Óscar Únzaga
Óscar Únzaga | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Bolivian Socialist Falange | |
| In office 15 August 1945 – 19 April 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Himself (as general secretary) |
| Succeeded by | Mario Gutiérrez |
| General Secretary of the Bolivian Socialist Falange | |
| In office 15 August 1937 – 15 August 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as party leader) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Óscar Únzaga de la Vega 19 April 1916 Cochabamba, Bolivia |
| Died | 19 April 1959 (aged 43) La Paz, Bolivia |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Party | Bolivian Socialist Falange |
| Part of a series on |
| Falangism |
|---|
Óscar Únzaga de la Vega (19 April 1916 – 19 April 1959) was a Bolivian political figure and rebel. Most significantly, he founded the Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB) movement in 1937, and ran for President in the 1956 elections, when his party became the main opposition movement to the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR).
In 1959, Únzaga was one of fifty people who died during an attempted coup by the FSB. Government forces reported that he killed himself,[1] but supporters disputed the official account and claimed that he was assassinated. He is revered as a hero and martyr by some factions of Bolivia’s affluent political elite.
References
- ^ Phil Gunson, Andrew Thompson & Greg Chamberlain, The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of South America, London: Routledge, 1990, pp. 38-39