User:Krisgabwoosh/Víctor Paz Estenssoro

Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (2 October 1907 – 7 June 2001) was a Bolivian economist, lawyer, and statesman who served as the 45th president of Bolivia from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964, and 1985 to 1989. The founder and principal leader of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, Paz led the Bolivian National Revolution, in which he implemented radical economic and social reforms. In his fourth term two decades later, he controversially reversed many of those policies, ushering in an era of neoliberal economics.

Born in Tarija to an upper-class family, Paz graduated as a lawyer from the Higher University of San Andrés and served in the Armed Forces during the Chaco War. Radicalized by his front-line experience, he helped found the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, which he led for the rest of his political career. From parliament, Paz established himself as one of the country's most prominent lawmakers and a vehement opponent of President Enrique Peñaranda, whose government he helped topple in 1943. He was appointed minister of finance by Gualberto Villarroel, and was a central pillar of the colonel's regime until its downfall forced him to flee the country in 1946.

From exile, Paz ran for president twice, in 1947 and 1951. In his second bid, he won a plurality of the vote but was blocked from taking office by the incumbent government. The National Revolution of 1952 placed Paz in power a year later. During his first term, Paz spearheaded a radical agenda aimed at combating inequality and poverty: a program of agrarian reform abolished the hacienda system, education was overhauled, and the country's mines were nationalized. Universal suffrage was extended to all Bolivians – including women and indigenous peoples – but elections remained marked by fraud, and opposition was suppressed. At the end of his term in 1956, Paz handed power to Hernán Siles Zuazo and was named ambassador to the United Kingdom. He returned in 1958 and was elected president again in 1960. Paz's second term focused on institutionalizing the revolution's reforms through the enactment of a new Constitution in 1961. His rightward drift and decision to seek a third term fractured Paz's party, and though he was reelected in 1964, he was overthrown by his own vice president, René Barrientos, months later.

Paz backed the coup that brought Hugo Banzer to power in 1971 and co-governed with the regime until 1973 when he was exiled again by the military. During the democratic transition, Paz ran for president again; he placed second in a virtual tie with Siles in 1979, forcing a rerun of the election. His role in another brief coup in 1979 reduced his popularity, and he lost resoundingly to Siles in 1980, though his party won control of Congress. From parliament, Paz led a hardline opposition that crippled Siles's government and forced early elections in 1985. Although he again placed second, Congress elected Paz president. In an about-face, Paz did away with many of his previous administrations' reforms during his fourth term: mines were privatized, the government suppressed trade unions, and the economy was reshaped into a neoliberal model by supreme decree to stabilize hyperinflation. At the end of his term, Paz ceded control of the party to Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and retired to his residence in Tarija, where he died at 93 in 2001.

Often considered the most significant figure of twentieth-century Bolivia, historical assessments of Paz praise him for introducing the most transformative societal changes in the nation's history, and he has been credited with pulling the country from the brink of financial collapse during his fourth term. At the same time, Paz's anti-democratic tendencies sullied his populist credentials; the economic ramifications of his early reforms remain hotly debated, while the neoliberal legacy left by his fourth administration is looked on negatively by economists, historians, and much of the populace. Despite these grievances, scholars consistently rank Paz as one of the greatest presidents in Bolivian history.

Collaboration with Villarroel: 1943–1946
A funny quote about tin sales to Germany is found in the epilogue of Brockman's Busch biography.

Personal life
Cortez Velasco was a descendant of José Miguel de Velasco (Mesa 49)