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30-767: With the instability of the Torres regime, two parties previously considered enemies, the MNR and FSB would come together in alliance with conservative elements of the Armed Forces to overthrow Juan José Torres and recover their political prestige. With the triumph of the 1971 coup, Colonel Banzer signed an agreement with the MNR and FSB parties, creating the Nationalist Popular Front - a governmental civic-military alliance. The alliance would fall into disagreement in mid-1973. Banzer's promise to hold elections in 1974 caused parts of

60-775: A foreign embassy, believing all hope was lost. But the leftist military forces re-asserted themselves under the combative leadership of general Torres, and eventually triumphed. Worn out by 13 grueling months in office, Ovando agreed to leave the presidency in the hands of his friend, general Torres, the hero of the moment. The latter was sworn in and went on to govern the country for 10 difficult and tumultuous months. Though most military leaders throughout Latin American history have been associated with right-wing politics , Torres - like his contemporaries Juan Velasco in Peru and Omar Torrijos in Panama -

90-507: A minority of the army and the country's middle class. The wealthy classes, part of the army, the right wing of the MNR and the Phalangist party plotted against him. When he cut military spending to finance education, this increased resentment within the army. After less than a year in power, Torres was overthrown in a bloody coup d'état , which was led by the colonel Hugo Banzer and supported by

120-471: A nationwide basis. He remained extremely popular with the miners, however, and once more he was elected to lead them and to chair the powerful Bolivian Workers' Union (COB). In 1980 he was the PRIN candidate for President and fared rather poorly at the polls, but in any case another military coup (this time led by Luis Garcia Meza ) forced him into exile a third time. When democracy was restored in 1982, Lechín and

150-462: A poor Aymara - Mestizo family and joined the army in 1941. He served as military attache to Brazil from 1964 and as ambassador to Uruguay from 1965 to 1966, when he was appointed Labor Minister. He became the reform-minded Alfredo Ovando 's right-hand man and commander-in-chief of the armed forces when the latter came to power as a result of a coup d'état in September 1969. Torres became one of

180-530: The Brazilian military regime . Despite massive resistance — both civilian and military — the conservative forces had learned the lessons of the failed October, 1970 uprising, and applied brutality without compunction. Hugo Banzer became President and ruled the country for the next seven years. When Banzer came to power, Torres fled the country and settled in Buenos Aires . He remained there even after

210-466: The MNR and FSB to abandon the government and move to the opposing side, with only a few political factions remaining. Paz Estenssoro, Banzer's ally during the August coup, would go over to the opposing side. In November 1973, he would attempt to remove all MNR members from Banzer's cabinet . This decision divided the MNR, with many like Ciro Humboldt refusing to leave his posts. In January 1974, Paz Estenssoro

240-591: The MNR at its 1964 convention. At that point, Lechín formed the Revolutionary Party of the National Left (PRIN). Rather surprisingly, Juan Lechín—the firebrand of the left—supported the 1964 military coup that toppled the MNR from power. Soon thereafter, however, he was forced into exile. He returned in 1971 and was elected as head of the Popular Assembly, a revolutionary congress endorsed by

270-563: The March 1976 coup that brought General Jorge Videla to power in Argentina . In early June 1976, Torres was kidnapped and shot to death. His assassination was most likely directly carried out by right-wing death squads associated with the Videla government, but also — it has been argued — with the acquiescence of Hugo Banzer and as part of the broader US-backed Operation Condor . His body

300-614: The closure of the United States Strategic Communications Centre (known as Guantanamito ). In 1970, Torres attended a conference of the Non-Aligned Movement , a first for a Bolivian leader. He nationalized the some American-owned and ordered the US Peace Corps out of the country. His government was quickly subjected to external pressure. US Ambassador Ernest V. Siracusa (who participated in

330-556: The cost of its own life." It establishes a People's Assembly, similar to a soviet , which meets in Parliament; expropriates the sugar industry; begins negotiations with the Chilean government of Salvador Allende in order to obtain Bolivian access to the sea; amnesty for former rebels who were not murdered after their capture (including Régis Debray ); increase the university budget and call for

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360-569: The country's tin mines by Paz Estenssoro (due to declining production and the collapse of world prices) led to considerable in-fighting in the unions. In 1987, Lechín—now aged 73—retired from the leadership of the FSTMB and was voted out as head of the COB. He was replaced in the FSTMB by Filemón Escobar and by Genaro Flores in the COB. Juan Lechín Oquendo died in August 2001, at the age of 87. A controversial but undeniably important historical figure, Lechín

390-540: The coup d'état against Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954, then was expelled from Peru in 1968, accused of being a CIA man) ordered him to change his policy, threatening him with financial blockage. The World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank refused to grant Bolivia the loans necessary to pursue industrial development work. But his government was not stable, because it was supported only by

420-653: The formation of the FSTMB. Lechín was elected the union's Executive Secretary. At this point, he became affiliated with the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR), though he maintained good relations with the Trotskyist POR. Following the 1952 Bolivian National Revolution, Lechín was chosen as Minister of Mines and Petroleum. He also led the founding congress of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), an umbrella federation of labor unions, and

450-441: The government with strikes. In his first speech as Head of State, he specified the direction of his government: "We will promote the alliance of the armed forces with the people and build nationality on four pillars: workers, academics, peasants and the military. We will not separate the people from their armed arm and impose a nationalist-revolutionary government that will not surrender, will defend natural resources, if necessary at

