been originally elected five long years before. His old rival, MNR's Víctor Paz Estenssoro

1566-472: The circumstances, the military announced in September 1982 that to spare the expense of new elections and avoid further unrest, it would reconvene the legislature elected in 1980 and accept whomever it chose as president. Congress reconvened on 23 September and reconfirmed the 1980 election results. On 5 October, it overwhelmingly elected Siles as president. He was sworn into his second term on 10 October, with

1620-685: The coup. In 1971 Siles formed the Leftwing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario de Izquierda , MNRI), beginning a steady leftwards drift. After the 1978 democratic opening, Siles returned to Bolivia and formed a grand alliance of the left with the Revolutionary Left Movement , the Communist Party, and others. Together, they formed the Democratic and Popular Union (UDP), which triumphed in

1674-549: The elite narcotics unit, the Leopardos, were involved in the abduction. The commanding officer of the unit was arrested. The economic situation was dire, with growing hyperinflation . Siles had great difficulty in controlling the situation, and received scant support from the political parties or members of Congress, most of whom were eager to flex their political muscles after so many years of military authoritarianism. The unions, led by their old leader Juan Lechín , paralyzed

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1728-494: The end of Siles' term in 1960, Estenssoro again ran for president in 1960 elections and, upon being elected, sent Siles as ambassador to Uruguay until 1963 and as ambassador to Spain (1963–64). In 1964 Siles broke with Estrassoro over the latter's decision to run for another consecutive term. Siles initially supported the November 1964 coup d'état by vice-president, General René Barrientos and army chief Alfredo Ovando — but

1782-463: The face of nationwide protests. Mesa soon resigned and presidential elections were scheduled for December 2005. In these elections MNR received only 6.5% of the popular vote and won 7 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 1 out of 27 seats in the Senate . Its candidate in the presidential elections was Michiaki Nagatani , whose poor performance demonstrated a steep decline in the fortunes of

1836-432: The government with constant strikes, and even the vice-president, Jaime Paz, deserted the sinking ship when Siles' popularity sank to an all-time low. The 1982–86 hyperinflation would end up being the fourth largest ever recorded in the world. Still, Siles refused to adopt extra-constitutional measures, preferring instead to consolidate the hard-earned Bolivian democracy regardless of the personal cost to him. He even went on

1890-515: The influential Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, or MNR). The MNR was behind the coup that installed the progressive military administration of Gualberto Villarroel (1943–46), but was forced from power due to U.S. pressure and also by Villarroel's overthrow in 1946 after which Siles was exiled to Argentina. There he worked as a correspondent for Associated Press from November 1947 until September 1948. In 1949, Siles returns to Bolivia to stand for election to

1944-602: The late 1960s and early 1970s. Although Juan Pereda of the Nationalist Union of the People won the presidential elections, more votes were cast than there were registered voters. After examining a number of allegations of fraud and other irregularities, the Electoral Court decided to annul the results on 20 July. The following day, Pereda was installed as president following a military coup. Pereda himself

1998-489: The left-leaning Left-wing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNRI) in 1971. Indeed, Siles was the post-MNR politician who was best able to capitalize on the remaining legitimacy and respect that MNR had as a result of the 1952 Revolution. Paz Estenssoro led the MNR-proper in the Bolivian general elections of 1978 , 1979 , and 1980 elections, finishing third, second, and second, respectively. Led by Sánchez de Lozada,

2052-598: The majority. In light of the uncompromising situation, on 6 August, the MNR proposed that Congress elect Wálter Guevara , the President of the Senate , to hold the position of interim president until new elections could be called the following year. Guevara was not a member of any of the three parties in contention, instead being the leader of the Authentic Revolutionary Party (PRA), an offshoot of

2106-516: The office, the government instituted far-reaching reforms, including the establishment of the universal vote, nationalization of the largest mining concerns in the country, and the adoption of a major agrarian reform. In 1956 Estenssoro left the office, as the Bolivian Constitution forbade a sitting president from running for another consecutive term. Siles, his logical successor, easily won the elections of 1956 and became President of

2160-526: The party as the Bolivian political scene began to be dominated by Evo Morales . For the 2009 elections, the MNR was a component of the Plan Progress for Bolivia – National Convergence . The party's future is uncertain as it is no longer represented in the parliament and its last government has been tarnished by serious accusations of corruption, economic mismanagement and armed suppression of protesters. The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement currently

2214-613: The popular vote and 36 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 11 out of 27 in the Senate. Following these elections, because no presidential candidate had received a majority, the Congress chose the President, and they again elected Sánchez de Lozada. After the 2002 elections, the party ruled in a coalition with the Revolutionary Left Movement . In 2003 Sanchez was forced to resign, and his successor, independent candidate Carlos Mesa took over in hopes of promoting national unity in

