Víctor Paz Estenssoro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Víctor Paz Estenssoro
Official photograph, 1964
45th President of Bolivia
In office 6 August 1985 – 6 August 1989
Vice President	Julio Garrett Ayllón
Preceded by	Hernán Siles Zuazo
Succeeded by	Jaime Paz Zamora
In office 6 August 1960 – 4 November 1964
Vice President	Juan Lechín Oquendo (1960–1964) René Barrientos (1964)
Preceded by	Hernán Siles Zuazo
Succeeded by	René Barrientos
In office 15 April 1952 – 6 August 1956
Vice President	Hernán Siles Zuazo
Preceded by	Hernán Siles Zuazo (interim)
Succeeded by	Hernán Siles Zuazo
Minister of Finance and Statistics
In office 31 December 1944 – 21 July 1946
President	Gualberto Villarroel
Preceded by	Jorge Zarco Kramer
Succeeded by	Luis Gonsálvez Indaburo
In office 20 December 1943 – 5 April 1944
President	Gualberto Villarroel
Preceded by	Germán Chávez
Succeeded by	Jorge Zarco Kramer
Minister of Economy
In office 12 June 1941 – 17 June 1941
President	Enrique Peñaranda
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Alberto Crespo Gutiérrez
Personal details
Born	Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1907-10-02)2 October 1907 Tarija, Bolivia
Died	7 June 2001(2001-06-07) (aged 93) Tarija, Bolivia
Political party	Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (1942–2001)
Other political affiliations	Independent Socialist (1938–1942)
Spouses	Carmela Cerruto (died 1953) María Teresa Cortés (died 2020)
Children	Miriam Ramiro
Parents	Domingo Paz Rojas Carlota Estenssoro
Relatives	Jaime Paz Zamora (second nephew)
Education	Higher University of San Andrés
Awards	Order of the Condor of the Andes Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Order of Isabella the Catholic
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Bolivia
Branch/service	Bolivian Army
Years of service	1934–1935
Rank	Sergeant
Battles/wars	Chaco War

Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (born October 2, 1907 – died June 7, 2001) was an important Bolivian politician. He served as the 45th president of Bolivia four times. His terms were from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964, and 1985 to 1989. He tried to become president eight times in total. He won the elections in 1951, 1960, 1964, and 1985. However, his 1951 victory was cancelled by the military. His 1964 term was cut short by a military takeover.

Starting the MNR Party

In 1941, Víctor Paz Estenssoro helped create the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR). This group, also known as the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, wanted to bring big changes to Bolivia. It started as a revolutionary group and later became a more central political party.

Paz Estenssoro became an important part of Colonel Gualberto Villarroel's government from 1943 to 1946. However, he had to leave this government because of pressure from the United States. At that time, the U.S. was fighting in World War II. They thought some MNR leaders might support fascism.

Despite this, Paz Estenssoro ran for president in 1947 and came in third place. He ran again in 1951, and the MNR surprisingly won the election. Back then, only a small number of people who owned property could vote. But the government, led by Mamerto Urriolagoitía, cancelled the election results. After this, the MNR started working secretly. They came to power the next year after a big national revolution.

The 1952 Revolution and Big Changes

After the 1952 revolution, Paz Estenssoro became president. His government made many important changes. They allowed all adult citizens to vote, including native people and those who couldn't read or write. This was called universal suffrage.

His government also took control of the largest tin mines, which were very important to Bolivia's economy. This was called nationalization. They also started a large program to give land to many farmers, known as agrarian reform.

Before the revolution, the military mostly served the rich people. Paz Estenssoro's government changed the military. They made it a part of the MNR party. The idea was to create a strong party, like Mexico's PRI. But Bolivia's new military power was different. It was made up of armed workers and farmers. This group was largely led by Juan Lechín, a leader of the Bolivian Workers' Center (COB).

Returning to Power (1960-1964)

Paz Estenssoro was not allowed to be president for two terms in a row. So, Hernán Siles Zuazo became president from 1956 to 1960. During this time, the MNR party started to split. One group was more conservative, led by Wálter Guevara. Another group was more left-leaning and led by Juan Lechín.

To keep his party together, Paz Estenssoro came back from London. He had been Bolivia's ambassador there. He ran for president again in 1960 and won by a large number of votes. He chose Juan Lechín as his vice-president. This made Wálter Guevara leave the MNR because he felt he was overlooked.

Paz Estenssoro's second term was difficult. There was a lot of disagreement and violence. Many original leaders left the party. A big problem was what to do with the armed groups of miners and workers. These groups had fought in the 1952 Revolution and had kept their weapons. They were a good way to stop the military from taking over again. But by 1960, they were supporting the radical left side of the party, led by Vice-President Lechín.

Lechín, who had Marxist ideas, did not want to disarm these groups. He also wanted more big changes. Paz Estenssoro disagreed. He started to rely more on the "new" armed forces for support. This caused a final split, and Lechín was removed from the party before the 1964 elections.

