The Precinct of the Dead and Saints for the Nation: The Bolivian National Revolution and Gualberto Villarroel, 1943-1956

Abstract

This article focuses on Major Gualberto Villarroel’s dictatorship in Bolivia (1943-1946), his murder, and the reanimation of his memory as a Bolivian national hero by the MNR party or Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (Nationalist Revolutionary Movement). This nationalist party forged out of the crucible of the Chaco War, between Bolivia and Paraguay during 1932-1935, was an important factor in Bolivian politics throughout the twentieth century and initially came to power through an urban insurrection in April 1952. The article specifically uses the case of Gualberto Villarroel to explore why some national heroes are missing from the La Paz cemetery, how the MNR chose to commemorate the Revolution of 1952 and Villarroel’s martyrdom for the MNR in 1946, and how the MNR used those events to colonize urban space, to shape collective memory, and to silence popular historical actors. The MNR’s choice in making Villarroel a martyr required a revision of historical reality.