Bolivia: Treatment of members and former political appointees of the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) by the current government
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 17 November 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | BOL35905.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Bolivia: Treatment of members and former political appointees of the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) by the current government, 17 November 2000, BOL35905.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be150.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No references to a particular treatment of members and former political appointees of the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) by the current government could be found among the sources consulted.
The only report found on treatment of MNR members by the current government, led by Hugo Banzer since the MNR defeat in the 1997 elections, refers to accusations of corruption aired in early 1999. The report states that Bolivian politicians were "trading accusations of corruption and threatening to prosecute each other" (Andean Group Report 18 May 1999, 6). After two ministers were removed from their posts as a result of accusations made by the MNR, "in a tit-for-tat response, former MNR President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, and/or some of his closest collaborators, face a string of possible court cases connected with the [MNR] presidential period" (ibid.). However, the report states that
In time-honoured fashion, this feuding will probably end with a damage-limitation deal between President Hugo Banzer's Accion Democratica Nacionalista (ADN) and the MNR. A comment by former MNR interior minister Carlos Sanchez Berzain gave substance to such a supposition: 'if they touch Goni [Sanchez de Lozada],' he said, 'then we'll have a go at Banzer' – believed in some quarters to be a reference to secret information about Banzer's role in Operation Condor during the 1970s (ibid.).
(Information on Operation Condor can be found in previous Responses and news articles available at Regional Documentation Centres.)
By November 1999 the MNR and the Banzer government had reached "an unprecedented accord on jointly devising a national development plan," as part of an effort, agreed with the [International Monetary Fund] and the World Bank, to involve 'civil society' in drawing up an economic growth strategy" (ibid. 9 Nov. 1999, 8).
However, one year later the Vice-President called on the leaders of the MNR and the MIR (government coalition partner party) to put in place "an electoral truce" (tregua electoral) and hold off all electioneering disputes until the legal campaign period is supposed to begin, six months before the 2002 general elections (La Prensa 9 Nov. 2000). MIR leader Jaime Paz Zamore reportedly accepted the call as "reasonable," while MNR leader Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada reportedly refused to accept or decline the call (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
La Prensa [La Paz]. 9 November 2000. "'Tuto' pide tregua social y política al MIR y MNR."
Latin American Regional Reports: Andean Group Report [London]. 9 November 1999. "Bolivia: Working Together."
_____. 18 May 1999. "Parties Trade Corruption Charges."
Additional Sources Consulted
Andean Newsletter [Lima]. 1997-2000.
IRB Databases.
Latinamerica Press [Lima].
REFWORLD.
Internet Websites and Search Engines.
Note:
This list is not exhaustive. Country and region-specific publications available at the Resource Centre are not included.
