Communist Party of Bolivia

The formation of the first socialist circles in Bolivia began in 1912. After the October Revolution in Russia , communist groups began to appear in the socialist environment (one of the first was the group "Communist Youth", created in 1920). In the years 1926-1927, 52 issues of the first communist newspaper Red Banner ( Bandera Roja ) were published, which was distributed and very influential among members of labor unions. The newspaper was accused of preparing a communist conspiracy to overthrow the government and closed. Then, attempts to establish a communist party in Bolivia were made by Jose Aguirre Gainsborg , who eventually became the founder of the Trotskyist Revolutionary Labor Party . During the onset of the reaction period during the years of the Chak war, the communists were subjected to repression.

After the formation of the Left Revolutionary Party ( Spanish: Partido de Izquierda Revolucionaria , PIR) in 1940, there was an internationalist movement, on the basis of which the Communist Party of Bolivia took shape. At the initial stages, it actively fought against the Trotskyist trend in the communist movement (quite strong in Bolivia), both within the framework of the PIR and in the labor movement.

The CPB was formed on January 17, 1950 by groups of communists who left the Left Revolutionary Party. Founders of the PBC: Sergio Almaras Paz , Jose Pereira , Victor Hugo Liber , Mario Monche Molina , Luis Ballon Sanjines , Jorge Ballon Sanjines , Jorge Owando Sans , Nestor Taboada and others. Immediately after the creation of the PBC, it was banned by the government of Mameto Urrilagolitia until 1951 underground. The situation was complicated by a difficult internal struggle between the leaders of the Communist Party.

The Communist Party took part in the popular uprising on April 9, 1952 , as a result of which the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (NSW; Spanish: Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario ) came to power, and its representative, Victor Paz Estensoro, became president. The PBC supported a number of progressive measures taken by the new government, in particular the nationalization of tin mines, agrarian reform, educational reform and the introduction of universal suffrage. These actions significantly strengthened the position of the Communists, although they did not play a leading role in the revolutionary process.

The Communists consolidated their position in the Bolivian Workers' Center (COB), created in 1952, especially among miners, factory and factory workers, teachers and university students; however, the main influence in it was retained by the Trotskyists from the Revolutionary Labor Party and leftist nationalists from the National Revolutionary Movement. The party attached great importance to the development of provisions on the need to deepen democratic reforms in Bolivia.

From 1951 to 1954, the PBC held several national conferences. Of great importance for the development of the political line of the party and its organizational strengthening was the VI Conference of the CPB held in June 1954. In 1955, its ideologist Sergio Almaras was expelled from the party.

In the second half of the 50s, the Communist Party began to actively pursue a line for the formation of a democratic national liberation front in the country, which was reflected in the decisions of the First Congress of the PBC, held in La Paz in April 1959. The Congress put forward as its main task the completion of the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolutionary transformations, the creation of a democratic government of national liberation with the leading role of the working class in it.

During this period, the position of the Communists in the trade union movement was strengthened, especially in mining, factory, railway and construction syndicates; The PBC had a certain influence in the country's main trade union, the Bolivian Work Center (COB), advocating the unity of its ranks and the pursuit of an independent class policy.

The Second Congress of the Communist Party of Bolivia (March-April 1964) adopted the “Program Declaration and Platform for the Immediate Political Requirements of the CPB”, stressing that the implementation of the tasks of the popular anti-imperialist revolution remains the goal of the Bolivian people.

The Communist Party opposed the coup in November 1964. The country began repression against the movement, were outlawed the activities of trade unions and progressive organizations.

In 1966, the CPB supported the partisan war at the preparatory stage, launched by a group led by Che Guevara in Bolivia, in the Nyankauasu region. However, later, after a meeting between the leader of the Communist Party M. Monhe and the rebel commander, at which they could not reach agreement on the leadership of the guerilla, the Communist Party stopped the material and technical assistance led by the Che Army of National Liberation .

Later, Monkhe was forced to emigrate to the USSR , and H. Colle Colleto was occupied by the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from the late 60s to the mid 80s. Despite the great work to maintain intra-party unity, the ambiguity in assessing the prospects of the partisan movement led to the demarcation of positions within the party, and complicated intra-party work.

In April 1967, the CPB was banned, and only after the left-wing nationalist military came to power (September 1969) was it possible to act openly, despite the fact that the law on its ban remained in force.