480-517: The mining tycoon Simón Iturri Patiño . While working as a machinist in the mines, he was made aware of the desperate conditions of the vast majority of the highland workers. In the 1940s he became involved in the nascent labor movement and joined the Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR), a Trotskyist political party. In 1944, Lechín led a congress of miners in Huanuni, Oruro , that led to

510-403: The more left-leaning officers in the Bolivian military, urging Ovando to enact more far-reaching reforms and to stand up to the more conservative officers. As a member of the nationalist and reformist movement of the army, he denounced capitalism because he believed it perpetuates the country's underdevelopment and dependence on foreign countries. In 1969, he had been one of the main protagonists in

540-504: The nationalization of the Gulf Oil and had participated in the occupation of the company's headquarters in La Paz. On October 6, 1970, an anti-government coup d'état took place, led by right-wing military commanders. Much blood was shed on the streets of various major cities, with military garrisons fighting each other on behalf of one camp or the other. Eventually, President Ovando sought asylum in

570-490: The other leaders of the FSTMB and COB returned to the political arena. In his restored position as top labor leader in the country, he strongly criticized the economic policies of president Hernán Siles Zuazo (1982–85), coming close to toppling his beleaguered regime with crippling strikes and other non-cooperation measures. Lechín also vigorously opposed the neoliberal administration of Víctor Paz Estenssoro , who served his fourth term from 1985 to 1989. The closure of most of

600-450: The reform-minded general General Juan José Torres . Once more Lechín's role was polarizing, as he attempted to create a parallel (union and Assembly-based, quite reminiscent of soviets) alternative to the established order. After the Torres's overthrow later that year, Lechín was exiled once again and did not return until the democratic opening of 1978. By then the years had caught up with him and he had lost much luster and electoral appeal on

630-477: The ruling party. To reduce these tensions and prevent fragmentation, Paz was persuaded to return from retirement and lead the MNR in the 1960 presidential elections. The conciliatory Paz chose Lechín as his vice-presidential candidate, apparently with a promise that Lechín would be the presidential candidate in 1964. Instead, Lechín's intransigence on political issues eventually convinced Paz not only to reneg on his promise but also to expel vice-president Lechín from

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660-586: Was a Bolivian socialist politician and military leader who served as the 50th president of Bolivia from 1970 to 1971, when he was ousted in a coup that resulted in the dictatorship of Hugo Banzer . He was popularly known as "J.J." (Jota-Jota). Juan José Torres was murdered in 1976 in Buenos Aires, in the frame of the United States-backed campaign Operation Condor . Torres was born in Cochabamba to

690-712: Was a labor-union leader and head of the Federation of Bolivian Mine Workers (FSTMB) from 1944 to 1987 and the Bolivian Workers' Union (COB) from 1952 to 1987. He also served as the 29th vice president of Bolivia between 1960 and 1964. Lechín was born to a Syrian immigrant father and a Bolivian mother in Corocoro , a city in the Department of La Paz . He worked in the Catavi and Siglo XX tin mines , both of which were owned by

720-515: Was decidedly left wing. He was known as a man of the people and was popular in some sectors of the Bolivian society. His mestizo and even native-Andean features enhanced his standing with the poorer sectors of society. Despite Torres' best intentions, his marked leftward drift did not stabilize the country. He called an Asamblea del Pueblo, or People's Assembly, in which representatives of specific "proletarian" sectors of society were represented (miners, unionized teachers, students, peasants). The Assembly

750-484: Was elected its Executive Secretary. Since he had played a vital role in the Revolution, and had advocated the permanent extension of weapons to the workers' militias to guarantee regime stability against the possibility of an oligarchic/military backlash, he became extremely popular with the poorer sectors of society. Indeed, he was the most charismatic and popular MNR leader other than Víctor Paz Estenssoro . In addition, he

780-500: Was imbued with all the powers of a working parliament, even though opponents of the government tended to call it a gathering of "virtual soviets". Torres also allowed the legendary (and Trotskyst-oriented) labor leader, Juan Lechín , to resume his post as head of the Central Obrera Boliviana/ Bolivian Workers' Union (COB) and to operate without a single restraint. To his surprise, Lechín proceeded to cripple

810-483: Was left under a bridge about 100 kilometers east of Buenos Aires. Despite the short duration of his government, Torres' memory is still revered by the poorest strata of Bolivian society. He is remembered as the smiling general who dared to break the expected norm of a Bolivian military leader. In 1983, his body was repatriated to Bolivia, where it received a massively-attended state funeral. Juan Lech%C3%ADn Juan Lechín Oquendo (18 May 1914 – 27 August 2001)

840-410: Was of far more radical political persuasion (Marxist-inspired) than the rest of the government leadership. This inevitably led to growing intra-party tensions and disagreements over labor issues and personal ambitions. In frank disagreement with what he saw as the increasingly conservative policies of president Hernán Siles Zuazo , by the late 1950s Lechín had begun to form a left-wing opposition within

870-424: Was reviled by many and followed almost blindly by others. A major criticism used against him is that he tended to de-stabilize precisely those regimes that were friendliest to the interests of the working class (Paz Estenssoro, Torres, Siles Zuazo between 1982 and 1985), while being quite deferential to the most hardline right-wing governments (Barrientos, Banzer, Garcia Mesa), at least until he could get safely out of

900-485: Was sent into exile - being accused of "subversion". The MNR and FSB supported an attempted coup against Banzer on 7 November, which caused a counterattack by Banzer. On November 9, Banzer carried out a self-coup , declaring the end of the government coalition with the definitive expulsion of the MNR and FSB from the government and suspending all parties and social organizations. Juan Jos%C3%A9 Torres Juan José Torres González (5 March 1920 – 2 June 1976)

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