ABSTRACT
The earlier iteration of the National Revolution had drawn the attention of the Anglo-American powers who abetted the overthrow of President Gualberto Villarroel: its redux again drew the concern of the United States. During the second Paz Estenssoro regime, the National Revolution morphed into an authoritarian police state supported by the Alliance for Progress. This chapter examines the downfall of the National Revolution with a focus on indigenous factionalism in the Cochabamba Valleys, the Altiplano, and Northern Potosi—and the nexus of creole factionalism and North American statecraft with the return of praetorian rule. The November 1964 “Revolution of Restoration” returned the military institution to power after its disastrous defeat by civilian insurgents in April 1952. The Kennedy administration’s obsession with communism, the Cuban Revolution, counterinsurgency strategy, and Civic Action inadvertently set the stage for the return of the military to the Palacio Quemado.
