Hugo Banzer
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| Hugo Banzer Suárez | |
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| In office August 21, 1971 – July 21, 1978 August 6, 1997- August 7, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Juan José Torres González (1971) Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (1997) |
| Succeeded by | Juan Pereda Asbún (1978) Jorge Quiroga Ramírez (2001) |
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| Born | May 10, 1926 Concepción, Santa Cruz |
| Died | May 5, 2002 Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santa Cruz |
| Political party | military, ADN |
| Spouse | Yolanda Prada de Banzer |
Hugo Banzer Suárez (May 10, 1921 – May 5, 2002) was a conservative politician, military general, and dictator from Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from August 22, 1971 to July 21, 1978, as a military dictator; and then again from August 6, 1997 to August 7, 2001, as constitutional President.
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[edit] Military and ideological formation
Hugo Banzer had German ancestry but was native to the rural lowlands of the department of Santa Cruz. He attended military schools in Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil and the United States, including the Armored Cavalry School at Fort Hood, Texas, and the renowned School of the Americas in the former Panama Canal Zone, where he was trained in counter-insurgency tactics.
Promoted to colonel, in 1961, and appointed three years later to head the Ministry of Education and Culture in the government of General René Barrientos Ortuño, a personal friend, Banzer became increasingly involved in politics, siding with the right wing of the Bolivian Army. He was also appointed director of the Military Academy and the Coronel Gualberto Villarroel Military School.
[edit] Banzer as plotter, 1970-71
In October 1970, he took part in a coup d'état that attempted to depose the then reformist military president, General Alfredo Ovando, but the rebellion did not hold and a countercoup was successfully staged by General Juan José Torres González, the left-leaning commander of the Army. If anything, Torres was more radical than Ovando, and remarkably more popular. In early 1970, Banzer attempted to unseat the new president in yet another unsuccessful coup, this time with him as top leader. Upon failing, he fled to Argentina, but did not resign his ambitions to the presidency.
Meanwhile, Bolivia convulsed under the giddy chaos of the Torres regime. President Torres 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 was imbued with all the powers of a working parliament, even though opponents of the regime 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. These measures, and Torres' calls for a "socialist" Bolivia, angered his detractors even more, chief among whom was Banzer.
[edit] The Banzer dictatorship, 1971-78
On August 18, 1971, General Banzer Suárez, at long last, masterminded a successful military uprising that erupted in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where he had many supporters. Eventually, the plotters gained control over the La Paz garrisons, although not without considerable bloodshed. The roles of the United States and Brazil in supporting the coup have been debated. In any case, Banzer emerged as the strong man of the new regime, and, on August 22, was given full power as president. Interestingly, he received the political support of the center-right Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) of former president Víctor Paz Estenssoro and the conservative Falange Socialista Boliviana of Mario Gutiérrez, considered to be the two largest parties in the country. For the next seven years, and with the rank of Army General, Banzer ruled Bolivia as dictator. The ensuing anti-left crackdown was severe, and the ruthless little general from Santa Cruz became one of the most feared presidents in recent memory.
Frustrated by the political divisions and protests that characterized the Torres and Ovando years, and, traditionally an enemy of dissent and freedom of speech, Banzer banned all the left-leaning parties, suspended the powerful Central Obrera Boliviana, and closed the nation's universities. "Order" was now the paramount aim, and no means were spared to restore authority and stifle dissent. Buoyed by the initial legitimacy provided by Paz and Gutierrez's support, the dictator ruled with a measure of civilian support until 1974, when the main parties realized he did not intend to hold elections and was instead using them to perpetuate himself in power. At that point, Banzer dispensed with all pretenses and banned all political activity, exiled all major leaders (Paz Estenssoro included), and proceeded to rule henceforth solely with military support.
Human rights groups claim that during Banzer's 1971-78 tenure (known as the Banzerato) several thousand Bolivians sought asylum in foreign countries, 3,000 political opponents were arrested, 200 were killed, and many more were tortured. Many others simply disappeared [1]. Among the victims of the regime are Colonel Andrés Selich, Banzer's first Minister of the Interior and co-conspirator in the August 1971 coup. Selich was accused of plotting to overthrow Banzer and died of blows sustained while in custody. Two other generals with sufficient stature to potentially eclipse the dictator were murdered under suspicious circumstances while in exile: General Joanquin Zenteno Anaya and, more shockingly, former President Juan José Torres Gonzáles, both in 1976.
Much of the stability achieved by the Banzerato was sustained by the constant flow of easy credit from abroad, which was often used on mammoth "white elephant" projects of dubious usefulness but which nonetheless impressed certain sectors of the population. The loans would soon raise Bolivia's external debt to record levels, but proved useful in the manipulation of political patronage. In 1975, Banzer restored diplomatic relations with Chile, broken since 1962, with an eye toward obtaining an access to the Pacific Ocean, denied to Bolivia since the loss of its maritime coast in the 19th century War of the Pacific. The Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, offered a narrow outlet just north of the port of Arica, on the border with Peru, on lands that had previously belonged to that country and which continued to be claimed by Lima. Peru, of course, would never accept such a solution. It was merely a clever ploy designed to drive a wedge between Bolivia and Peru, Chile's historic adversaries to the north, for Pinochet never really intended to cede territory to Bolivia. Banzer must have known this, but used the possibility of achieving the long-held Bolivian dream as an excuse to not call elections. After all, an access to the sea was around the corner, he said; why spoil the negotiations by changing governments now? He continued the back-and-forth with Chile, at least publicly, until 1978, when he had already decided to restore the democratic order, and then again broke relations with Santiago. He could have done so as early as late 1975, when, for all purposes, all progress stalled in the talks.
