Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ana and the rump of the MNR led by Paz Estenssoro, before seizing absolute power, after
which he banned all political parties and established an entirely military regime. In this he
was clearly influenced by similar events in neighbouring Chile and Brazil. Banzer employed
ruthless violence to enforce his rule, including torture, mass detention without trial and the
murder of hundreds of political opponents.
Banzer and the boom times
Banzer's regime coincided with unprecedented economic growth, fuelled by a long-term rise
in mining production and mineral prices. Foreign investment poured into the privately owned
mining sector and also into the
Santa Cruz region
, where vast areas of land remained con-
centrated in private hands. The region's subsequent agricultural boom, plus the exploitation
of local oil and gas deposits, produced massive economic growth in the Eastern Lowlands,
transforming Santa Cruz itself into the country's second-biggest city.
Despite the economic success and the regime's brutality, Banzer was unable to prevent op-
position to his rule. Although he maintained land grants under the Agrarian Reform, Ban-
zer alienated the peasant federations by ignoring their demands for price controls, credit
and government assistance. In 1974 the army machine-gunned protesting peasants in the
Cochabamba Valley, an event that became known as the
Massacre del Valle
. Meanwhile the
labour movement regained its strength and launched a series of strikes. Even Banzer's tradi-
tional middle-class nationalist support was eroded by his failure to negotiate a Bolivian out-
let to the sea with his Chilean counterpart General Pinochet. Under pressure from the US,
Banzer promised to hold democratic elections, but popular discontent with his regime was by
now boiling over, and in 1977, amid widening protests and strikes, Banzer prepared to step
down.
Coups and corruption
The next four years saw dramatic political turmoil. In 1978 elections were held then annulled
aftermassivefraudbyBanzer'schosensuccessor,
General Juan Pereda
,whowassettolose
to a left-centre alliance led by Hernán Siles. Pereda seized power, but was then overthrown
by younger officers who promised fresh elections with no military candidate. Two elections,
two brief presidencies (including that of
Lidia Gueiler
, the first woman president) and a fur-
ther bloody coup followed, as new political groupings formed and attempted to gain electoral
majorities. Finally, in elections in 1980, the centre-left coalition led by Hernán Siles emerged
victorious.
Before Siles could take office, however, hardline officers launched yet another military
coup, bringing to power
General Luis Garcia Meza
. Backed by a fearsome conspiracy in-
volvingtheArgentinemilitary,theItalianfascistlodgeP-2,drugbaronsandNaziwarcrimin-
als(includingKlausBarbie,the“ButcherofLyon”),GarciaMezapresidedoverthemostbru-
tal and
corrupt
military regime in modern Bolivian history, enforced by paramilitary death
