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The Impact of the Catavi Mine Massacre of 1942 on Bolivian Politics and Public Opinion*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2015
Extract
On the windswept heights near the Bolivian mining camp of Catavi on December 21, 1942, in the center of a rocky lunar landscape which dwarfs man but enlarges his passions, a mass of Indian and mestizo tin miners and their families, some 8,000 strong, trudged stubbornly down a road toward an emplacement of 700 Bolivian Army troops and Carabineros watching them through the sights of machine guns, rifles and a trench mortar. Women and children marching in front, they came from the nearby mines of Llallagua and Siglo XX to support the striking Catavi workers. The newcomers were unarmed and carried a red banner in their front ranks.
- Type
- Research Article
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- Copyright
- Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1970
Footnotes
*
Assistant professor of Latin American history at the University of Kentucky, the author is especially interested in revolutionary processes. He is completing a monograph entitled, “Peasant Revolt, Zapata and the Morelos Uprising.” Two grants from the University of Kentucky made possible research in Bolivia for this article from May to August, 1968.
References
1 A dramatic description of the scene is found in Céspedes, Augusto, Metal del diablo (Buenos Aires, 1960), 263–265.Google Scholar The account presented here is from Cuenca’s own report as quoted in Juan Balcázar, Manual, Los problemas sociales en Bolivia, Una mistificación demagógica: La “massacre” de Catavi (La Paz, 1947), 58–65.Google Scholar
2 La Razón, Aug. 19, 1943.
3 Ibid., Aug. 28, 1943.
4 New York Times, Jan. 18, 1943.
5 Interview with Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Lima, Peru, Aug. 16, 1968. The most significant Bolivian books on the National Revolution are: Bedregal, Guillermo, La revolución boliviana, sus realidades y perspectivas dentro del ciclo de liberación de los pueblos latinoamericanos (La Paz, 1962)Google Scholar; Lora, Guillermo, La revolución boliviana (La Paz, 1964) and Perspectivas de la revolución boliviana (La Paz, 1964)Google Scholar; Estenssoro, Víctor Paz , La revolución boliviana (La Paz, 1964),Google Scholar and Peñaloza O, Luis, Historia del Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, 1941–]1952(La Paz, 1963).Google Scholar Outstanding works by United States scholars are Klein, Herbert S., The Origins of the Bolivian National Revolution: Parties, Politics and War, 1920–1943 (New York, 1968),Google Scholar and Zondag, Cornelius H., The Bolivian Economy, 1952–65, The Revolution and Its Aftermath (New York, 1966).Google Scholar
6 New York Times, Feb. 1 5, 1943. Other United States members were Robert Watt, Charles Hook, Alfred Giardino, Edward Trueblood, Robert Mathews and Martin C. Kyne. The five Bolivian members were government officials headed by Juan Manuel Balcázar, Minister of Labor. For a summary report of the commission's findings, see La Razón, March 15 and 17, 1943.
7 La Razón, Feb. 12, 1943.
8 Kyne, Martin C., “Trouble in Bolivia,” The Commonweal (June 11, 1943), 198–202.Google Scholar
9 Business Week (May 1, 1943), 52.
10 Stone, I. F., “Findings on Bolivia,” The Nation (May 1, 1943), 619–620.Google Scholar
11 Kyne, op. cit., 199.
12 Ibid., 200. See also Ortiz, Nuflo Chávez, El signo del estaño. Enjuiciamiento histórico de medio siglo (La Paz, 1961)Google Scholar and Philips, Raúl Aldunate, Trás la cortina de estaño (Santiago de Chile, 1955).Google Scholar The only biography of any of the Big Three is Carrasco, Manuel, Simón 1. Patiño, Un prócer industrial (Cochabamba, 1964).Google Scholar
13 La Calle, Jan. 11, 1946.
14 Interview with Douglas Henderson, U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, La Paz, July 30, 1968. Sec also Peñaloza, Luis, Historia económica de Bolivia (2 vols.; La Paz, 1954).Google Scholar
15 La revolución nacional a través de sus decretos más importantes, Tercer año de la victoria nacional de abril (La Paz, 1955), 23. For the MNR’s platform in the 1951 elections, see Programas de Bolivia políticos (La Paz, 1951), 50–63.
