Outstanding Facts in Bolivia
2019: November 10
In a televised message and after three weeks of riots in the streets over the confirmation of electoral fraud on October 20, Evo Morales resigned as president of Bolivia. The police rebellion on Friday in Cochabamba, which infected a large part of the country's police stations, and a resounding pronouncement by the Armed Forces suggesting the presidential resignation and warning that they would act against the armed groups that imposed terror during the three weeks of popular uprising. , ended the 14 years of Evo's government. The Latin American left takes a great blow. (2 years ago)
2014: October 12
In Bolivia, Evo Morales, with 61% of the votes, proclaims himself the winner of the general elections to elect president and renew the Plurinational Assembly (Parliament), which entitles him to a third term until 2020. The opposition candidate Samuel Doria gets 24% of the votes. (7 years ago)
2006: January 22
In Bolivia, after winning the elections on December 18, 2005, breaking all odds, Evo Morales became president of the Republic, becoming the country's first indigenous president. He will win the presidency again in 2009 and 2014. (15 years ago)
2005: December 18
At the head of the "Movement to Socialism" (MAS), the Indian peasant Evo Morales turns Bolivian history upside down, achieving an unprecedented electoral victory (54% of the votes) at the end of a difficult year for his country. with the fall of the president after succumbing in June to a wave of demonstrations that swept through all of Bolivia, aggravated by a coup threat that finally came to nothing. President-elect Morales has shattered all forecasts by resoundingly defeating conservative Jorge Quiroga in the general elections held today, which will allow him to be the country's first indigenous president. In January, in a few days, Evo Morales will receive the transfer of powers and will take office as constitutional president of the Republic. (15 years ago)
1982: October 10
In Bolivia, Hernán Siles Suazo becomes president, marking the end of military dictatorships and the longest period of democracy in that country. (39 years ago)
1967: October 8
Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an Argentine guerrilla who played an important role in the Cuban Revolution and is in Bolivia exporting his revolution in a campaign to end the dictatorship of René Barrientos, is captured during a skirmish with a special detachment of the Bolivian army. In the course of the fray he is injured. They transfer him prisoner to the nearby town of La Higuera, where he will be held in the school building. The next day he will be executed without further ado. (54 years ago)
1952: April 9
In Bolivia the National Revolution breaks out and Hernán Siles Zuazo becomes interim president, until Paz Estensoro becomes president on April 15, in whose government, Siles Zuazo will occupy the position of Vice President. Among the most important changes that the country will carry out, we must highlight the granting of the universal vote, the nationalization of the tin mines, the agrarian reform and the educational reform. (69 years ago)
1935: June 12
The ceasefire is signed in the Chaco war between Bolivia and Paraguay, which ends with 100,000 deaths due to the disputes between two oil multinationals for the so-called "black gold". Three years later, the final peace will be signed in Buenos Aires by which Paraguay will obtain the majority of the Boreal Chaco, although Bolivia will retain the oil fields already in operation. (86 years ago)
1932: September 29
In the Boreal Chaco (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay) the Battle of Boquerón ends, around the fort of the same name, which began on the 9th, the first of the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay for control of the area. The war will end on June 12, 1935 with the definitive setting of limits and Paraguay will renounce the 110,000 km 2 occupied. (89 years ago)
1932: September 9
With the battle for control of the Boquerón fort, the Chaco war between Bolivia and Paraguay began. The war, whose background is the disputes between two oil multinationals for the so-called "black gold", will be the largest and bloodiest to be fought on the American continent during the 20th century. It will end in 1935 with 100,000 deaths, many of them from diseases and lack of water, more than from bullets. The result: an economic and moral disaster unmatched for both countries. (89 years ago)
1920: July 12
In Bolivia, the political crisis ends in revolution and a Governing Board is constituted that in a few days will fall due to lack of understanding among its leaders, summoning the people to elect a new president. (101 years ago)
1884: April 4
Once the War of the Pacific has concluded and by signing the truce treaty of Valparaíso, Bolivia leaves its province of Antofagasta under Chilean law. This treaty establishes that the territories between the Loa River and the 23rd parallel will remain under the administration of Chile and that, in return, Bolivia will have access to the ports of Arica and Antofagasta. Later, in 1904, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Chile and Bolivia will be signed, which will recognize the perpetual domain of the disputed territory by Chile, for which, Bolivia will lose all right to have an outlet to the sea and complete it. sovereignty over the Pacific Ocean. This last treaty will be a source of diplomatic tensions since Bolivia will always try to regain a free and sovereign exit to the Pacific Ocean. (137 years ago)
