born Oct. 2, 1907, Tarija, Bol.
died June 7, 2001, Tarija
President of Bolivia (195256, 196064, 198589).
Originally an economics professor, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies and then became president in 1952, when the National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), a left-wing organization that he helped found, seized power. He extended the vote to Indians, implemented agrarian reform, and expropriated three major tin companies. He was elected again in 1964 but was overthrown by a military coup the same year. He regained the presidency in 1985 and instituted a program of economic austerity that reduced the hyperinflation that had imperiled the Bolivian economy.