The Bolivian Revolution of 1952 (), also known as the Revolution of '52, was a series of political demonstrations led by the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (RNM, MNR), which, in alliance with liberals and communists, sought to overthrow the ruling Bolivian oligarchy and implement a new socioeconomic model in Bolivia. Its main leaders were the former presidents Víctor Paz Estenssoro and Hernán Siles Zuazo. The MNR government after this Revolution lasted from 9 April 1952 until the coup of 4 November 1964. In these twelve years, there was a co-government and at the same time a power struggle between the party and the labor unions.
The Revolution of 1952 sought to implement the rights to vote in Bolivia, the distribution of land and State control over natural resources and the Bolivian economy. In addition, it incorporated the peasant and female sector into political life by establishing universal suffrage. It was a political Revolution that at the time was equated to the Mexican Revolution and that preceded the Cuban Revolution. It developed in the context of the Cold War and was the only one of the social revolutions in Latin America that had the support of the United States.
Background
The origins of this revolution may have begun during the Great Depression and Bolivia's defeat in the Chaco War. The Great Depression weakened the mining industry, sponsored the entry of the State into the economy through foreign exchange control and the allocation of tin export quotas among the different producers. Likewise, during the 20s, the nationalist government of Hernando Siles Reyes tried to apply corrective measures to some fundamental socioeconomic problems in the country. The following decade, the military governments of Germán Busch and David Toro deepened these measures with the influence of European nationalism.
On the other hand, the Chaco War resulted in a profound questioning of the political and social model in force in the 1930s. This spawned a whole generation of writers, thinkers, and political leaders who looked to ideologies for ways to solve the resource problems at the time. Among them, were Óscar Únzaga de la Vega, who led the Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB), with influences from the Christian democracy of Jacques Maritain and the Social Doctrine of the Church, promoted above all by Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius XI, and , founder of the Revolutionary Left Party.
In May 1949, after a general strike, a severe conflict broke out in the Siglo XX mines, owned by Simón Iturri Patiño , in the department of Potosí. President Mamerto Urriolagoitía ordered the arrest of some leaders, and in response the miners took two foreign employees hostage and ended up killing them. The government reacted with military intervention and the tragic Siglo XX Massacre. On 27 August, the Civil War of 1949 broke out, through which the MNR led an uprising in four cities in Bolivia. After a few days, a revolutionary government emerged in the department of Santa Cruz in the east of the country, led by Edmundo Roca, a member of the Acción Obrera group, who joined the MNR.
During these events, the revolutionaries had under control more than half of the country, mainly the cities of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. Armed clashes took place in the Santa Cruz towns of Yacuiba (under the command of ), Camiri and Incahuasi. The Revolution proclaimed Víctor Paz Estenssoro as president and Edmundo Roca as vice president, despite the fact that the former was in exile. Meanwhile, Urriolagoitia mobilized the army commanded by General Ovidio Quiroga, who managed to reconquer first Cochabamba and then Santa Cruz. Bomber aircraft were required for military operations in both cities.
After retaking the main square, some leaders of the movement, such as Lidio Ustarez, were shot in the Manchego Barracks. Multiple workers took over the mines and a strike was declared in several mineral industrial centers. By 1 September, the government had retaken control of the country, and on 15 September, many of the Santa Cruz insurgents fled.