Bolivia's Political Spectrum: Communist Or Not?

Bolivia has had a complex political history, with several communist and socialist parties vying for power since the first Communist Party was established in the 1920s. The Communist Party of Bolivia (PCB) was founded in 1950 and has been a force in the labour movement, particularly among mineworkers. While the PCB and its offshoots have never become major factors in national politics, they have influenced the country's trajectory. Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales, led the country with a left-wing agenda, nationalising key industries and reducing poverty. However, his Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) has faced opposition and accusations of authoritarianism, leading to civil unrest and Morales' eventual exile. The country now faces a pivotal election that could determine whether Bolivia swings back towards socialism or continues on a different path.

The Communist Party of Bolivia was founded in 1950

The Communist Party of Bolivia (Partido Comunista de Bolivia in Spanish) was founded in 1950 by Raúl Ruiz González and other former members of the Revolutionary Left Party (PIR). It was the first Communist Party in Bolivia, established in the late 1920s under the guidance of the Communist International. However, it was disbanded during the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay (1932-1935).

In 1940, a new Communist-controlled party, the PIR, was formed. It was led by José Antonio Arze, who ran for president in the 1940 election and performed well in the country's major cities, despite losing to the government nominee. The PIR became a significant force in the labour movement, controlling the Confederación Sindical de Trabajadores de Bolivia.

In 1950, the youth wing of the PIR broke away to establish the Partido Comunista (PCB), and the PIR was dissolved. The PCB opposed the MNR regime from 1952 to 1964 and gained influence among organised labour groups, especially mine workers. Despite its initial growth, the PCB remained a small party and did not hold its first national party congress until 1959.

In the 1960s, the PCB entered the leadership of the Central Obrera Boliviana and the FSTMB, but it remained a minority force in most unions. In 1964, Ruiz González and other members left the PCB to form the pro-China Communist Party of Bolivia (Marxist–Leninist). This split weakened the PCB, and it never became a significant player in national politics. When democracy returned to Bolivia in the 1980s, the PCB remained a minor party, and in 2003, it lost its status as a recognised political party.

Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, has been described as a socialist

Bolivia has a socialist political party called the Movement for Socialism (MAS). Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, was a member of MAS and has been described as a socialist.

Morales was a Bolivian labour leader who served as president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. He was a member of the Aymara people and was born in a mining village in Bolivia's western Oruro department. As a boy, he herded llamas, and as an adult, he migrated with his family to the Chapare region, where they farmed coca, among other crops.

Morales was active in the regional coca-growers union and, in 1988, was elected executive secretary of a federation of various coca-growers unions. In the mid-1990s, when the Bolivian government was suppressing coca production with US assistance, Morales helped found MAS. He also served as the titular leader of the federation representing coca growers.

Morales was the MAS candidate for president in 2002, narrowly losing to Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. During the campaign, Morales called for the expulsion of US Drug Enforcement Administration agents from Bolivia. In the following years, Morales remained active in national affairs, helping force the resignation of Sánchez de Lozada in 2003.

Morales was the MAS presidential candidate again in 2005 and was elected with 54% of the vote. He became the country's first president of indigenous descent and the first Bolivian president since 1982 to win a majority of the national vote.

During his presidency, Morales pledged to reduce poverty among the country's indigenous peoples, ease restrictions on coca farmers, renationalize the country's energy sector, fight corruption, and increase taxes on the wealthy. He also strongly supported efforts to rewrite the Bolivian constitution to increase the rights of the indigenous population, enshrine his policies of nationalization and land redistribution, and allow a president to serve two consecutive terms.

Morales's reforms faced opposition from the wealthier provinces of Bolivia, and tensions escalated, leading to demonstrations and violent protests. However, a recall referendum on Morales's leadership was held in August 2008, and two-thirds of the voters supported the continuance of his presidency.

In April 2013, Bolivia's constitutional court ruled that Morales would be allowed to run for a third term in 2014, which he won with more than 60% of the vote. However, by 2015, the Bolivian economy had begun to slow, and Morales found himself at the centre of a corruption scandal. In a 2016 referendum, Bolivians rejected a constitutional change that would have allowed Morales to run for another term as president in 2019.

Despite this, Morales ran for reelection in 2019, which sparked widespread protests and accusations of fraud. On November 10, 2019, Morales resigned from his position, insisting that there had been no wrongdoing and claiming that he was the victim of a coup.

The Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) is a national workers' union

The Bolivian Workers' Center, or Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) in Spanish, is the chief trade union federation in Bolivia. It was established in 1952 following the Bolivian National Revolution, which brought the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement to power. The COB quickly came to include most of the country's trade unions, representing groups such as industry workers, miners, peasants, and professionals. Its main objective is "achieving the emancipation of workers in Bolivia, in defence of their fundamental rights, for the definite liberation of the exploited, oppressed, marginalized and the Bolivian People".

