Bolivian Socialist Falange

The Bolivian Socialist Falange (lang es) is a Bolivian political party established in 1937. It is a far right party drawing inspiration from fascism. It was the country's second largest party between approximately 1954 and 1974. After that, its followers have tended to gravitate toward the government endorsed military candidacy of General Juan Pereda (1978) and, especially, toward the ADN party of former dictator Hugo Banzer.

Founded in Chile by a group of exiles (chief among whom was Óscar Únzaga de la Vega), the FSB initially drew its inspiration from Spanish falangism. It was reformist, however, in that it advocated major transformations to the existing (largely oligarchic) social and political order. This brought it more into the sphere of other revolutionary movements such as the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) of Víctor Paz Estenssoro, which would come to power after unleashing the 1952 Revolution. In fact, FSB was at first brought into the MNR coalition at the outbreak of that massive revolt, but backed out at the last moment. A rather minor movement during the 1940s, the "Falange" began to attract major support from former landowners and other members of the Bolivian elite after the triumph of the 1952 Revolution, becoming the ruling MNR's main opposition party. and included many well to do university students. The movement was based on a cell system and so became stronger in some specific areas, notably in La Paz and Santa Cruz, although attempts to win over the peasantry in Cochabamba proved fruitless and damaged the party's growth. As well as political activity the FSB was also involved in several minor insurrections against the government, culminating in an uprising in April 1959 during which the FSB briefly held part of the capital La Paz. This was suppressed by the army, with fifty dying in the fighting—including Unzaga, whose death was officially ruled as suicide.

The party supported the candidacy of the war hero General Bernardino Bilbao Rioja in the 1951 presidential elections. Bilbao secured a respectable 11% of the vote, and he would later return as a candidate. In those elections, anti system parties such as the MNR and FSB had won a combined majority, but the MNR were prevented from taking office by military intervention on behalf of the oligarchy, leading to the 1952 Revolution. With the collapse of Bolivia's traditional parties, the FSB found itself as the leading opposition force in the country. Óscar Únzaga, however, remained the party's undisputed leader, and it was he who led FSB's 1956 presidential ticket. He garnered 15% of the vote in an election that many considered suspect due to massive state support for the government endorsed candidate, Hernán Siles Zuazo. FSB lost momentum after the 1959 assassination of Únzaga.

Following the death of Únzaga, the mainstream of the FSB came under the leadership of Mario Gutiérrez. the party's candidate in the 1960 elections. Following the return of the military to power in the aftermath of the 1964 coup d'état, it was the MNR's turn to be repressed, and FSB's fortunes seemed to be on the rise again. The FSB now sought to ally itself with an emerging Christian democratic tendency and focused its attentions on organising in the Santa Cruz Department. As aprt of the Christian Democratic Community it endorsed General Bernardino Bilbao Rioja's candidacy in the 1966 presidential election although René Barrientos of the ruling faction won easily. Indeed, Gutiérrez served Banzer as his Minister of Foreign Relations for many years. At this point FSB shifted its position somewhat, becoming more of a pro military conservative party. The party was excluded from government in 1974, however, when Banzer decided to establish a purely military regime without political parties. The FBSI, meanwhile, which had opposed Banzer's coup, was repressed by the new government.