Coup Atlas Research Database
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14501061953AttemptedMilitary coup

Bolivia, 1953 — military coup attempt

Bolivia (BOL)South America, AmericasJanuary 6, 1953

Event Summary

The dataset records an attempted military coup in Bolivia on 6 January 1953, in the first year of the revolutionary MNR government that had seized power in the April 1952 national revolution. After the MNR's Victor Paz Estenssoro returned from exile to the presidency, the new government moved quickly on the transformations that defined the revolution, nationalizing the great tin mines, extending suffrage to women and the indigenous majority, and preparing sweeping land reform, while governing in an uneasy co-government and power struggle with the labor unions of the new Bolivian Workers Center. The regime faced repeated conspiracies from both the displaced conservative right and rival factions, and any coup attempt in early January 1953 came within that turbulence.

It did not topple the MNR, which held power through a series of plots until the military coup of November 1964 finally ended its twelve year rule.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Victor Paz Estenssoro and the MNR government survived; the MNR held power until the 1964 coup
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Victor Paz Estenssoro (president of Bolivia, target)
MNR government (target)
Conservative and rival plotters (recurrent conspirators against the revolution)

Sources

The MNR government after the 1952 revolution lasted from 9 April 1952 until the coup of 4 November 1964, twelve years marked by co-government and a power struggle between the party and the labor unions.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Bolivian National Revolution open source ↗
The revolution nationalized the mines held by the three tin barons who controlled 80 percent of production, extended suffrage to women and Indians, and distributed land to peasants, placing it among the great social revolutions of twentieth century Latin America.
SOURCE REVIEWED SECOLAS, About the Bolivian Revolution open source ↗
During the eleven month junta before the revolution there had been a continuous series of plots and rumors of plots, and after the revolution the MNR government faced doubts over control as armed MNR civilians retained seized rifles and the army in La Paz had been badly damaged.
SOURCE REVIEWED U.S. State Department, FRUS 1952 to 1954 vol. IV open source ↗
The Bolivian Workers Center was founded on 17 April 1952 under Juan Lechin Oquendo and acted as the radical revolutionary wing of the revolution, making labor relations turbulent throughout the MNR government.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Bolivian National Revolution open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete documentation of a 6 January 1953 Bolivian coup attempt was found in accessible English sources this session; the entry records the dataset's coding and the verified turbulence of the early MNR government, with plotter identity for this specific date unconfirmed, flagged. Sits after the 1952 revolution and among the many failed plots against the MNR before the 1964 coup in the dataset.

Cross-Reference

Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
14501061953
Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-145-1953-01-06

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Victor Paz Estenssoro and the MNR government survived; the MNR held power until the 1964 coup.

Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. 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
Open dataset DOI ↗
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Powell and Thyne

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

New York Times

“ATTEMPTED REVOLT FOILED IN BOLIVIA: 8 Officers, 8 Anti-Communist Members of Ruling Party Arrested as Leaders,” January 7, 1953

Christian Science Monitor

“Rightist Coup Put Down By Bolivia Regime: First Major Blow,” January 7, 1953

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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Related Records

Bolivia — Military coup, 19531953-11-09AttemptedSouth AmericaBolivia — Military coup, 19501950-07-22AttemptedSouth AmericaBolivia — Military coup, 19491949-08-27AttemptedSouth America