Coups d'état in Bolivia

[4] While classified as an army mutiny, the events of 18 April 1828 resulted in the deposition of President Antonio José de Sucre and have been considered the first coup in Bolivian history.

As a result, command was delegated to José María Pérez de Urdininea who served as interim president until Sucre officially resigned on 2 August 1828.

Military leadership under Colonel José Ballivián arrested Blanco and imprisoned him in a convent called La Recoletta where he would be assassinated on New Year's Day 1829.

Many of the coups in this era would be sparked by the instability forged by Bolivia's loss against Paraguay in the Chaco War which birthed a reformist class of young veterans dissatisfied by the traditional oligarchic parties.

A period of democratic control by the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) saw failed attempted coups by the right-wing until the military overthrew the new order in 1965.

Mariano Melgarejo climbed the ranks of the armed forces, aided by his willingness to participate in rebellions
Germán Busch participated in the overthrow of all three of his predecessors
Víctor Paz Estenssoro and the MNR were the perpetrators and victims of many coups and revolutions in the 1950s
Hugo Banzer maintained a military dictatorship for most of the 1970s