The party supported the progressive, in its opinion, activities of the governments of General A. Owando Candia (1969-1970) and General H. Torres (1970-1971), while the governments of R. Barrentos supported by the oligarchy and the United States (1964-1969) , W. Banser (1971-1978) and L. Garcia Mesa (1979-1980) were criticized by her.

The Third Party Congress, held in June 1971, adopted the "Program Theses of the CPB", pointing out the need for the implementation of a "popular anti-imperialist revolution with a socialist perspective" under the leadership of the working class.

After the overthrow of the Torres government in August 1971 and the coming to power of Colonel W. Banser, the CPB again moved to an illegal position. In November of the same year, the Communists, together with a number of left-wing organizations, formed the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Front, which proclaimed as its goal the fight against dictatorship, for the establishment of a people's government.

Being underground, in the 70s, the CPB adhered to a course towards the unification of democratic forces. Following the lifting of the ban on political parties in 1978 by the CPB, the Left Nationalist Revolutionary Movement and the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) formed the Democratic People's Unity (NUE) coalition, Spanish Unidad Democrática Popular , UDP. In April 1979, under the legal conditions, the Fourth Congress of the Communist Party took place.

In the presidential election in June 1980, the candidate from DUE E. Siles Suaso won, but soon a new coup d'etat took place, and General Garcia Mesa , who seized power, annulled the election results and imposed a ban on the activities of political parties. During his far-right dictatorship, the Communists, like other leftists, were brutally persecuted. So, the elected vice-president, secretary of the Central Committee of the PBC, Simon Reyes, was sent to the Miraflores concentration camp.

In October 1982, democracy was restored in the country; The PBC supported the new government, led by Siles Suasa. Communists included in the Day received two posts in the cabinet of ministers (the Minister of Labor and the Minister of Mining and Metallurgy). The inability of the government to implement its program led to a drop in the authority of the left forces, including the Communist Party.

In February 1985, the Fifth Congress of the PBC was held in La Paz, and the party was led by S. Reyes Rivera. There was a split at the congress (largely caused by personal contradictions, as well as a decline in the authority of the Communist Party in society): some of the Communists created a separate Communist Party of Bolivia at the Fifth Congress (leader R. Barranechea).

In the same year, the PBC initiated the creation of the United Front of the People ( Spanish Frente Pueblo Unido ), on the basis of which the United Left coalition was formed in 1989 (OL; Spanish Isquierda Unida , IU). The entire period since the mid-1980s is characterized by the presence of both communist parties in a number of short-lived blocs and coalitions with other left organizations. In the 1989 election, the United Left gained just 7.1% of the vote.

In 2003, the National Election Court deprived the Communist Party of Bolivia of the status of a legal entity due to its violation of the provisions of the election law on the existence of a certain minimum of registered members, which the PBC could not gain. However, the party continued its activities, being officially unregistered.

Since 1997, the PBC has maintained close relations with the Movement to Socialism (MAS) party and has supported its candidates in the presidential elections in June 1997 and June 2002.

In the December 18, 2005 presidential election, Communist-backed candidate from MAS Evo Morales won.

The 9th Congress of the PBC held in July 2006 expressed support for the progressive measures of the new government, in particular the nationalization of gas fields and efforts to eradicate illiteracy and provide medical services to the poor. The congress called on the peoples of Bolivia, workers and peasants, revolutionary youth and the intelligentsia to rally to defend national unity and democracy under the slogan "Against reaction, for the unity of peoples and universal revolution."

The CPB is built on the principle of democratic centralism . The youth wing of the party is the Communist Youth of Bolivia ( Spanish: Juventud Comunista de Bolivia , JCB). The printing organ is the Unidad newspaper (Unity).

• Simon Reyes Rivera (1950 -?)
• Mario Monhe Molina ("Estanislao") 1st, General Secretary of the CP of Bolivia (1954-1967)
• Jorge Colle Cueto 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Bolivia (1968-1985)
• Simon Reyes Rivera, Head of the CP of Bolivia (1985-1987)
• Umberto Ramirez Cardenas Head of the CP of Bolivia (since July 1987)
• Marcos Domich Ruiz Secretary General of the CP of Bolivia (1985-2003)
• Ibáñez H. 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Bolivia
• Ignacio Mendoza Pizarro (2003-2008)

• Latin America: An Encyclopedic Reference. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1982.