Constitutionalist Party

The Constitutionalist Party, whose program was based on the writings of its founder, Mariano Baptista, and on the Bolivian constitution of 1878, represented the interests of the landowning and mining elite. After Bolivia's defeat in the War of the Pacific (1880), the party favored a quick peace settlement with Chile that would include indemnification for lost territory and enable Bolivia to construct a railroad for mining exports.

In the presidential elections of 1884 the Constitutionalists supported Gregorio Pacheco of the Democratic Party, which had proclaimed itself the party of national reconciliation. During Pacheco's presidency, the Constitutionalist Party became known as the Conservative Party and played an important role under the leadership of Baptista. Its primary concerns were the creation of a powerful parliamentary regime, the promotion of economic growth based on massive railroad construction, and the defense of the interests of the Roman Catholic Church.

Following its defeat by the Liberals in 1899, the Constitutionalist Party began to decline.

See alsoBaptista, Mariano .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Herbert Klein, Parties and Political Change in Bolivia, 1880–1952 (1971).

Guillermo Lora, Historia de las partidos políticos de Bolivia (1987).

Mario Rolon Anaya, Política y partidos en Bolivia, 2d ed. (1987).

Additional Bibliography

Irurozqui, Marta. La armonía de las desigualdades: Elites y conflictos de poder en Bolivia, 1880–1920. Madrid, Spain: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Cuzco, Peru: Centro de Estudios Regionales Andinos Bartolomé de las Casas, 1994.

Irurozqui, Marta. "Political Leadership and Popular Consent: Party Strategies in Bolivia, 1880–1899." Americas, 53, no.3 (January 1997): 395-423.

                                       Maria Luise Wagner