General elections were held in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

on 14 July 1985. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p133 As no candidate for the presidency received over 50% of the vote, the

National Congress ''National Congress'' is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures . Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress (Guyana) *India: Indian National Congress *Iraq: Iraqi Nati ...

was required to elect a President on 4 August. Although Hugo Banzer of

Nationalist Democratic Action Nationalist Democratic Action ( es, Acción Democrática Nacionalista) is a right-wing political party in Bolivia led by Óscar Daza Márquez. ADN was founded on March 23, 1979 by the military dictator Hugo Banzer after he stepped down from powe ...

(ADN) received the most public votes, Congress elected Víctor Paz Estenssoro of the

Revolutionary Nationalist Movement The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( es, Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario , MNR) is a centre-right conservative political party in Bolivia and was the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution from 1952 to 1964. It influen ...

(MNR).

Campaign

Since 1982, the country had undergone an economic crisis as Bolivia's hyperinflation reached the fourth largest ever recorded in the world. The incumbent President

Hernán Siles Zuazo Hernán Siles Zuazo (21 March 1914 – 6 August 1996) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 46th president of Bolivia twice nonconsecutively from 1956 to 1960 and from 1982 to 1985. He also briefly served as interim president in April 195 ...

faced little support from Congress and debilitating strikes led by

Juan Lechín Juan Lechín Oquendo (18 May 1914 – 27 August 2001) was a labor-union leader and head of the Federation of Bolivian Mine Workers (FSTMB) from 1944 to 1987 and the Bolivian Workers' Union (COB) from 1952 to 1987. He also served as the 29th vi ...

. Under pressure from Congress, Siles ultimately allowed general elections to be moved forward by one year, thus shortening his own constitutional mandate. The new elections, set for 14 July 1985, were the first to be held since the country's transition back to democracy in October 1982. The previous elections had been held in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

but were annulled by a military coup led by General

Luis García Meza Luis García Meza Tejada (8 August 1929 – 29 April 2018) was a Bolivian general who served as the ''de facto'' 57th president of Bolivia from 1980 to 1981. He was a dictator convicted of human rights violations and leader of a violent coup. ...

. As a result, a total of 18 political parties were on the ballot, the largest number out of any election in Bolivian history. Former presidents Víctor Paz Estenssoro and Hugo Banzer presented themselves as candidates for the ADN and MNR. For Paz Estenssoro, this was his eighth presidential bid and the fourth since he was last elected in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

while this was Banzer's third campaign in a row since 1979. On 14 December 1984, given the dire situation of the current government, Jaime Paz Zamora resigned his position as Siles'

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

to run for president. As such, the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) left its governing alliance with Siles' Leftwing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNRI) and joined the opposition. Further splintering in the MNRI also saw members of the peasant sector split from the MNR and form the Leftwing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement-1 (MNRI-1). Nevertheless, the MNRI still opted to present Roberto Jordán Pando as their presidential candidate.

Results

The result saw Hugo Banzer of the ADN win the popular vote by 32.83%, 2.8 points ahead of Víctor Paz Estenssoro. The popular vote victory of Hugo Banzer was a testament to the gradual erosion of popularity of the opposition as well as to Paz Estenssoro's continued inability to win a majority of voters (since 1978 he had consistently reached either second or third place). Discontent with the economic management of the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

and constant strikes from

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

(traditionally affiliated with the left) produced a rightward shift in the electorate. Paz Zamora's position in third place at 10.18% was notable as it established his party as one of the three top political forces in the country and validated the MIR's decision to split with the MNRI. For the MNRI, the result was catastrophic. At just 5.48%, the incumbent was relegated to a minor political party. For the remaining 14 minor parties, the results demonstrated that regardless of the number of candidates, the population would mostly vote on only three to four viable parties leaving the rest with little political power.

By department

Congressional ballot

Only Hugo Banzer of the ADN and Víctor Paz Estenssoro of the MNR contested the 4 August Congressional ballot. Whilst Banzer was only supported by his own party, Paz also received the votes of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), the Leftwing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNRI), the

Revolutionary Nationalist Movement-Vanguard A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

(MNRV), the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and the

Revolutionary Liberation Movement Tupaq Katari A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

(MRTK).

Socialist Party-1 The Socialist Party-1 ( es, Partido Socialista-1) is a socialist political party in Bolivia. History The Socialist Party-One took part in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 general elections, running Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz and polled 00.43, 04.82 and 08 ...

(PS-1), the

Bolivian Socialist Falange The Bolivian Socialist Falange ( es, Falange Socialista Boliviana) is a Bolivian political party established in 1937. It is a far-rightJohn, S (2006) ''Permanent Revolution on the Altiplano: Bolivian Trotskyism, 1928-2005'', p. 445 party drawing ...

(FSB) and the United People's Front (FPU) did not support either candidate.Walter Q Morales (2003) ''A brief history of Bolivia'' New York: Facts On File, p205 Víctor Paz Estenssoro, at age 78, became the oldest president in Bolivian history.

References

Bibliography

* {{Bolivian elections Elections in Bolivia

1985 in Bolivia

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...