Coup Atlas Research Database
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14503261950ConspiracyDissident coup

Bolivia, 1950 — dissident coup conspiracy

Bolivia (BOL)South America, AmericasMarch 26, 1950

Event Summary

On 26 March 1950 the government of Bolivian President Mamerto Urriolagoitia suppressed a communist rebellion, one of several leftist and MNR actions the conservative sexenio government crushed that year. The newly founded Communist Party of Bolivia, formed in January 1950 from the youth wing of the Revolutionary Left Party, was part of the broad opposition to the oligarchic order, alongside the Trotskyist POR and the nationalist MNR. Following the March rebellion, the government banned the Communist Party on 11 April 1950 and outlawed communist activities, then declared a state of emergency in May and violently suppressed a general strike in La Paz on 18 and 19 May 1950 in which dozens were killed.

The dataset codes this event as a foreign-backed dissident conspiracy, reflecting government claims of external communist direction that the United States viewed skeptically. The Urriolagoitia government survived these challenges but fell to the Mamertazo self-coup after the annulled 1951 election.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Mamerto Urriolagoitia suppressed the communist rebellion and banned the party weeks later
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Mamerto Urriolagoitia (president of Bolivia, target)
Communist Party of Bolivia (founded January 1950, suppressed)
Leftist and MNR opposition (broader movement)

Sources

The government suppressed communist rebellions on 4 February and 26 March 1950, and banned the Communist Party of Bolivia on 11 April 1950.
SOURCE REVIEWED UCA, Bolivia 1917-present open source ↗
The Communist Party of Bolivia was founded on 17 January 1950 as a splinter from the youth sector of the Party of the Revolutionary Left.
SOURCE REVIEWED Grokipedia, Communist Party of Bolivia open source ↗
Communist activities in Bolivia were outlawed in April 1950, though the United States refused to give full credence to Bolivian government claims of communist plotting for immediate access to power.
SOURCE REVIEWED U.S. State Department, FRUS 1951 vol. II open source ↗
In May 1950 the government declared a state of emergency and clashed with striking workers in La Paz on 18 and 19 May, resulting in dozens of deaths.
SOURCE REVIEWED UCA, Bolivia 1917-present open source ↗

Editorial Note

Exact date match: the UCA dataset records a suppressed communist rebellion on 26 March 1950. Well documented. Distinct from the 14 January 1950 MNR plot recorded separately in this batch. The foreign-backed coding reflects contested government claims of external communist direction.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
14503261950

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Mamerto Urriolagoitia suppressed the communist rebellion and banned the party weeks later.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

The Austin Statesman

“Bolivia Foils Red’s Plot,” March 27, 1950

Chicago Daily Tribune

“Bolivia Crushes Cominform Plot For Revolution,” March 27, 1950

New York Herald Tribune

“Russian-Led Plot Nipped, Bolivia Says: Police Raid Traps 25 ‘Revolutionists’ High Aide Reported Sent by Cominform to Plan for Nation-wide Coup,” March 27, 1950

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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