[edit] The democratic opening of 1978 and Banzer's toppling
Pressure from the Carter administration (and from some heroic civil sectors, most of them led by women) forced Banzer to institute a carefully regulated "democratic opening" in 1978. A restricted amnesty was declared, and the country prepared for democratic elections. Since the Bolivian constitution does not allow the election of a sitting president, the general designated a surrogate, officially-supported candidate, General Juan Pereda. It was assumed that Pereda would be elected with government "help" at the polls, rule for four years, and then allow Banzer to return as constitutional president once he had time to polish up his image and transition to civilian politics. Apparently, Banzer had second thoughts, for by election time the left-wing coalition of former president Hernán Siles Zuazo (UDP) was far and away the most popular formula, and nothing could disguise it. Still, massive fraud was committed and Pereda was declared the winner - until protests paralyzed the country and independent organizations agreed that all exit polls indicated a result quite different from what was being purported. At this point, Banzer annulled the elections, denounced the electoral fraud, and disassociated himself from it altogether. He declared he would call elections again within a year or two.
He did not foresee the rection of General Pereda, however, who felt used by Banzer to remain in power. A coup d'état ensued, many military officers having grown tired of the president's constant manipulation of the armed forces for his own political ends. After Banzer was forced to leave the Palacio Quemado in July 1978, Pereda was sworn in as president, although not a constitutional one, since the fraud could not be denied. He did blame Banzer, however, and stated non-comitally that he would call new elections within a reasonable span of time. Pereda, in turn, was overthrown in November of 1978 by democratically-oriented officers under general David Padilla who, embarrassed by the events of the last few months (and suspecting that Pereda did not intend to call new elections either), promptly set a firm date for a new vote.
[edit] Banzer as civilian political leader
Upon leaving office, Banzer formed the ADN party (Acción Democrática Nacionalista), a large organization that attracted most conservative groups under his leadership. Banzer ran for elections in 1979 and 1980, obtaining third place in both contests. The 1979 contest remained inconclusive because, no candidate having received the necessary 50% of the vote, Congress had to determine the president, and it could not agree on any one candidate; the 1980 election would have led to the possession of Hernán Siles Zuazo, was it not for the bloody coup of July 17, 1980, which installed a reactionary (and cocaine-tainted) dictatorship led by general Luis García Meza. With the military's reputation badly damaged by the excesses of the 1980-82 dictatorship, in October 1982 the results of the 1980 elections were upheld to save the country the expense of yet another vote. Siles Zuazo was sworn in and the 1980 Congress reconvened.
Banzer opposed bitterly the UDP government of Hernán Siles Zuazo (1982-85), but turned more conciliatory when Víctor Paz Estenssoro was elected president (by congress, due to the virtual inattainability of the 50% necessary for direct election) in 1985. Indeed, Banzer's party claimed authorship of some of the most important neoliberal economic reforms instituted by Paz to curb galloping hyperinflation, repress the ever-troublesome labor unions, and reduce the size of the government. Banzer finished second in the 1989 elections, but supported in Congress the third-place finisher, the left-leaning Jaime Paz Zamora, who became President with ADN help. The former dictator again finished second in 1993, this time to the MNR's Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada.
[edit] Banzer as Constitutional President (1997-2001)
Finally, in 1997, Banzer Suárez achieved his dream of becoming constitutionally-elected President of Bolivia, at the age of 71. Indeed, he was the first former dictator in Latin America's recent history to transition successfully to democratic politics and return to power by way of the ballot box. During his tenure, he launched, under the guidelines outlined by the United States, a program to fight drug-trafficking in Bolivia, which called for the eradication of coca, a controversial strategy. He also had the usual trouble with the unions, but nonetheless did his best to rule in a conciliatory and non-arbitrary manner. In 2001, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and even though he had earned a five-year term (he had himself agitated to legally enlarge the presidential term) had to resign on August 7, 2001. He was succeeded by his Vice-President, Jorge Quiroga.
Banzer's health declined rapidly thereafter, and he died on May 5, 2002. His legacy remains controversial. To some, he will always be the ruthless dictator who denied Bolivians their civil liberties for seven years. To others, he is a man who served his country under difficult conditions, started in on the road to stability, and later became a pillar of the new democratic order. Either way, he is a towering figure in 20th century Bolivian political life
Note: In accordance with the rules of Spanish orthography, Banzer should be spelled Bánzer. But because Banzer is originally a German name, the a is not accented.
[edit] See also
[edit] Source
- Prado Salmón, Gral. Gary. "Poder y Fuerzas Armadas, 1949-1982."
[edit] External link
- Hugo Banzer at CIDOB bio. (Spanish)
| Preceded by: Juan José Torres Gonzáles |
President of Bolivia 1971-1978 |
Succeeded by: Juan Pereda Asbún |
| Preceded by: Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada |
President of Bolivia 1997-2001 |
Succeeded by: Jorge Quiroga Ramírez |
