Military Regimes in Bolivia and the USSR: Political Stabilization and Strengthening Economic Independence in Latin America

The USSR during the Cold War, especially in the period following the victory of the Cuban Revolution, pursued a course of strengthening its presence in Latin America, which was then a region of unquestioned U. S. dominance. Soviet foreign policy faced complex challenges as regimes with right-wing and left-wing orientations changed dramatically in traditionally politically unstable countries. In the late 1960s, the USSR's desire to establish strong relations with Latin American countries met with a similar movement on the continent. It was the time of the Chilean revolution, the coming to power of progressive military in Peru and Bolivia. The USSR staked on full support and development of relations with these military regimes. In Bolivia, the military regime sharply declined in 1970, and it seemed that a bloc of anti-American, leftist regimes was forming in the region, consisting of Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. The USSR, which had only established diplomatic relations at the embassy level in Bolivia in 1969, offered the country a program of assistance in economic development. The volume of economic cooperation with Bolivia is comparable to Soviet aid to Chile under S. Allende. The change of regime in Bolivia in 1971 with the coming to power of the right-wing military did not change the Soviet policy towards this country, and moreover, the cooperation gained a new impetus. During the existence of the right-wing dictatorship in Bolivia in 1971—1978, Soviet-Bolivian cooperation only increased, contributing to the stabilization of the political situation in this country, led to a crisis of relations with the Communist Party of this country. The reasons for this policy, its results are proposed to be analyzed in this article based on the analysis of Soviet archival documents.

Keywords

Soviet foreign policy, Cold War, Latin America, anti-Americanism, Hugo Banser's military regime, Bolivia

Received

18.05.2024

Publication date

15.07.2024

Number of characters

66068

Cite

GOST	Schelchkov A. Military Regimes in Bolivia and the USSR: Political Stabilization and Strengthening Economic Independence in Latin America // ISTORIYA – 2024. – V. 15. – Issue 5 (139) [Electronic resource]. URL: https://history.jes.su/S207987840031706-5-1 (circulation date: 27.07.2024). DOI: 10.18254/S207987840031706-5
MLA	Schelchkov, Andrey "Military Regimes in Bolivia and the USSR: Political Stabilization and Strengthening Economic Independence in Latin America." ISTORIYA 15.5 (139) (2024) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840031706-5
APA	Schelchkov A. (2024). Military Regimes in Bolivia and the USSR: Political Stabilization and Strengthening Economic Independence in Latin America. ISTORIYA 15(5 (139)) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840031706-5

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