Hugo Banzer Suárez was a Bolivian politician, military general and President of Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from 1971 to 1978, as a dictator; and then again from 1997 to 2001, as constitutional President.
General elections were held in Guatemala on 9 November 2003, with a second round of the presidential election held on 28 December. Óscar Berger won the presidential election, representing the Grand National Alliance, a coalition of alliance of the Patriotic Party, the Reform Movement and the National Solidarity Party. The Alliance were also victorious in the Congressional elections, winning 47 of the 158 seats. Voter turnout was 57.9% in the Congressional elections, 58.9% in the first round of the presidential elections and 46.8% in the second.
The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement is a Bolivian political party and the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution. It influenced much of the country's history since 1941.
Hernán Siles Zuazo was a Bolivian politician who served as constitutionally elected president twice, from 1956 to 1960 and again from 1982 to 1985. He also briefly served as the temporary president in April 1952, and as vice president between 1952 and 1956.
The Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left was a left-wing political party in Bolivia. It was founded in 1963 by the labor leader Juan Lechín Oquendo and by Mario Torres Calleja and Edwin Moller in lesser roles. The PRIN seceded from the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) in protest against Víctor Paz Estenssoro's decision to seek a third elected term as president in 1964, rather than permit then Vice-President Juan Lechín to have the MNR's presidential nomination.
The Bolivian Socialist Falange is a Bolivian political party established in 1937. Despite its leftist-sounding name, it was a far-right party drawing inspiration from fascism. It was the country's second-largest party between approximately 1954 and 1974. After that, its followers have tended to gravitate toward the government endorsed military candidacy of General Juan Pereda (1978) and, especially, toward the ADN party of former dictator Hugo Banzer. Its current status is unclear.
David Padilla Arancibia was a military general and de facto president of Bolivia. He ruled his country from November 1978 to August 1979.
The Democratic and Popular Union (1977–84) was a Bolivian umbrella political alliance uniting various smaller left-wing parties. It was formed in 1977 by former president Hernán Siles Zuazo and consisted chiefly of Siles' Movimiento Nationalista Revolutionario de Izquierda, a spin-off of the Moviminento Nacionalista Revolucionario, and Jaime Paz Zamora's Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria. The coalition became extremely popular with Bolivian voters in the late 1970s, due to fatigue with the military dictatorships that for the most controlled the country since 1964.
The history of Bolivia from 1964 to 1982 is a time of periodic instability under various military dictators. On November 4, 1964 power passed from the elected leader of the Bolivian National Revolution, Víctor Paz Estenssoro to a military junta under vice-president General René Barrientos. Barrientos was elected president in 1966, but died accidentally in a helicopter crash in 1969, leading to a coup in September 1969 by General Ovando, who was overthrown in October 1970 by General Rogelio Miranda who was overthrown a couple of days later by General J.J.Torres, who in turn was overthrown on August 1971 by Hugo Banzer Suárez. Banzer ruled for seven years, initially from 1971 to 1974 with the support of Estenssoro's Nationalist Revolutionary Movement. In 1974, impatient with schisms in the party, 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. He called elections in 1978 and Bolivia once again plunged into turmoil. Juan Pereda ruled for only four months in 1978, but his ascent to the presidency marked the beginning of an even more unstable period in Bolivian history, with nine civilian and military presidents in little over four years (1978–1982). 1982 marked the return to a democratically elected government, with Guido Vildoso as president.
General elections were held in Bolivia on 1 June 1997. As no candidate for the presidency received over 50% of the vote, the National Congress was required to elect a President on 4 August. Hugo Banzer of Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN) was subsequently elected. Whilst the ADN emerged as the largest party in Congress, it failed to win a majority of seats, and formed a coalition government with the Revolutionary Left Movement, Conscience of Fatherland and the Civic Solidarity Union.
The Liberal Party was one of two major political parties in Bolivia in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The other was the Conservative Party. The Liberal Party was formally founded in 1883 by Eliodoro Camacho. The party espoused freedom of religion, a strict separation between church and state, legal acceptance of civil marriages and divorce, and strict adherence to democratic procedures. When the party took power in 1899, it moved the base of the presidency and the Congress to La Paz, which became the de facto capital city. The Supreme Court remained in Sucre. To this day, Sucre is the de jure capital of Bolivia while La Paz acts as the de facto seat of government.
General elections were held in Bolivia on 1 July 1979. As no candidate in 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.
General elections were held in Bolivia on 29 June 1980, the third in three years. As no candidate in the presidential elections received a majority of the vote, the National Congress was required to elect a President on 6 August. With Hernán Siles Zuazo of the Democratic and Popular Union the favourite to win the Congressional ballot, the process was disrupted on 17 July by the military coup led by General Luis García Meza Tejada. However, Meza was pressured to resign on 4 August 1981, resulting in General Celso Torrelio becoming President. In July 1982 he was replaced by General Guido Vildoso, who was named by the high command to return the country to democratic rule. On 17 September 1982, during a general strike that brought the country close to civil war, the military decided to step down, to reconvene the National Congress elected in 1980, and to accept its choice of President. Accordingly, the National Congress revalidated the 1980 election results on 23 September and overwhelmingly elected Hernán Siles Zuazo as President on 5 October. He subsequently assumed the presidency on 10 October 1982.
General elections were held in Bolivia on 3 July 1966. René Barrientos of the Front of the Bolivian Revolution (FRB) was elected President with 67% of the vote, 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.
General elections were held in Bolivia on 31 May 1964. Víctor Paz Estenssoro of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) was the only candidate for president, and was re-elected with 98% of the vote. The MNR retained its large majority in Congress.
The Republican Socialist Unity Party was a political party founded on 10 November, 1946 in Bolivia as the fusion of the Republican Socialist Party, the Genuine Republican Party, the United Socialist Party, and the Independent Socialist Party.
The Popular Christian Movement was a political party in Bolivia, de facto controlled by the military junta.
The Nationalist Union of the People was a right-wing, pro-military electoral political alliance in Bolivia.
The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement–Julio was a pro-military political party in Bolivia.