16 Interview with Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Lima, Peru, Aug. 16, 1968.
17 Barcelli S., Agustin, Medio siglo de luchas sindicales revolucionarias en Bolivia (La Paz, 1957), 68–69, 76–77, 97–98, 100–103, 105–111 and 115–119.Google Scholar For the beginnings of the Bolivian labor movement, see Lora, Guillermo , Historia del movimiento obrero boliviano, 1848–1900 (La Paz, 1967).Google Scholar
18 Ayala Z., Alfredo, Historia de Bolivia. Bolivia en el siglo XX. Del liberalismo a la segunda república, ¡ 1899 a 1967 (La Paz, 1968),Google Scholar 86. See also Finot, Enrique, Nueva historia de Bolivia (Buenos Aires, 1946)Google Scholar and Machicao, , Historia de Bolivia, Saavedra, 1920–1925 (La Paz, 1954).Google Scholar
19 New York Times, April 21, 1943.
20 The complete text is given in La Razan, Dec. 11, 1942. A more inclusive labor code drafted by Gastón Arduz and Remberto Capriles Rico was considered but never adopted. La Razón, Feb. 2, 1943, commented: “The new Code … is a magnificent work of social justice, saturated with the ideals towards which we all aspire, but absolutely unrelated to the geographic, economic and human reality of Bolivia.” See also La Razón, Feb. 3 and 23, and March 6, 1943.
21 Balcázar, Los problemas sociales en Bolivia, 26–34.
22 Kyne, op. cit., 201.
23 La Razón, Dec. 15, 1942.
24 Ibid.
25 Ibid., Dec. 17, 1942.
26 Ibid., Dec. 21, 1942.
27 Ibid., Dec. 18, 1942.
28 Ultima Hora, Dec. 15, 1942.
29 Ibid., Dec. 16, 1942.
30 Ibid., Dec. 22, 1942.
31 El Diario, Dec. 1 5, 1942.
32 Ibid., Dec. 16, 1942.
33 Ibid., Dec. 21, 1942.
34 La Calle, Dec. 18, 1942.
35 Ibid., Dec. 19, 1942.
36 Ibid., Dec. 22, 1942.
37 Ibid., Dec. 20, 1942.
38 La Razón, Dec 19, 1942.
39 Ibid, Dec. 22, 1942.
40 The Minister of Labor, writing five years later, said such an agreement was reached with the Sindicato de Metalúrgicos de Potosí, also threatening to strike at that time. See Balcázar, , Los problemas sociales en Bolivia, 32.Google Scholar
41 La Razón, Dec. 23, 1942.
42 Ibid., Dec. 28, 1942.
43 La Calle, Dec. 31, 1942.
44 La Razón, Jan. 3, 1943.
45 Ibid., Jan. 7, 1943. For the Minister of Government’s comments on a later controversy, see Arce, Pedro Zilveti, Bajo elsigno de la barbarie, matanzas de noviembre (Santiago de Chile, 1946).Google Scholar
46 The Bolivian government announced on Jan. 24, 1943, that it had appointed a Comisión de Expertos to study ways of bettering the living conditions of the tin miners. When the opposition charged that 300,000 houses were needed for workers, La Razón, Feb. 13, 1943, commented; “It is not proper for politicians to paint these ‘landscapes’ which dazzle the working classes and are far beyond the mediocre realities of our economic life …”
47 La Razón, Aug. 18, 1943. A governmental investigation of strike leaders was already underway by the Ministry of National Defense, but the Peñaranda government was overthrown before this group could report. See La Razón, Jan. 10, 1943. On the matter of censorship, the Dirección General de Prensa y Propaganda, a division of the Ministry of Government, had imposed press censorship of all newspapers in areas under martial law on Jan. 24, 19, including those of La Paz. The newspaper El Día of Cochabamba was closed “for having published absolutely unjustified attacks upon the National Army.” La Razón, Jan. 24, 1943.
