| This Mere Men article has not been expanded past 1958 yet. |
| United States of Bolivia Estados Unidos de Bolivia (Spanish) Timeline: Mere Men
OTL equivalent: Bolivia | ||||||
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| Anthem: National Anthem of Bolivia |
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| Capital | Sucre, La Paz | |||||
| Largest city | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | |||||
| Official languages | Spanish | |||||
| Religion | Christian | |||||
| Demonym | Bolivian | |||||
| Government | Federal presidential republic | |||||
| - | President | |||||
| - | Vice President | |||||
| Legislature | National Congress | |||||
| Independence from Spain | ||||||
| - | Declaration of independence | 6 August 1825 | ||||
| - | Federal republic | |||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 1,098,581 km2 424,164 sq mi |
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| Currency | Boliviano | |||||
| Time zone | BOT | |||||
Bolivia, officially the United States of Bolivia (Spanish: Estados Unidos de Bolivia), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south and Peru and Chile to the west. The constitutional capital of Bolivia is Sucre, but the seat of government is in La Paz.
Before the arrival of the Spanish, part of Bolivia was controlled by the Incan Empire. Spanish colonisers conquered the country in the 16th century and administered it as a part of first the Viceroyalty of Peru and later the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. In the 19th century, Bolivia achieved independence after a war with Spain, but lost several territories to its neighbours over the following decades. Since the Second World War, Bolivia experienced several civilian and military governments and went through both Stalinist and fascist regimes over the second half of the 20th century.
History[]
Revolutionary governments[]
By 1940, Bolivia had been under a military regime since the defeat in the Chaco War. The government was, however, deeply unpopular, and opposition began forming against conservative President Enrique Peñaranda. In 1944, Peñaranda was overthrown and a new government was formed by Gualberto Villarroel and the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario). Villarroel's administration failed to capture public support too, however, and he was deposed in 1946. The new government organised a presidential election, which was narrowly won by José Antonio Arze of the left-wing coalition, dominated by Arze's own Revolutionary Left Party (Partido de la Izquierda Revolucionaria). The conservative elites attempted to block Arze from assuming presidency by launching a coup d'état led by David Terrazas Villegas, but the threat of civil war as Arze mobilised workers in his support forced the elites to step back.
The Arze presidency brought about several radical reforms. In the wake of Terrazas' coup attempt the military was purged, its influence decreased and funding cut significantly. Land reform was carried out, redistributing Bolivian land from the landlords to the campesinos as well the state; tin mines and other companies were nationalised. Several social and labour reforms were implemented and universal suffrage was introduced, while taxes were raised for the upper class. Although Arze was initially popular among the miners, workers and the campesinos, the decline of tin prices paired with rising inflation led to the worsening of the economy, while foreign mining engineers and managers as well as members of the Bolivian upper class left the country. As a result, public support began to slowly move away from the PIR towards the opposition, most notably the MNR. The government was aware of this and introduced repressive measures against the opposition, targeting primarily the MNR and the fascist Bolivian Socialist Falange (Falange Socialista Boliviana). The Bolivian economy, however, continued its decline as the United States refused to provide aid, which led to Arze turning towards the Soviet Union and even seeking membership in the COMECON. In late 1950, the Bolivian military, with the support of the MNR and the government of the United States, staged a coup d'état against Arze and installed another military junta under Elias Belmonte.
Although Belmonte and the army initally intended to stay in power in Bolivia, an election was organised after American pressure. MNR's Víctor Paz Estenssoro emerged victorious with an overwhelming lead and assumed presidency. In an attempt to solve the economic crisis, Paz privatised small and medium mines and business and most of the government-owned land, nationalised by the previous government and cut several social policies, all while received large amounts of American foreign aid. Paz's decisions however alienated him and the right wing of the party from the left faction, which had become very influential during the MNR's period in opposition. In an attempt to reunite the party, Paz endorsed Juan Lechín, the leader of the left-wing faction, for Vice President under his successor Hernán Siles Zuazo. The new administration attempted to find balance between a stable economy and increased welfare, but had little success. Relations between Siles and Lechín also deteriorated quickly, as the latter pushed for policies that were percieved as too radical.
Falangist Bolivia[]
Óscar Únzaga, the falangist leader of Bolivia from 1958 until 196?
In 1957, Lechín was sacked by Siles after trying to promote the creation of a workers' militia in addition to the army. Lechín responded by calling a strike against the government, further destabilising the situation. The government began increasingly dependent on the army to quell unrest as dissatisfaction with the MNR rule grew. Many in the army, however, harboured falangist sympathies and in 1958, the Army launched a coup d'état in cooperation with the FSB and installed its leader Óscar Únzaga as President.