This book is an excellent example of how political history can be effectively interwoven with economic, social, and other kinds of analysis at both the micro (local, regional, even individual) and macro (not only national but international) levels, using one nation-state as a case study for evaluating theories about political instability. It traces 30 stormy years in Bolivia, from the major social revolution of 1952 through a succession of civil, military, and mixed governments to 1982; under 25 presidents, including both constitutionally elected repeaters and heads of shortlived coups. In the process, it vividly illustrates the importance of personalistic relationships. Political parties split and merge frequently; patron-client relations jockey for individual rather than class advantages. Raw regionalism (especially in the state of Santa Cruz) is a recurrent force even in the supposedly centralized bureaucracy; and aims often conflict in the diverse and increasingly technocratic armed forces.
Early nationalization of the major tin mines and widespread agrarian reform broke the back of the old oligarchic order, which was dominated by three “tin barons” and a relatively small group of large-scale landholders. They had enjoyed quasi-feudal control over the Indian and peasant masses, from whom they often differed linguistically and culturally. Disarming the armed forces and arming popular militias, granting universal suffrage, distributing land to migrant homesteaders, and many other populist moves brought some real social reordering; but a new oligarchy soon emerged, involved in international commerce and banking and linked with other countries (especially the United States) and the military (revitalized with U.S. aid).
Jean-Pierre Lavaud does much to sort out the convoluted interrelationships of who did what, when, with whose support, and in opposition to what during those tempestuous years. Perhaps most important are the linkages he traces between political and social disorders. He also shows how divisiveness continued even when members of the armed forces held power. Syndicalism acted as a strong but variable force, concerned more with tending to provincial interests than with providing a strong base for workers as a class. Factionalism endured even in the dominant political party, while the peasantry became politicized. Lavaud illustrates all this with clear, concise accounts of influential events in context.
By demonstrating that Bolivia’s chronic instability is not just a function of structural dislocations in a colonial-style system with an enduring oligarchy unshakably monopolizing power (as it was before the revolution), Lavaud appropriately qualifies some simplistic theorizing. By showing how that instability relates to miners, peasants, Cruceños, North American patrons, a changing military, and a full spectrum of political aspirants, he makes a major contribution to Latin American history. This book should quickly be translated into Spanish or English for the broader readership it deserves. An index would have been helpful, as are the included few tables, figures, endnotes, and glossary of organizations.
