Bolivia, 1960 — dissident coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted dissident coup in Bolivia on 19 March 1960, during the final months of Hernan Siles Zuazo's MNR government, as the country moved toward the June 1960 elections that would return Victor Paz Estenssoro to the presidency. The period was marked by the continuing economic strain of the IMF stabilization program, the deepening split within the MNR between the factions of Siles, Paz Estenssoro, and the labor leader Juan Lechin, and recurrent plotting by the conservative Bolivian Socialist Falange, which had already staged failed risings in 1958 and 1959. Any coup attempt in March 1960 came within that pre-electoral turbulence and did not unseat Siles Zuazo, who completed his term and handed power to Paz Estenssoro in August 1960.
The MNR would hold power until the military coup of November 1964.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
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
14503191960- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-145-1960-03-19
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Hernan Siles Zuazo survived and handed power to the elected Victor Paz Estenssoro in August 1960.
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
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Powell and Thyne
Boston Globe
Globe and Mail
Chicago Tribune
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 →