Bolivian National Revolution

Bolivian history

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June 22, 2026

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The Bolivian National Revolution, beginning in April 1952, was a significant social upheaval in Bolivia. It led to the granting of universal suffrage and a fundamental challenge to the country's tin-mining elite. Key reforms included the nationalization of the largest tin-mining companies in October 1952 and a sweeping land reform decree in August 1953. This decree freed Indigenous peoples from servile labor, granted them land and the right to vote, and armed them, transforming them into a powerful political force. The revolution marked a departure from traditional Bolivian governance, which had been influenced by the Great Depression and border conflicts, such as the Chaco War with Paraguay.12

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Bolivia
The rise of new political groups and the Bolivian National Revolution
Civilian dissident groups finally began to organize themselves into powerful national opposition parties in the 1940s. The two most important of these were the middle-class and initially fascist-oriented Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario; MNR) and the Marxist and largely pro-Soviet Party…
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Civilian dissident groups finally began to organize themselves into powerful national opposition parties in the 1940s. The two most important of these were the middle-class and initially fascist-oriented Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario; MNR) and the Marxist and largely pro-Soviet Party…
Read More