Bolivia, 1962 — dissident coup conspiracy
Event Summary
On 29 September 1962 the Bolivian government of President Victor Paz Estenssoro declared a state of siege after discovering a right wing plot to overthrow it. The plotting was attributed to the Falange Socialista Boliviana, the rightist party that had been the second strongest force in Bolivia and had conspired against the ruling Revolutionary Nationalist Movement almost continuously since the MNR took power in the 1952 revolution. Paz Estenssoro governed under the Alliance for Progress with heavy United States backing, but his austerity measures, the constitutional amendment allowing him a third term, and his break with the powerful mine workers under Juan Lechin had generated broad discontent.
The FSB, lacking substantial military or police support, had little chance of a successful coup on its own, and the state of siege contained it. The MNR order would finally fall two years later, in the November 1964 coup led by Vice President Rene Barrientos and army commander Alfredo Ovando Candia.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
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
14509291962
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Paz Estenssoro remained in office; the FSB plot was contained by a state of siege, and he was not overthrown until November 1964.
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
Baseline Source-Document Entries
New York Times
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 →