The civilian military insurrection in Bolivia that brought down the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR) in 1964 initiated a twenty year period of political instability. Between 1964 and 1982 only three civilians governed the country, although none were able to complete their term in office. In the same time period, fifteen military officers took the presidential oath. The majority of the military rulers were overthrown by fellow praetorians. Bolivian politics since 1964 can be characterised as an extreme case of praetorianisation. The extremity of the Bolivian case, however, helps to identify elements and patterns common to other Latin American nations that have recently undergone a democratisation process.