1879: April 5
Chile declares war on the Bolivian-Peruvian alliance for the nitrate lands of the Atacama desert. The Chilean army will conquer Lima in 1881. La Paz will be signed in 1883 by means of the Ancón treaty and Bolivia will lose after the war, its only exit to the sea. (142 years ago)
1879: March 23
In Calama, Bolivia, the Battle of Calama takes place, the first armed confrontation of the War of the Pacific between the Chilean army and Bolivian civilian forces. After several hours of combat, the Chilean troops will put an end to the Bolivian resistance. Its numerical superiority is decisive. The contest leaves 20 Bolivians and 7 Chileans dead. (142 years ago)
1879: February 14
Chile militarily occupies the port of Antofagasta, which belongs to Bolivia, and could be considered the beginning of the so-called Saltpeter War between Chile and the Bolivian-Peruvian alliance for the nitrate lands of the Atacama desert. The Chilean army will conquer Lima in 1881. La Paz will be signed in 1883 by means of the Ancón treaty and Bolivia will lose after this war, its only exit to the sea. (142 years ago)
1841: November 18
The Bolivians, invaded by Peruvian forces, win in the battle of Ingaví, in the town of Viacha (Bolivia), in which the president of Peru, Agustín Gamarra, who was in command of his troops, dies. When the news of Gamarra's death was known, confusion and confusion spread among the Peruvian troops, ending in their dispersal and defeat. After this battle, the consolidation and independence of Bolivia and its existence as a sovereign republic took place, as well as the reinforcement of the President of Bolivia José Ballivián, the presidency that he would hold until 1847, the year in which he handed over to Eusebio Guilarte Vera. (180 years ago)
1837: May 19
In Argentina, which seeks the province of Tarija (now Bolivia) and the part of the Chaco territory that ranges from the Bermejo River to the Pilcomayo, Juan Manuel de Rosas, in charge of managing the foreign relations of the Argentine Confederation and governor of Buenos Aires, issues a decree declaring war on the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation. In addition, Rosas accuses the Bolivian dictator Andrés de Santa Cruz of favoring the enemies of the government of Buenos Aires and even making deals with revolutionaries of the Unitary Party asylees in Uruguay. The war will be concluded on April 26, 1839 with the military victory of the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation. Shortly after the overthrow of Santa Cruz, (184 years ago)
1825: August 17
Meeting in Chuquisaca, the Bolivian Deliberative Assembly, which on August 6 signed the Act of Independence, today establishes the "bicolor" flag of Bolivia. However, it will not be until 1855 when the current banner is used, known as "La Tricolor" (red, yellow and green). (196 years ago)
1825: August 6
Bolivia achieves independence from Spain by proclaiming itself as a Republic and signing, during the first national congress, the Act of Total Independence, making it clear that it does not maintain any ties with other neighboring nations and does not depend on any type of other powers. Likewise, the Deliberative Assembly decrees that the new State will bear the name of Bolívar in honor of the liberator Simón Bolívar, who is also declared the father, protector and first president of the nation. (196 years ago)
1825: May 16
To put an end to the competing aspirations of Argentina and Peru over the territory, Simón Bolívar proclaims a new Republic, which, upon becoming an independent Republic later (August 6), will gratefully assume the name of the Liberator, calling itself Bolivia. (196 years ago)
1814: September 28
In La Paz (Bolivia) there is the massacre of Spanish residents during the Bolivian struggle for their independence. The Marquis of Valdehoyos, mayor of the city, is killed. His naked and mutilated body will be hung in public view. (207 years ago)
1810: October 6
In the city of Oruro, Bolivia, an open council met to adopt measures regarding the events that occurred in May and July 1809 and September 1810, in Chuquisaca, La Paz and Cochabamba, respectively, riots took place and the uprising against the Spanish colonial administration. (211 years ago)
1810: September 24
Under the command of the ideologues Juan Manuel Lemoine and Antonio Vicente Seoane, the people of Santa Cruz (present-day Bolivia) began to live their revolutionary process against Spanish rule, when the revolt began today, creating a "provisional board" through an open council. (211 years ago)
1809: July 16
In the city of La Paz (Bolivia), the uprising broke out to achieve independence from Spain when around seven o'clock at night, and taking advantage of the procession of the Virgen del Carmen, revolutionaries took the Veterans' barracks, requesting "open council" (Organ of popular participation with the capacity to dismiss the colonial authorities and establish autonomous governments) and depose the governor and the bishop at the same time that a Tuitive Board is organized whose presidency and leadership of the troops is entrusted to Pedro Domingo Murillo. On the 27th, a proclamation of the Junta will be launched declaring the independence of the colonies, which will constitute the first document of its kind in all of Latin America. (212 years ago)
1612: March 30