Paz Estenssoro felt he was the only one who could keep the MNR together. So, in 1964, he decided to change the constitution. This would allow him to run for president again. In Bolivia, trying to stay in power by changing the rules is often criticized. This time was no different, and it led to his downfall.

To show his shift towards more conservative ideas, he chose General René Barrientos as his running mate. Barrientos was the leader of the Bolivian Air Force. Paz Estenssoro's choice to rely more on the military was partly because the U.S. wanted Bolivia to have a strong military. They wanted it to fight against possible communist groups. But choosing Barrientos was a mistake. Paz did not realize that the "new, revolutionary" military leaders were unhappy. They felt the MNR was using the military for its own political goals.

Overthrown and in Exile

On November 4, 1964, the MNR government was overthrown. This was a military takeover led by Vice-President René Barrientos and Alfredo Ovando. Paz Estenssoro went into a long exile in Lima, Peru. He was very upset about Barrientos's betrayal. He was also sad that the "Revolution" had ended so badly.

Military rule in Bolivia mostly continued until 1982. By this time, Paz and Hernán Siles Zuazo had different ideas. Siles supported more left-wing policies. Wálter Guevara had supported Barrientos and worked in his government. In 1969, Barrientos died. Then, new military governments that were more focused on the people came to power in Bolivia from 1970 to 1971.

Trying to Return to Politics

The military government of Juan José Torres (1970–71) was seen as too extreme by many civilian leaders. So, Torres was overthrown in a bloody takeover led by Colonel Hugo Banzer. The MNR fully supported this. This decision would cause problems for Paz and his party later on.

Paz thought Banzer would rule for only a year or two and then call elections. Since the MNR was still the biggest party, Paz believed he could become president again. But Banzer had other plans. He broke ties with the MNR in 1974. He sent Paz into exile and ruled only with military support until 1978.

Paz's image was damaged because he had supported the Hugo Banzer dictatorship. Meanwhile, Hernán Siles Zuazo was moving more to the left. He was gaining more supporters, taking them away from Paz. When elections were finally held in 1978, it seemed that Hernán Siles won. However, there were many problems with the election, and the results were cancelled. Paz came in third place, which was a big drop for the MNR.

Elections were set again for 1979. This time, Hernán Siles won again, and Paz came in second. But the elections were still not clear. No candidate got the 50% of votes needed to win directly. So, the Congress had to decide who would be president. The political parties could not agree on anyone. They finally chose Wálter Guevara, the head of the senate, to be a temporary president. He was working with Paz's MNR at the time. Guevara was told to hold elections again in 1980.

The 1980 elections confirmed Hernán Siles's victory and Paz's second place. But the military stepped in instead of letting Hernán Siles become president. They saw him as being too far left. General Luis García Meza took power in a bloody takeover on July 17, 1980. Paz went into exile once more. In 1982, the military finally left the Palacio Quemado (the presidential palace). They confirmed the results of the 1980 elections, making Hernán Siles president.

Paz's MNR party was against Hernán Siles's government in every way. Siles's time in office led to a huge increase in prices, known as hyperinflation. This was the worst economic crisis in Bolivia's history. It happened because international tin prices fell, and Latin American countries faced a big debt crisis. The situation was so bad that the National Congress asked Hernán Siles to call elections early in 1985. Paz came in second again, this time to former dictator Hugo Banzer. But the Congress chose Paz to be president, as no party had reached the 50% needed for a direct win. This was the first time an opposition party took power peacefully after a free election in Bolivia.

His Last Term as President (1985-1989)

Paz Estenssoro, who was nearly 80 years old, started his fourth and final term as president in 1985. The economy was in a terrible state. But Paz and his team had a strong plan. They introduced important economic reforms through something called Decree 21060. These reforms were meant to stop the very high inflation that he had inherited from Hernán Siles Zuazo.

The government also took strong actions against labor unions to regain control. About 30,000 miners were removed from government jobs to reduce the size of the government. Paz and his team kept their plans secret until they were announced. They knew there would be big protests and strikes.

These new policies were very different from what Paz had promised his voters. Because of this, people protested. After Decree 21060 was announced, a curfew was put in place. Travel across the country was limited. Universities and opposition meetings were raided. Hundreds of union leaders were taken to prison camps until the strikes stopped.

These economic changes were largely led by Paz Estenssoro's Minister of Planning, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. He later became President of Bolivia. These changes were called the New Economic Policy (NEP). This policy changed most of Bolivia's economy, which had been controlled by the state. It became a more free-market economy, with more private businesses. It successfully stopped the hyperinflation.

However, Bolivia remained the poorest country in South America. People who were against these free-market policies started to grow stronger. This eventually led to the election of the socialist leader Evo Morales in 2005.

Paz finished his term and left politics in 1989. He died at his home in Tarija on June 7, 2001.

Sources

• Book Rags
• Bolivian government profile of Paz Estenssoro
• Víctor Paz Estenssoro at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB)

See also

In Spanish: Víctor Paz Estenssoro para niños