Bolivian Revolution of 1952

Research Questions/Intro

The Bolivian Revolution of 1952 was an incredibly important historical event that has had lasting impacts on the economy and its people. I centered my research on three key questions that helped guide my research: 1. What factors led up to this need for revolution in the country? 2. The effect of revolution on both the peoples and economy? 3. Bolivia has a long history of insurrection. What makes this stand out when political violence had already ravaged the country for years before? By asking these questions I am able to paint a vivid picture of not only Bolivia, but all of Latin America during this turbulent time.

Narrative/Overview

Bolivia at the start of the 20th century was a struggling economy that focused solely on the export of Tin and Wolfram (Tungsten). However, Bolivia received very little of the revenue with just 1/5th going back to the country and the rest to foreign investors. The mining was done primarily by three privatized companies that exploited indigenous peoples to work in unsafe conditions, causing suffering and many deaths. Things only got worse when tin dropped from 44 cents per pound to just 22 cents. This seriously hurt an already struggling economy and caused it to go almost completely stagnant. This resulted in several financial crises which caused Bolivia to declare bankruptcy in 1930. In response, many miners were fired and hired back at lower wages, and the blossoming elites somehow only became richer. This caused further division between elites and the general public that was only worsened by the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay that saw Bolivia suffer a humiliating defeat. This loss, along with the exploitation of the Bolivian people, acted as accelerators to a wide scale revolution. Not long after the Chaco War ended in 1935, and up until 1952, the country saw an unprecedented amount of political violence including five successful coups, two successful urban insurrections, three or more violent encounters between the army and labor parties, and finally a brief civil war in 1949. Following the civil war, elections were held and a president that supported the oligarchy was elected angering many peoples and groups across the country.

Signing an Armistice with Paraguay following their defeat in the Chaco War

The following election held in 1951 saw a candidate from a major labor group called the Movimento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) get elected to office. The elites of the country did not take this well, refusing to give up power and gathering a large army. The Bolivian people were outraged by this, and it became a heated situation of the elites vs the people. Finally on April 9th, 1952, the people had had enough and marched on the capital. Just two long days later on April 11th, 1952 the people stood in victory against their oppressors. The MNR got to work quickly and by October of 1952 had launched new legislation that nationalized the mines, taking power from the oligarchy and giving it back to the people. Progress continued with the passing of  universal suffrage, rehiring miners for higher pay, and passing agrarian reforms that redistributed land back to the people and promoted internal economic growth. That’s exactly what happened as this caused both urban and agricultural advancements under their 12 year rule. After the oligarchy lost power they immediately began a slander campaign against the MNR, including trying to tie the revolution to communism, even going so far as to bribe American politicians to believe these lies at the height of the red scare. Their hope was that they could get an outcry from the American public which would spur the US government to intervene and shut down these reforms. The media was incredibly critical of Bolivia and made many untrue claims about ties to communism, even though it had looked the other way when the previous regime had ties to both Nazism and Communism. Years later, some still believe this revolution had communist ties when in reality all they wanted to do was help the people who were stuck in a skewed development pattern brought on by the continual cycle of oppression and exploitation.

Victor Paz Estenssoro, leader of the MNR

Revolutionary development following 1952 was highlighted by various reforms. The biggest development became the “March to the East,”  rooted in the idea that the best way to help the economy would be to become less dependent on imported food which cost the government ⅔’s of their yearly revenue. To combat this issue, the MNR looked toward the undeveloped East Amazonian farmland and encouraged indigenous peoples living in the Andes– a group that made up as much as 80% of the population– to live in the east where they would be given farmland. The government did this for a variety of reasons, some of the main reasons being to ensure border holdings after losing some to its neighbors, to shift its demographic from overcrowded cities to lush farmland, to promote internal colonialism, and to help further diversify a struggling economy. Hundreds of thousands of indigenous people moved from the mountains to the tropical lowlands of Eastern Bolivia enticed by propaganda and the hope of a better life. This included horse and buggy Mexican Mennonites and Japanese Okinawans that would bring with them soybeans which quickly became a cash crop and a staple of the Bolivian economy. These farmers became the founders of what would become the biggest city in Bolivia within a century, Santa Cruz. 

American Intercession became another theme of life post-1952 with the Point Four program beginning just before the revolution. The Point Four program was established in 1950 by the Truman administration and was one of the first foreign aid programs for South America. The US Foreign Economic Aid working with Bolivian officials established three offices in Bolivia to promote national development of raw materials. The first office was the Metal Reserve which was designed to provide loans, machinery, and US technicians to help increase production in smaller, struggling mines. The second office was the Rubber Reserve which encouraged the harvesting of raw rubber from the Amazonian river banks in northern Bolivia by providing loans, machinery, and technical support to private producers. The third office, known as the Cinchona Procurement Office, was the most important, but also the most underdeveloped as just a few years prior it was discovered that the bark of the Cinchona tree was able to cure malaria and was the first drug able to do so. This tree was abundant in Bolivia and Peru and as demand soared the US and Bolivian government worked to increase production by providing private producers with equipment, creating purchase offices to sell bark, and constructing roads and airports in remote areas of Bolivia. These efforts were very successful in all sectors except mining which took longer to implement new techniques. Truman also set up “Servicios” which were coalitions of Bolivian and American technicians working on public projects. The biggest was the Road “Servicio” which built and maintained over 4000 km of highway throughout the country. The Health “Servicio” built hospitals across the country and provided millions with vaccines for smallpox, malaria, and yaw, the Agricultural “Servicio” experimented with more efficient farming techniques as well as provided farmers with machinery, and helped oversee the near doubling of agricultural production.  Finally, the Monetary Stabilization Program, which helped to give the currency foreign exchange value and curb the inflation that plagued the country. Seeing this success combined with the increasing threat of Communism, when Kennedy came to power he spearheaded the Alliance For Progress, founded on the idea of providing funding to Latin American countries to prevent the spread of Socialism as well as to protect capitalist interests within the continent. Bolivia was the main recipient of this funding which was quickly funneled into public projects that made elites richer while the people were left with nothing. This project ultimately ended in failure and by its end 13 countries’ governments had been overthrown by military regimes.

