The Socialist Party (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Partido Socialista'', PS) was a

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 ...

(

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

)

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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 ...

. This Socialist Party was established on 1 May 1971 by the merger of three small parties (''Acción Popular'', ''Frente de Liberación Nacional'' (FLIN) and ''Grupo FARO'') supporting the former military Co-President (1964–1966) and the President (1966, 1969–1970) General

Alfredo Ovando Candía Alfredo Ovando Candía (6 April 1918 – 24 January 1982) was the Commander of the Bolivian Air Forces and ambassador who served as the 48th president of Bolivia twice nonconsecutively, first as co-president with René Barrientos from 1965 to ...

, who had been deposed by a radical left-wing faction on 6 October 1970. Led by

Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz (13 March 1931 – 17 July 1980) was a noted writer, dramatist, journalist, social commentator, university professor, and socialist political leader from Bolivia. In 1964 Marcelo won the ''PEN/Faulkner Award for Fictio ...

, Mario Miranda Pacheco, Alberto Bailey Gutiérrez, and Guillermo Aponte Burela. The Socialist Party declared itself to be

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and independent of Soviet or Chinese influence, favoring popular anti-imperialist unity, directed by the working class, which would end domestic injustice and foreign intervention. The PS's basic ideas differed little from those of the left wing 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 ...

, or of the

Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left The Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left (, PRIN) was a left-wing political party in Bolivia. It was founded in 1963 by the labor leader Juan Lechín Oquendo and by Mario Torres Calleja and Edwin Moller in lesser roles. The PRIN seceded fr ...

, except that greater stress was placed on the proletariat's "directive" role, and on the word "Socialism" itself, by the Socialist Party. What the Socialist Party sought to offer that other parties perhaps could not was responsible leadership, prepared to act on declared principles rather than in the service of personal ambitions.

, in particular, had established a deserved reputation for honesty and courage during the President

René Barrientos René Barrientos Ortuño (30 May 1919 – 27 April 1969) was a Bolivian military officer and politician who served as the 47th president of Bolivia twice nonconsecutively from 1964 to 1966 and from 1966 to 1969. During much of his first term, ...

years, when he had several times been arrested and imprisoned by the police. Having supported the left-wing regime of General

Juan José Torres Juan José Torres González (5 March 1920 – 2 June 1976) was a Bolivian socialist politician and military leader who served as the 50th president of Bolivia from 1970 to 1971, when he was ousted in a US-supported coup that resulted in ...

without being in the Government, the Socialist Party opposed the

Hugo Banzer Suárez Hugo Banzer Suárez (; 10 May 1926 – 5 May 2002) was a Bolivian politician and military officer who served as the 51st president of Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from 1971 to 1978 in a military dictatorship; and then a ...

regime, and returned to the political scene in

only after

Hugo Banzer Hugo Banzer Suárez (; 10 May 1926 – 5 May 2002) was a Bolivian politician and military officer who served as the 51st president of Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from 1971 to 1978 in a military dictatorship; and then a ...

's fall in 1978. The Socialist Party split in February 1978, with its then leader,

, departing to form the Socialist Party-One. The original Socialist Party (right-wing section) chose Guillermo Aponte Burela as its leader. In March 1979, Sabino Tito Atahuichi split from the Socialist Party-Aponte and founded the Socialist Party-Atahuichi.

The Socialist Party-One

The Socialist Party-One took part in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 general elections, running

and polled 00.43, 04.82 and 08.71 per cent of the vote, respectively. The party won five seats in National Congress in 1979 and eleven in 1980. Some elements in the conservative military feared

's potential following as an opposition leader and he was killed during the

Luis García Meza Tejada Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

coup of 17 July 1980. His death leaves his Socialist Party-One – and Bolivian left-wing politics generally – in a greatly weakened condition. In 1984 the Socialist Party-One absorbed the small ultra-left “Spartacist Revolutionary Movement” (Movimiento Revolucionario Espartaco, MRE), led by Dulfredo Rua. The Socialist Party-One presented Ramiro Velasco Romero as its candidate in the 1985 elections, but he won only 02.58 per cent of the vote, coming sixth. The party won five seats in National Congress. In the 1989 elections the Party presented

Roger Cortez Hurtado Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

and he won 2.8 per cent of the vote. In 1993 the Socialist Party-One took part in an electoral coalition United Left backing Ramiro Velasco Romero, a leader of the PS-1. He won only 0.9 per cent of the vote. There is also a dissident Socialist Party-One-Marcelo Quiroga, led by

José María Palacios José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

The Socialist Party-Aponte

In 1978 the Socialist Party-Aponte took part in an electoral coalition

Democratic and Popular Union The Democratic and Popular Union (Spanish: ''Unidad Democrática y Popular'') (1977–84) was a Bolivian umbrella political alliance uniting various smaller left-wing parties. It was formed in 1977 by former president Hernán Siles Zuazo and cons ...

backing

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 ...

. In 1980 the Socialist Party-Aponte took part in an electoral coalition Democratic Revolutionary Front-New Alternative backing

Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas (21 June 1925 – 19 October 2005) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 49th president of Bolivia in 1969 and as the 31st vice president of Bolivia from 1966 to 1969. Background and early life Born in La ...

. After the coup d'état on 17 July 1980 the Socialist Party-Aponte disappeared.

The Socialist Party-Atahuichi

In 1979 and 1980 the Socialist Party-Atahuichi took part in an electoral coalition

backing

.Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 2. xford .a. Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. P.151. After the coup d'état on 17 July 1980 the Socialist Party-Aponte disappeared.

Notes

{{reflist Defunct political parties in Bolivia Political parties established in 1971 Socialist parties in Bolivia