Britain, the United States, and the Bolivian National Revolution, 1952-1956

Britain’s long-standing commercial and financial relationship with Bolivia faced a direct challenge when a revolutionary nationalist regime came to power in 1952. British government and business soon recognised the value of supporting the new government, whose inherent pragmatism ensured that the status quo would be preserved. The United States simultaneously supported the Bolivian government, but through very different means and for a different rationale: the provision of extensive financial aid, given the primacy of Cold War concerns. Despite this mutuality of interests in preserving the regime in power, there was limited, if any, cooperation between Britain and the United States during the first term of revolutionary government. Each pursued its own strategy, conditioned by a particular set of post-war foreign policy priorities that reflected both regional and global circumstances