Coups d'état in Bolivia


Bolivia has experienced more than 190 coups d'état and revolutions since its independence was declared in 1825. Since 1950, Bolivia has seen the most coups of any country. The most recent attempted coup d'état was in 2024, led by General Juan José Zúñiga.

Mutiny of 18 April 1828

While classified as an army mutiny, the events of 18 April 1828 resulted in the deposition of President Antonio José de Sucre and have been considered the first coup in Bolivian history. Orchestrated by Casimiro Olañeta and promoted by Peruvian General Agustín Gamarra, the event saw an uprising by the military garrison in Chuquisaca. In an attempt to quell the riot, Sucre was wounded in the arm. As a result, command was delegated to José María Pérez de Urdininea who served as interim president until Sucre officially resigned on 2 August 1828. In the following years, General Gamarra would invade Bolivia, occupying large portions of the country.
Pedro Blanco Soto, the pro-Peru president elected by the Constituent assembly on 18 December 1828 and who took office on 26 December would himself be deposed just a week after assuming office. Military leadership under Colonel José Ballivián arrested Blanco and imprisoned him in a convent called La Recoletta where he would be assassinated on New Year's Day 1829.

Coups of 1839–1879

The internal anarchy which resulted in the dissolution of the Peru–Bolivian Confederation ended with the resignation of Andrés de Santa Cruz on 20 February 1839. The chaotic political climate of the ensuing days which saw José Ballivián unsuccessfully declare himself president would end on 22 February when José Miguel de Velasco assumed the presidency. The following decades from 1839 to 1879 would see a succession of various military leaders overthrow one another with brief periods of democracy intermixed.

Coups d'état in Bolivia (1839–1879)

Federal War

The Conservative Era ended with the Bolivian Civil War, also known as the Federal War, in which the Liberals under José Manuel Pando deposed President Severo Fernández on 12 April 1899. The ensuing Liberal Era was the longest period of uninterrupted single-party rule in Bolivian history. It ended on 12 August 1920 when President José Gutiérrez Guerra was deposed by the Socialist Republican Party of Bautista Saavedra.

Coups of 1930–1946

Many of the coups in this era would be sparked by the instability forged by Bolivia's loss against Paraguay in the Chaco War which birthed a reformist class of young veterans dissatisfied by the traditional oligarchic parties.

Coups d'état in Bolivia (1930–1946)

Following the death of Villarroel, the age of left-wing military regimes came to an end. The Republican Socialist Unity Party under Enrique Hertzog and later Mamerto Urriolagoitía returned the country to the status quo.

''Sexenio'' and the National Revolution of 1952

The so-called sexenio were the six years between 1946 and 1952 in which the traditional conservative order briefly returned to power. Attempts by the left-wing to reassert control failed militarily in 1949 and legally in 1951 but were successful in 1952. A period of democratic control by the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement saw failed attempted coups by the right-wing until the military overthrew the new order in 1965.

Coups d'état in Bolivia (1949–1964)

Coups of 1969–1980

In 1966, Barrientos was elected in his own right but died soon after in a helicopter crash theorized to be masterminded by Ovando. The period after this would see over a decade of dictatorships by various military officers who assumed the presidency as a result of multiple coups.

Coups d'état in Bolivia (1966–1980)

Coups in the 21st century