The COB has traditionally been a demanding and confrontational organization, and it has had a difficult relationship with every Bolivian president since the 1950s. The COB first co-governed with the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) during the first administration of President Victor Paz Estenssoro from 1952 to 1956. However, the COB's leaders conflicted with the price stabilization policies of President Hernán Siles, and the partnership ended in 1957. The COB leadership finally broke with the MNR in 1964 when Juan Lechín, the head of the COB, was denied the party's presidential nomination.

The COB has about two million members and is led by a National Executive Committee, which is regularly elected in Ordinary Congresses of the organization, held every few years. The leading figure is the Executive Secretary, followed by the General Secretary. The current Executive Secretary of the COB is Juan Carlos Huarachi, a miners' union leader in Huanuni, Oruro, who was elected at the XVII National Congress in February 2018.

The COB has played a significant role in Bolivian politics, including supporting the series of demonstrations that brought down President Carlos Mesa in 2005. The COB has also been active in advocating for the nationalization of Bolivian natural gas reserves and opposing water privatization during the 2000 Cochabamba protests. In recent years, it has led a brief national march for pension reform and a twelve-day general strike for higher wages.

The Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) is a socialist party in Bolivia

During the Arce administration, the party split into two factions: the "renewal bloc," which supports Arce's management and seeks leadership renewal within the party, and the "radicals," who defend Morales' leadership and seek his reelection.

The origins of MAS can be traced back to 1987 when a left-wing faction of the Bolivian Socialist Phalanx, followers of David Añez Pedraza and Filemón Escóbar, broke away to form the Movimiento al Socialismo-Unzaguista (MAS-U). The MAS-U inherited the blue colour from the flag of the Bolivian Socialist Phalanx. Initially, MAS-U aimed to give coherence to the demands of coca growers, cultivators of the sacred plant in Andean cultures, through a strategy focused on opposing the governments of that period. However, as these governments became more receptive to indigenous demands, MAS-U's ideology evolved into its current left-wing doctrine, also known as "Andean state capitalism."

In 1995, the MAS was founded in Cochabamba, dropping the "U" from its name to distance itself from its phalangist past. In the 1997 elections, MAS formed an alliance with other indigenist parties of the emerging coca growers' movement. This strategy proved successful, as Morales won a seat in Parliament with 70% of the votes. MAS went on to lead many social protests in Bolivia in the early 2000s, demanding the recovery of full state ownership of gas and other hydrocarbons, which had been conceded to private companies during the government of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (1993-1997).

In the 2002 legislative elections, Evo Morales, the presidential candidate for MAS, obtained 20.9% of the vote, coming in second place. However, the legislative voting saw all other political forces unite to make Sánchez de Losada president. MAS's first electoral victory came in December 2005, when Morales won the presidential election with nearly 54% of the votes, allowing him to become the second Bolivian president in history to be elected by an absolute majority.

During the Morales administration, MAS emphasized modernizing the country, promoting industrialization, greater state intervention in the economy, social and cultural inclusion, and redistributing income from natural resources through various social service programs. MAS also consolidated its position as the dominant force in Bolivian politics, winning the 2006 elections to the Constituent Assembly. The party continued to govern Bolivia until a political crisis in November 2019, and then again in November 2020, when Luis Arce won the October elections.

The Bolivian Communist Party was established in the late 1920s

Bolivia is not a communist country. However, the country has a communist party, founded in the 1950s—not the late 1920s as you suggest.

The Communist Party of Bolivia (Partido Comunista de Bolivia in Spanish) was founded in 1950 by Raúl Ruiz González and other former members of the Revolutionary Left Party (PIR). It remained a small party and did not hold its first national party congress until 1959.

The party soon became involved in the labour movement and was included in the leadership of the Central Obrera Boliviana and the FSTMB during the 1960s. However, it remained a minority force in most unions.

In 1964, the Sino-Soviet split further weakened the PCB, and Ruiz González and others broke away to form the pro-China Communist Party of Bolivia (Marxist–Leninist). That same year, the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 6,500.

In 1966, the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara planned to initiate a guerrilla war against René Barrientos, Bolivia's military dictator. The PCB pledged its support but became suspicious of Guevara when he arrived, and so did not participate in his campaign. Guevara instead formed the separate National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional).

When democracy was restored in Bolivia in the 1980s, the PCB remained a minor party. In 2003, it lost its designation as a recognised political party.

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