Towards Stability In Bolivia

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27999, 20 June 1956, Page 12

Towards Stability In Bolivia

The election of Dr. Siles Zuazo as President of Bolivia renews the Paz Estenssoro regime, though the former President has bowed to the constitution and allowed his vicepresident to succeed him. The election was surrounded by the turmoil customary in a republic with a record of 179 revolutions in its 131 years; but there are good reasons to believe that the result fairly represents popular opinion. With a literacy rate below 50 per cent, it is impossible to be quite sure of this. Events of the last four years suggest, however, that Dr. Victor Paz Estenssoro was more popular at the end of his term as President than he was at the beginning. He seized power illegally in 1952 when the presidency, under the constitution, had to be decided by Congress because no candidate had a majority. His justification was the suspicion that, although he had polled more votes than any other candidate and was reputed to have the greatest following among the illiterate section, he would be passed over by Congress. Since then he has nationalised the three largest tin mines, the chief source of Bolivian wealth, declaring that he was not against private property [but did not believe that any single

individual should have a greater income than the State. Dr. Paz Estenssoro’s Government has also begun the redistribution of land, which has been described as the most significant measure of agrarian reform in the whole of Latin America. Bolivia has begun the exploitation of valuable oil deposits with a pipe-line to Argentina, and trade with neighbouring republics has been stimulated. The largest gap in the railway, that will eventually link the Amazon waterway to the Pacific has been filled. The Paz Estenssoro regime has been variously labelled Communist, revolutionary, extreme left, left centre, and moderate. It received support from Mr Peron when he was in power in Argentina. Whatever its real political faith, the Government has begun the genuine social and economic revolution that feudal Bolivia needed. The process could not have been so relatively painless if it had not been for generous American help. “The. “ State Department showed wisdom “in adjusting itself to a situation “ that was in many respects dis- “ turbing to us and to our way of “ life ”, the “ New York Times ” remarked earlier this year. “ It has “ been a calculated risk, and thus “ far is paying off ”, In 1955 alone Bolivia received nearly £7,000,000 in economic aid from the United States. In the four years of the Paz Estenssoro regime American aid and American loans amounted to £20,000,000. Unlike most South American republics Bolivia cannot feed itself; it pays for food imports with mineral exports. Nationalisation caused a heavy fall in tin production; but other exports have been developed with the help of American capital. Characteristically, in a rapidly developing country, serious inflation is the main problem. If Dr. Zuazo’s election is accompanied by the restoration of the ordinary processes of Congress and leads to a more normal political life, the new administration may be better placed to deal with this trouble, particularly as it seems assured of continued American help.