The Popular Christian Movement (, MPC) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, ''de facto'' controlled by the

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

History

The MPC was founded by General René Barrientos Ortuño in 1966 after the overthrow on 5 November 1964 of the

Revolutionary Nationalist Movement The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( , MNR) is a centre-right, conservative political party in Bolivia. It was the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution from 1952 to 1964. It influenced much of the country's history since 19 ...

(MNR) government of President

Víctor Paz Estenssoro Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (2 October 1907 – 7 June 2001) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 45th president of Bolivia for three nonconsecutive and four total terms from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964 and 1985 to 1989. He ran for pr ...

by a military coup under the leadership of

René Barrientos René Emilio Barrientos Ortuño (30 May 1919 – 27 April 1969) was a Bolivian military officer and politician who served as the 47th president of Bolivia from 1964 to 1966 and 1966 to 1969. During his first term, he shared power with Alfred ...

and General

Alfredo Ovando Candía Alfredo Ovando Candia (6 April 1918 – 24 January 1982) was a Bolivian military officer and political leader who served as the 48th president of Bolivia from 1965 to 1966 and 1969 to 1970. During his first term, he shared power with René Bar ...

. Its purpose was to support René Barrientos in the general election the military regime arranged on 3 July 1966. During the three years René Barrientos remained in power, the Popular Christian Movement was the government party. The organizing cadres for the party were drawn from a variety of sources with the largest single source being from the old anti-

factions of the MNR. The Popular Christian Movement differed somewhat from other official parties in that it sought – and to a degree maintained – contact with peasant union organizations. This rallying of peasant support was part of René Barrientos's strategy of allying the military with the conservative post-reform peasantry. No subsequent military leader has been able to sustain this alliance effectively. The Popular Christian Movement, like other parties organized from the presidential palace, served to give some politicians a start in national politics. José Ortiz Mercado, for example, who became a major figure in the

administration (1969–1971), was a Popular Christian Movement member of the National Congress from

Santa Cruz Department Santa Cruz () is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia, occupying about one-third (33.74%) of the country's territory. With an area of , it is slightly smaller than Japan or the US state of Montana. It is located in the ...

elected in 1966. For all practical purposes, the MPC died with the accidental death of General René Barrientos Ortuño early 27 April 1969 and has had no political power in decades. In 1978, the Popular Christian Movement took part in an electoral coalition Nationalist Union of the People backing Juan Pereda Asbún.Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 2. xford .a. Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. P. 139. In 1979, the MPC dissolved into

Hugo Banzer Suárez Hugo Banzer Suárez (; 10 May 1926 – 5 May 2002) was a Bolivian politician and military officer who served as the 51st president of Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from 1971 to 1978 as a military dictator; and then again ...

's new

Nationalist Democratic Action Nationalist Democratic Action () is a right-wing political party in Bolivia led by Óscar Daza Márquez. ADN was founded on March 23, 1979 by the military dictator Hugo Banzer after he stepped down from power. As leader of the ADN, Banzer ran ...

(ADN).

Notes

{{Reflist Conservative parties in Bolivia Defunct political parties in Bolivia Political parties established in 1966 1966 establishments in Bolivia Political parties disestablished in 1979 1979 disestablishments in Bolivia