The Revolution of 1952 was an incredibly important time for the country of Bolivia with the MNR uniting all the various labor groups and unions to work toward actual progress that would benefit all. They accomplished a lot of good that helped the public in so many different ways, but in a way the MNR only existed as long as revolutionary progress kept moving.  Increasing alienation towards groups that the MNR had supported led to its eventual downfall in 1964. They may have only been around for a short time, but this movement really changed a struggling country and put in practice a vision that benefited the people with the only losers being the elites and resource oligarchs that had maintained a chokehold on the country for almost a century.

Primary Sources Annotated Bibliography

Nobbs-Thiessen, Ben. Landscape of Migration: Mobility and Environmental Change on Bolivia’s Tropical Frontier, 1952 to the Present.

• Contains lots of information about the March to the east Especially the why and how. Has a specific focus on the migration and the various other forms that agrarian reforms took on throughout the revolution. Since it is a limited area of focus it has very explicit info on the general feeling of the public as well as how the government played a role in the migration east. 

Jorge Ruiz – Latin American Classic Films. “UN POQUITO DE DIVERSIFICACION ECONOMICA (1955) | Documental De Jorge Ruiz.” YouTube, 14 Sept. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypil4Ts-vok.

• A propaganda movie directed by Jorge Ruiz who was hired to make a film highlighting all the best parts of moving east. He produced several propaganda films but Un Poquito de Diversificacion was by far his most popular and convinced thousands to make the trip eastward toward a better life 

 Point Four in Bolivia. Dec. 1960, pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnaas118.pdf.

• This is the report from the US government on what they have been doing in Bolivia. It provides an American view of life during this time and gives specific numbers for exactly how much the US government intervened within this revolution as well as what they accomplished.

Chungara, De Domitila, et al. Let Me Speak!: Testimony of Domitila, a Woman of the Bolivian Mines. First Edition, Monthly Review Press, 1979.

• This testimony paints a grim picture of the suffering miners went through and just how unsafe the mines were. It was told, not as a call to action but to spread awareness of what people go through just to live. She provides a heartfelt message that gives a vivid account of living in a mining town.

Andadre, Victor. My Missions for Revolutionary Bolivia, 1944-1962. Amsterdam, Netherlands, Amsterdam UP, 1976.

• This is a memoir written by the Bolivian ambassador in the US who served during the 1950’s gives a super interesting insight on the Bolivian perspective as well as their stance. With other secondary sources they can confuse the details of what actually happened and what was spread to prevent this massive revolution. 

Secondary Sources Annotated Bibliography

“St. Joseph News-Press.” Google Books, books.google.nl/books?id=w9BTAAAAIBAJ&redir_esc=y.

• This is a magazine article from the early 60’s in the US that is very accusatory toward the country. It provides lies meant to upset the public and force a response from the US government. One false claim is that if Bolivia became communist the rest of South America would fall into the same trap. 

Malloy, James. Bolivia: The Uncompleted Revolution. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1970.

• This academic journal gives a unique perspective from the outside looking in and manages to capture a lot of the truth while filtering out claims that have no basis. It was super useful in capturing some of the emotions and reactions to the revolution in Bolivia.

Young, Kevin. Blood of the Earth: Resource Nationalism, Revolution, and Empire in Bolivia. Illustrated, University of Texas Press, 2017.

• This is a well compiled academic journal that provides an overview of what happened before revolution and following the revolution. It covers a large period of time so it is more generalized, but still gives great information especially about the MNR​“Victor Paz Estensorro.” WikiMedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:V%C3%ADctor_Paz_Estenssoro.jpg.

  Illimani-panorámica, La Paz Bolivia – PICRYL Public Domain Image. 5 July 2022, garystockbridge617.getarchive.net/amp/media/illimani-panoramica-la-paz-bolivia-241981.

  Firma Del Tratado De Paz, Amistad Y Límites Entre Bolivia Y Paraguay – Luis Alberto Riart Por Paraguay – PICRYL Public Domain Image. 8 July 2022, jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/amp/media/firma-del-tratado-de-paz-amistad-y-limites-entre-bolivia-y-paraguay-luis-alberto-414055.

  Miller, Leo. In The Wilds of South America: Six Years of Exploration in Colombia, Venezuela, British Guiana, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil (Classic Reprint). Forgotten Books, 2018.

  “Passo Fundo Desfile Da Brigada Militar Déc1960.” Flickr, www.flickr.com/photos/fotosantigasrs/11019406865/in/photostream.

Glossary

Tin Barons – The elites of the time that made their money from mining; used as an insult towards the upper class

Oligarchy– The small group of people that run the country and make most of the money 

Quechua and Aymara – The original indigenous peoples in the country, make up about ⅔’s of population; heavily exploited and discriminated against  

Chaco War – Bolivia fought Paraguay for the oil rich Gran Chaco region and lost, Bolivia lost 58,000 and Paraguay lost 38,000 seem as an embarrassment 

Cinchona – Tree native to Bolivia and Peru that possesses bark that can be manufactured into an anti-malarial drug. 

US Foreign Economic Administration – Agency designed to oversee US interests on Foreign soil especially in Latin American countries