How the Bolivian coup ran out of steam

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 1-4 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 14 of the scan

THE COUP in Bolivia launched by Colonel Natusch on collapsed 16 days later weight of mass working opposition coupled from US imperialism.

Bolivia now has its first woman president. idia Gueler. committed to 'democratisation' and backed by the US and all but one of the main political parties. But the problems which led to the coup remain.

countries, has a history marked by an infernal cycle of mass struggle/coup/ mass struggle/democratic class struggle/coup. parues or lls own capable DI wIlfig mass support, the bourgeoisie has turned repeatedly to the armed forces.

This happened in 1971 with the bloody coup led by Colonel Hugo Banzer to overthrow the regime, which had taken a series of anti-imperialist measures and establisued a popular asselllly • Continuing unrest — including one DElWU mass upheayals the overthrow of Banzer last year. A "democratic opening' backed by the US was proclaimed, and announced for July 1979.

But these resolved nothing for the ruling class. The popular reformist UDP [Popular Democratic Union] got a slight majority ahead of 1 November under the class hostility UCULlEr Without stable Torres Moyement] INAIOIAI crisis and rising led to bring Banzer to dAICNADRIEIA ASAIRA Confederation of front which Pride.

to ment and action.

the MNR [National Revolutionary and Banzer's ADN But the compromise Guevara government was paralysed in face of the economic that mass demanos to justice. This was But mass action from the central trade union federation, the Bolivian Workers [COB], was decisive. It reinforced opposition Latin American countries, and the US withdrew all aid and The Carter Plan in favour of "democratic openings' clearly teeth! But the confidence of the masses will not allow the Gueiler government an easy Her first fask is to meet IMF terms for resolving the economic crisis. The imperialists and the ruling class hope trade on Gueiler's credentials and May 1980 elections.

supporting this but fighting to CINACU alternative to crisis will be power of the imperialists the 'progressive bourgeoisie':

militant of the Trotskyist organisation Vanguardia Obrero of Bolivia and a regional delegate of the COB, describes the mass struggle that erupted against the Natusch coup and the possibilities it holds for the future.