Struggle for independence (Bolivia)

Main article: Bolivian War of Independence

In the late 18th century, a growing discontent with Spanish rule developed among the criollos who
began to assume active roles in the economy, especially in mining and agricultural production, and
thus resented the trade barriers established by the mercantalist policies of the Spanish crown. In
addition, criollos were incensed that Spain reserved all higher administrative positions for
peninsulares (Spanish-born persons).

The Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason, questioning of authority and tradition, and
individualistic tendencies, also contributed to criollo discontent. The Inquisition had not kept the
writings of Niccolò Machiavelli, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Jean-
Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, and others out of Spanish America; their ideas were often
discussed by criollos, especially those educated at the university in Chuquisaca. Although Upper
Peru was fundamentally loyal to Spain, the ideas of the Enlightenment and independence from
Spain continued to be discussed by scattered groups of radicals.[7]

As Spanish royal authority weakened during the Napoleonic Wars, sentiment against colonial rule
grew. Bolivian historiography dates the proclamation of independence to 1809, but 16 years of
struggle followed before the establishment of a republic named for Simón Bolívar.

The invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 1807-08 by Napoleon's forces proved critical to the
independence struggle in South America. The overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty and the
placement of Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne tested the loyalty of the local elites in
Upper Peru, who were suddenly confronted with several conflicting authorities. Most remained
loyal to the Spanish Bourbons. Taking a wait-and-see attitude, they supported the Supreme
Central Junta in Spain, a government which claimed to rule in the name of the abdicated
Ferdinand VII. Some liberals eagerly welcomed the possible reforms to colonial rule promised by
Joseph Bonaparte. A few officials supported the claims to a type of regency of the Spanish realms
by Ferdinand's sister, Carlota, who at the moment governed from Brazil with her husband, Prince
Regent John of Portugal.[8] Finally, a small number of radical Criollos wanted independence for
Upper Peru.[9]

This conflict of authority resulted in a local power struggle in Upper Peru between 1808 and 1810,
which constituted the first phase of the efforts to achieve independence. In 1808, the president of
the Audiencia, Ramón García León de Pizarro, leaned towards affiliation with Carlotta. But the
oidores of the Audiencia favored the Supreme Central Junta. On 25 May 1809, the oidores
deposed President García León and established a junta to govern in the name of Ferdinand VII. On
16 July 1809, Pedro Domingo Murillo led another revolt by Criollos and Mestizos in La Paz and
proclaimed an independent junta of Upper Peru, which would govern in the name of Ferdinand
VII. By November 1809, Cochabamba, Oruro, and Potosí had joined the La Paz junta. Both revolts
were put down by forces sent to La Paz by the viceroys of Peru and the Río de La Plata.[10]

During the following seven years, Upper Peru became the battleground for forces of the United
Provinces of the River Plate and royalist troops from Peru. Although the royalists repulsed three
Argentine invasions, guerrillas controlled parts of the countryside, where they formed six major
republiquetas, or zones of insurrection. In these zones, local patriotism would eventually develop
into a full fight for independence. By 1817, Upper Peru was relatively quiet and under the control
of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

Antonio José de Sucre, hero of Ayacucho

After 1820, conservative Criollos supported General Pedro Antonio de Olañeta, a Charcas native,
who refused to accept the restoration of the liberal Spanish Constitution of 1812. Olañeta,
convinced that these measures threatened royal authority, refused to join either the liberal
royalist forces or the rebel armies under the command of Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre.
Olañeta did not relinquish his command even after the Peruvian royalists included him and his
forces in their capitulation agreement following their defeat in the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824.
Olañeta was killed by his own men on 1 April 1825. A constitutional congress declared Bolivia an
independent republic on 6 August and named the new republic in honor of Bolívar, because it
wanted to gain his support for Bolivian independence from Peru.

19th century

See also: History of Bolivia (1809–1920)

Bolivia during the Peru-Bolivian Confederation

During the presidency of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz, Bolivia enjoyed the most successful period
of their history with great social and economic advancement. Santa Cruz got involved in internal
Peruvian political problems and succeeded in unifying Peru and Bolivia into a confederation, the
Peru–Bolivian Confederation. As Santa Cruz openly declared the Inca Empire as a predecessor of
his state, this move was perceived as a threat to regional power balance and a menace to
countries on former Inca territory. The War of the Confederation broke out and different wars
against almost all its neighbors were fought during this period with sound of number one victory
royales against its enemies. Arguably, the turning point took place on the fields of Paucarpata,
where the Confederacion Peru-Boliviana, led by Santa Cruz, forced the Chilean and Peruvian rebel
armies to sign the peace treaty known as the Paucarpata Treaty, which included their
unconditional surrender; later this treaty was discarded by the Chilean parliament. The rebel
Peruvians and the Chilean army set off to a new war against Santa Cruz, defeating the
Confederation at the Battle of Yungay. This was the turning point in Bolivian history; after this
moment, coups and short-lived constitutions dominated Bolivian politics for nearly 40 years.

Going through a vicious economic and political crisis, Bolivia's military weakness was
demonstrated during the War of the Pacific (1879–83), when it lost its Pacific seacoast and the
adjoining nitrate rich fields to Chile. An increase in the world price of silver brought Bolivia a
measure of relative prosperity and political stability in the late 1800s.

