Revolutionary Left Party

The Revolutionary Left Party (Spanish: Partido de la Izquierda Revolucionaria, PIR) was a communist party in Bolivia. It was founded in May 1940 by Dr. José Antonio Arze and other Bolivian intellectuals.

The PIR was sympathetic to the Communist International, but did not become an affiliate to the International. The PIR began to organize the country's miners, but it did so cautiously for fear that strikes would hinder supplies for the Allies during World War II. Except for the pro-Axis Gualberto Villarroel, the PIR generally supported all of Bolivia's war-time presidents to assure the nation remained an Allied power. Because of the party's hesitation to engage in domestic issues, it lost much of its working-class support to the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) and the Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR).

In 1950, a section of the PIR membership broke away and founded the Communist Party of Bolivia (PCB). By the 1960s, the PCB had to a large extent replaced the PIR. Following the military coup in 1964, the PIR went underground and disintegrated into warring factions. A reconstituted PIR emerged in the late 1970s as a puppet party of the dictator Hugo Banzer. In 1979, it dissolved into Banzer's new Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN).

Sources

Jerry W. Knudson, The Impact of the Catavi Mine Massacre of 1942 on Bolivian Politics and Public Opinion. In: The Americas, Vol. 26, No. 3 (January 1970), 254-276.
Herbert S. Klein, A Concise History of Bolivia (Cambridge University Press, 2003). ISBN 0-521-80782-4

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

Political parties in Bolivia
Congressional parties	Movement for Socialism Civic Community Creemos
Other national parties	Agrarian Patriotic Front of Bolivia Bolivian Socialist Falange Christian Democratic Party Communist Party of Bolivia Democrat Social Movement Free Bolivia Movement Green Party of Bolivia Movement Without Fear National Unity Front Nationalist Democratic Action New Republican Force Plan Progress for Bolivia – National Convergence Progress Plan Revolutionary Left Front Revolutionary Left Movement – New Majority Revolutionary Nationalist Movement Social Alliance Socialist Party Solidarity Civic Unity Workers' Social Union of Bolivia
Regional parties	Beni Amazon Convergence Autonomous Nationalities for Change and Empowerment Beni First Chuquisaca Falange April 19 Renewing Freedom and Democracy La Paz Movement for Sovereignty Potosí Potosí Regional Civic Front Uqarikuna Citizen Association Tarija National Autonomous Power Path Towards Change
Portal:Politics List of political parties Politics of Bolivia