Bolivian general election, 1966

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General elections were held in Bolivia on 3 July 1966. [1] René Barrientos of the Front of the Bolivian Revolution (FRB) was elected President with 67% of the vote, [2] whilst the FRB won a majority in both houses of Congress. James Dunkerley describes the election as not free and fair since a major segment of the opposition was excluded from participating. [3]

Bolivia country in South America

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. The capital is Sucre while the seat of government and financial center is located in La Paz. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales a mostly flat region in the east of Bolivia.

René Barrientos President of Bolivia

René Barrientos Ortuño was a Bolivian military officer and politician who served as his country's Vice President in 1964 and as its President from 1966 to 1969.

The Front of the Bolivian Revolution was an electoral political alliance built as an electoral vehicle for René Barrientos Ortuño, who seized power in a military coup on November 4, 1964. It was an alliance of:

Contents

Background

Following the 1964 elections, Barrientos had led a military coup to remove Víctor Paz Estenssoro from power. In May 1965, Juan Lechín Oquendo, a labor leader who was the head of the left faction of the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement, was arrested and expelled from the country. [4]

Víctor Paz Estenssoro President of Bolivia

Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro was a Bolivian politician who served as President of Bolivia from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964 and 1985 to 1989. He ran for president eight times and was victorious in 1951, 1960, 1964 and 1985. His 1951 victory was annulled by a military junta led by Hugo Ballivián, and his 1964 victory was interrupted by the 1964 Bolivian coup d'état.

Campaign

Several alliances were formed for the elections: [5]

AllianceParties
Christian Democratic Community Bolivian Socialist Falange
Democratic Revolutionary Alliance
National Association of Democratic Professions
Democratic Institutionalist Alliance Liberal Party
Republican Socialist Unity Party
Front of the Bolivian Revolution Authentic Revolutionary Party
Popular Christian Movement
Social Democratic Party
Revolutionary Left Party
Liberation Front of the National Left Communist Party and others

Foreign involvement

The United States government provided financial support to Barrientos' campaign, including his efforts to form an electoral coalition and to campaign for the election.

Results

PartyPresidential candidateVotes%Seats
ChamberSenate
Front of the Bolivian Revolution René Barrientos 680,53267.28218
Christian Democratic Community Bernardino Bilbao Rioja 138,05413.6198
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement–Andrade Víctor Andrade88,0998.700
Nationalist Revolutionary Movement of the People Mario Díez de Medina61,3096.011
Liberation Front of the National Left Felipe Iñíguez33,0543.200
Democratic Institutionalist Alliance Enrique Hertzog 11,4001.100
Invalid/blank votes90,503
Total1,099,99410010227
Registered voters/turnout1,270,61186.6
Source: Nohlen

See also

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References

  1. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p133 ISBN   978-0-19-928358-3
  2. Nohlen, p150
  3. Dunkerley, James (1998). "The 1997 Bolivian election in historical perspective". ISA Occasional Papers (16).
  4. U.S. High Level Panel (2004). "Editorial Note".
  5. Nohlen, p139