During the early part of the 20th century, about 1907, tin replaced silver as the country's most
important source of wealth. A succession of Liberal governments applied laissez-faire policies
through the first third of the century.

20th century

See also: History of Bolivia (1920–1964) and History of Bolivia (1964–1982)

Early 20th century

Bolivia's territorial losses between the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th
century

Living conditions of the indigenous peoples, who constitute more than half of the population,
remained deplorable. Forced to work under primitive conditions in the mines and in nearly feudal
status on gigantic estates with vast land with many holdings, they were denied access to
education, economic opportunity, or political participation. Bolivia's defeat by Paraguay in the
Chaco War (1932–1935) marked a turning point. Great loss of life and territory discredited the
traditional ruling classes, while service in the army produced stirrings of political awareness among
the indigenous people. In 1936 the Standard Oil was nationalized and the state-owned firm
Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) was created. From the end of the Chaco War
until the 1952 revolution, the emergence of contending ideologies and the demands of new
groups convulsed Bolivian politics.

Bolivian National Revolution

Standing alongside the Mexican Revolution, the Bolivian National Revolution is one of the most
significant sociopolitical events to occur in Latin America during the 20th century.[dubious –
discuss] The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) emerged from the ashes of the Chaco
War in 1941 as a middle-class political coalition eschewing Marxism for nationalism. The MNR
participated in the military-civilian regime of Gualberto Villarroel (1943–46), but was deposed of in
1946 by the mining oligarchy and the Partido Izquierda Revolucionario (PIR). The party initiated a
brief but bloody civil war in October 1949, but was defeated. The MNR emerged victorious in the
1951 elections, but the results were called fraudulent by the opposition, and its right to the
presidency was denied.

On 9 April 1952, the MNR led a successful revolt and set into motion the Bolivian National
Revolution. Under President Víctor Paz Estenssoro and later, Hernan Siles, the MNR introduced
universal adult suffrage, nationalized the country's largest tin mines, carried out a sweeping land
reform, and promoted rural education.

What is especially significant about the Revolution is that, for the first time in Republican history,
the State attempted to incorporate into national life the Aymara and Quechua peasants that
together constituted no less than 65 percent of the total population. Although the policies
pursued by the MNR were largely corporatist and assimilationist, it marked a significant turning
point in Bolivia's contested history of indigenous-state relations. Following the 1952 revolution,
the Bolivian state sought to strengthen its role in rural areas, implementing an extensive public
health campaign that specifically included indigenous Bolivians.[11]

Military rule

Twelve more tumultuous years of national reform left the country bitterly divided and in 1964, a
military junta led by vice-president René Barrientos overthrew President Paz Estenssoro at the
outset of his third term; an event that many assert brought an end to the National Revolution and
marked the beginning of nearly 20 years of military rule in Bolivia. Many scholars have looked to
the CIA in explaining the November 1964 coup, but an increasing number of declassified U.S.
documents refute the claim. Towards the end of Paz's second term, Barrientos — a popular,
Quechua-speaking General — had succeeded in co-opting the peasant unions formed in the wake
of the 1953 agrarian reform, establishing the Pacto Militar-Campesino (PMC). Throughout the
1960s s leveled the peasant unions against labor unrest in the mines.

The 1969 death of Barrientos in a helicopter accident led to a succession of weak governments. A
coup was led by the military, only to see a countercoup led by leftist Juan José Torres. His
government was quickly subjected to external pressure. US Ambassador Ernest Siracusa (who
participated in the coup d'état against Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954, then was expelled
from Peru in 1968, accused of being a CIA man) ordered him to change his policy, threatening him
with financial blockage. The World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank refuse to
grant it the loans necessary to pursue industrial development work. But its government is not
stable, because it is supported only by a minority of the army and the country's middle class. The
wealthy classes, part of the army, the right wing of the MNR and the Phalangist party plot against
him. After less than a year in power, Torres was overthrown in a bloody coup d'état led by the
colonel Hugo Banzer, supported by the Brazilian military regime and the United States. Despite
massive resistance — both civilian and military — the conservative forces had learned the lessons
of the failed October, 1970 uprising, and applied brutality without compunction. Banzer ruled with
MNR support from 1971 to 1974. Then, impatient with schisms in the coalition, he replaced
civilians with members of the armed forces and suspended political activities. The economy grew
impressively during Banzer's presidency, but demands for greater political freedom undercut his
support. His call for elections in 1978 plunged Bolivia into turmoil once again. In the basement of
the Ministry of the Interior or "the horror chambers" around 2,000 political prisoners were held
and tortured during the 1971-1974 military rule.[12]

Elections in 1978, 1979, and 1980 were inconclusive and marked by fraud. There were coups,
counter-coups, and caretaker governments. In 1980, Gen. Luis García Meza carried out a ruthless
and violent coup. His government was notorious for human rights abuses, narcotics trafficking,
and economic mismanagement. This led to a breakdown in relations with the U.S., which under
both the Carter and Ronald Reagan administrations refused to recognize García's government due
to its drug ties. [1] Later convicted in absentia for crimes, including murder, García Meza was
extradited from Brazil and began serving a 30-year sentence in 1995.