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2268-468: The presidencies of Paz Estenssoro (1952–56 and 1960–64) and Hernán Siles Zuazo (1956–60) were the top leaders of the Revolutionary period, establishing the universal vote, nationalizing the tin mines, and instituting an extensive agrarian reform. During this time many of the old elitist parties which had previously dominated Bolivian politics either disappeared or faded into irrelevance. This left

2322-554: The presidential elections received a majority of the vote, the National Congress was required to elect a President. However, the Congress failed to elect a candidate after three ballots and instead selected Senate leader Wálter Guevara to serve as Interim President for a year on 8 August. Guevara was later overthrown by a military coup led by Alberto Natusch on 31 October. Fresh elections were held in June 1980. Although

2376-429: The results and instead turned over the presidency to the commander of the Bolivian army, general Hugo Ballivián . At that point the MNR party went underground and on 9–11 April 1952 led the historic Bolivian National Revolution , aided by defections from the armed forces to the rebel cause (key among which was general Antonio Seleme). Siles played a major role in the revolutionary uprising, along with Juan Lechín , since

2430-484: The transfer of power to whoever won the upcoming presidential elections and effect a retreat of the military from government. For this reason, Padilla was remarkably popular during his short (nine-month) stay at the Palacio Quemado . Given the neutrality of the executive, the electoral process had a character of greater freedom though the tense electoral climate was characterized by bitterness and accusations among

2484-622: The various candidates. The election saw the return of the two ever-present figures in Bolivian politics, Hernán Siles Zuazo of the Leftwing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNRI) in alliance with the Democratic and Popular Union (UDP) and Víctor Paz Estenssoro of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) in alliance with the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement–Alliance (MNR–A). In addition to Siles Zuazo and Paz Estenssoro

2538-455: The vote, and Congress elected Wálter Guevara a temporary president. Siles finished first in 1980, but came up short of a majority. Days before Congress was due to convene to choose a winner, the army launched the bloody coup of 17 July 1980, which installed a reactionary (and cocaine-tainted) dictatorship of General Luis García Meza . Siles escaped to exile in Peru by crossing Lake Titicaca on

2592-493: The war he finished San Andres University with a degree in law. Siles was married to Maria Teresa Ormachea del Carpio and had three daughters, Marcela, Ana Maria and Isabel. In 1940 Siles was elected in the Chamber of Deputies. Gravitating toward the reformist side of the political spectrum (even though his father had been one of the pillars of the Old Regime), in 1941 he founded along with Víctor Paz Estenssoro and others,

2646-636: Was Hugo Banzer who just the previous year had seen his 7-year dictatorship come to an end. Banzer ran as a member of the Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN) formed by him on 23 March of that year. The final major candidate was Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz of the Socialist Party-1 (PS-1) who in the previous election had achieved a minuscule 0.43% of the vote. However, since then Quiroga had begun to rise in electoral favor. Other candidates included René Bernal Escalante of

2700-595: Was elected president, and Siles left for Uruguay, a country where he had lived before in exile and for which he held special affection. He died in Montevideo , Uruguay in August 1996 at the age of 82. 1979 Bolivian general election David Padilla Election results annulled Wálter Guevara becomes interim president PRA General elections were held in Bolivia on 1 July 1979. As no candidate in

2754-523: Was later exiled when it became apparent that the military intended to manipulate 1966 electoral results to perpetuate itself in power. Except for a five-month interlude during which his half-brother held the presidency, the armed forces remained in control of the Presidential Palacio Quemado until 1982. In 1971 Siles opposed the right-wing coup of general Hugo Banzer , prompting an irreversible break with Estenssoro, who supported

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2808-646: Was overthrown by yet another military coup in November, which saw General David Padilla assume the presidency, promising to hold fresh elections in July the following year. In contrast to previous military governments, General David Padilla came to power as the leader of a group of democratically oriented officers committed to returning the country to democratic rule in as short a period of time as possible. As such, Padilla did not use his newfound position to run for election in his own right and instead committed himself to

2862-405: Was tasked with electing a president from the top three contenders. Hernán Siles Zuazo had won the plurality of the popular vote but not by a clear enough amount to be the obvious choice for president. While Víctor Paz Estenssoro failed to win the plurality by a razor-thin margin, the MNR-A as a whole won a majority in both chambers of Congress with 48 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 16 seats in

2916-607: Was the illegitimate son of the last Republican Party president of Bolivia, Hernando Siles Reyes and Isabel Zuazo Cusicanqui. Siles was raised by his mother. His half-brother Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas was president for five months in 1969. In 1931 Siles graduated from the American Institute in La Paz. He served in Bolivian army and was decorated for injury sustained while fighting in the Chaco War of 1932–35. After

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