48 New York Times, Nov. 26, 1942. Members of the new cabinet were Tomás Manuel Elio, Foreign Affairs; Pedro Zilveti Arce, Government; Joaquín Espada, Finance; Gen. Miguel Candía, Defense; Alberto Crespo Gutiêrrez, Economy; Gen. Julio Sanjinés, Public Works; Juan Manuel Balcázar, Labor; Rubén Terrazas, Education, and Arturo Galindo, Agriculture.
49 La Razón, Aug. 19, 1943. See also Anaya, Ricardo, Nacionalización de las minas de Bolivia (Cochabamba, 1952).Google Scholar
50 La Razón, Aug. 19, 1943.
51 Ultima Hora, Aug. 11, 1943.
52 Ibid., Aug. 18, 1943.
53 Ibid., Aug. 24, 1943.
54 Ibid., Aug. 20, 1943.
55 El Diario, Aug. 22, 1943.
56 Ibid., Aug. 17, 1943.
57 Ibid., Aug. 23, 1943.
58 Ibid., Sept. 12, 1943.
59 Ibid., Sept. 14, 1943.
60 LaCalle, Aug. 19 to Sept. 1 1, 1943.
61 Ibid., Sept. 9, 1943. See also Maroff, Tristán, La verdad socialista en Bolivia (La Paz, 1938).Google Scholar
62 La Calle, Aug. 3 1, 1943.
63 Ibid., Sept. 9, 1943.
64 La Razón, Aug. 20, 1943.
65 Ibid., Aug. 21, 1943. See also Canelas, Demetrio, Bolivia después de tres años de dictadura (LaPaz, 1955)Google Scholar and Aspectos de la revolución boliviana, la reforma agraria y temasanexos (La Paz, 1958).
66 La Razón, Aug. ZI, 1943.
67 Ibid., Aug. 22, 1943.
68 Ibid., Aug. 23, 1943.
69 Ibid., Aug. 24, 1943.
70 Estenssoro, Víctor Paz, Discursos parlamentarios (La Paz, 1955), 109–157.Google Scholar Biographies of the MNR leader include: José Fellman Velarde, Victor Paz Estenssoro: El hombre y la revolución(La Paz, 1954); Tristán Marof, Breve biografia de Víctor Vaz Estenssoro, Vida y trasfondo de la politica boliviana (La Paz, 1965), and Reinage, Fausto, Victor Vaz Estenssoro (La Paz, 1949).Google Scholar
71 La Razón, Aug. 26, 1943.
72 Ibid., Aug. 28, 1943.
73 Ibid., Aug. 3 1, 1943.
74 Ibid., Sept. 3, 1943.
75 Ibid., Sept. 4, 1943.
76 Ibid., Sept. 7, 1943.
77 Ibid., Sept. 8, 1 943. See also Andrade, Víctor, Bolivia, Problems and Promises (Washington, D.C., 1956.Google Scholar)
78 La Razón, Sept. 9, 1943.
79 Ibid., Sept. 11, 1943.
80 Ibid., Sept. 2, 1943.
81 Ultima Hora, Aug. 25, 1943.
82 Ibid., Sept. 1, 1943.
83 El Diario, Sept. 9, 1943.
84 Ibid., Sept. 1 1, 1943.
85 Ibid., Sept. 10, 1943.
86 La Razón, Sept. 1 1, 1943.
87 Zilveti Arce and Candía remained in the cabinet. New members were Germán Chávez, Economy; José Salmón Ballivián, Public Works; Enrique Hertzog,Labor; Francisco Lazcano Soruco, Education; Julio Céspedes Añez, Agriculture; Luis Calvo, Hacienda, and Carlos Salinas Aramayo, Foreign Re-lations. La Razón, Sept. 15 and 17, 1943.
88 Ibid,, Sept. 17, 1943.