Bolivia, 1977 — military coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted military coup in Bolivia on 9 December 1977 during the final phase of the long right-wing dictatorship of General Hugo Banzer, who had ruled since 1971 and was, under domestic and international pressure, moving toward a promised return to democracy. In November 1977 Banzer had announced elections, and the period was marked by mounting unrest, a famous hunger strike by miners' wives for amnesty, and maneuvering within the military over the transition. A coup attempt in December 1977 came within that turbulent context and did not unseat Banzer.
He was, however, near the end of his rule; in 1978 he stepped aside after fraud plagued elections, opening one of the most chaotic periods in Bolivian history, a rapid succession of coups and short-lived governments including the successful July 1978 coup by Juan Pereda, that continued until a fragile return to civilian democratic rule at the start of the 1980s.
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
14512091977
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: General Hugo Banzer survived the December 1977 plotting during his managed transition and left power in 1978.
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
Luttwak
Boston Globe
Washington Post
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 →