In present-day Bolivia, the Spanish captain Pedro Lucio Escalante de Mendoza founded the city of Jesús de Montes Claros de los Caballeros, today Vallegrande, where some Spaniards live, protected by a wall to protect them from the attacks of the Chiriguana tribes, who defend their territories. of the invasion. Over time, the Chiriguanos will lay down their arms and integrate into the city. (409 years ago)
1561: February 26
The Spanish conqueror and explorer Captain Ñuflo de Chaves, who left Asunción (present-day Paraguay) on an expedition made up of Spaniards and indigenous people at the beginning of 1558, founds, on the banks of the Sutó stream, at the foot of the Riquió and Turubó hills, a new population to which he decides to give the name of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (in present-day Bolivia), thus baptized because it is the name of his native town in Cáceres (Extremadura, Spain). (460 years ago)
1548: October 20
In present-day Bolivia, to try to protect the existing trade between the cities of Arequipa, Cusco, La Plata and Potosí, the Spanish captain Alonso de Mendoza, by order of Pedro de La Gasca, founded the city of La Paz, to serve of bridge. Starting in 1898, La Paz will be the seat of government and administrative capital. (473 years ago)
1546: December 4
The Spanish conqueror Juan de Villarroel, one of the owners of the Cerro Rico de Potosí, founded the city of Potosí (now Bolivia), which will soon achieve world fame for the wealth of the silver mines discovered in the mentioned place, which will give work to thousands of people who will come to the brilliance of silver. At the beginning of the 17th century, this city became one of the most populated in the New World, reaching 160,000 inhabitants in 1625. (475 years ago)
1538: September 29
Following orders from Francisco Pizarro, Pedro de Anzúrez, conqueror, Spanish explorer and Marqués de Campo Redondo, he founded, in the Chuquisaca valley, the city of Charcas (present-day Sucre, Bolivia), one of the oldest cities in South America. In 1552 it will be the See of the Bishopric, years later raised to the rank of Archbishopric, which in 1609 will become the most extensive in Latin America. Later he will reach the rank of Cardinal. In 1599 it will be the seat of an important viceregal institution such as the Royal Court. In 1639, already calling itself Chuquisaca, the Universidad Mayor Real y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier was founded in this city. On May 25, 1809, Chuquisaca will advance all of South America in its resistance to royalist oppression and, at the Casa de la Libertad, on August 6, 1825, Bolivia will declare itself an independent state with the signing of the founding act of the Republic of Bolivia. Finally, on July 12, 1839, it will be renamed Sucre in homage to the Venezuelan hero José de Sucre who will liberate part of Peru and Bolivia from the tyrannical Spanish power. (483 years ago)
Outstanding births in Bolivia
1907: October 2
In the Bolivian city of Tarija, Víctor Paz Estenssoro was born, who will be a prominent Bolivian lawyer and politician, President of Bolivia on four occasions (1952-1956; 1960-1964; August 6 to November 4, 1964 and 1985-1989). He will play a fundamental role in the radical transformations of his country, becoming the protagonist of Bolivian history. (114 years ago)
1795: October 19
In the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, Pedro Blanco Soto, Bolivian soldier, politician and fifth President of Bolivia is born, a position that will occupy 5 days until his arrest by the Bolivian military leadership because they do not agree with his policy. He will be assassinated the next day, January 1, 1829, at the hands of his opponents. (226 years ago)
1792: December 5
Born in the city of La Paz (present-day Bolivia), Andrés de Santa Cruz, Bolivian-Peruvian politician, president of Peru in 1827 and of Bolivia between 1829 and 1839. (229 years ago)
1776: March 20
In the current Bolivian department of Chuquisaca, Joaquín Lemoine y Villavicencio was born, who will be one of the main promoters of the Chuquisaca Revolution, which occurred on May 25, 1809. After the failure of this movement, he will fight in the forces of the United Provinces from the Río de la Plata until the freedom of his nation from Spanish domination was consolidated. At the end of the war of independence, Lemoine will return to Bolivia, where he will occupy positions of responsibility. (245 years ago)
Reported deaths in Bolivia
2002: May 5
Hugo Banzer, Bolivian military and politician, president of the Republic, dies in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, after a coup in which he overthrew the also military man Juan José Torres from 1971 to 1978. He ruled dictatorially with an iron fist. In 1975, he declared political parties and trade union organizations illegal. He was overthrown by a military coup in 1978. In 1997 he will return to power democratically after winning the elections. (19 years ago)
2001: June 7
In his hometown of Tarija, Bolivia, Víctor Paz Estenssoro, a Bolivian politician and former President of the Republic during 1952-1956, 1960-1964, 1985-1989, passes away, whose role in the radical transformations of Bolivia make him an essential protagonist of the historical events of his country during a good part of the 20th century. (20 years ago)
1967: October 9
Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed by soldier Mario Terán at the La Higuera school (Bolivia) after being wounded in the leg and captured the day before. (54 years ago)
