Editing Hugo Banzer (section)

==As plotter (1970–1971)==
In 1970, President [[Juan José Torres]] was leading the country in a [[leftist]] direction, arousing the ire and mistrust of conservative [[anti-communist]] circles in Bolivia and, crucially, in the [[Nixon administration]]. He had called an Asamblea del Pueblo, or People's Assembly, in which representatives of specific "proletarian" sectors of society were represented (miners, unionized teachers, students, peasants). The Assembly was imbued with all the powers of a working parliament, even though the right-wing opponents of the regime tended to call it a gathering of virtual [[Soviet (council)|soviets]]. Torres also allowed labor leader, [[Juan Lechín]], to resume his post as head of the [[Central Obrera Boliviana]]/Bolivian Workers' Union (COB). These measures, coupled with Ovando's earlier [[nationalization]] of [[Gulf Oil]] properties, angered his opponents even more, chief among whom was Banzer and his US supporters. In early 1971, a faction of the Bolivian military attempted to unseat the new president but failed, whereupon Banzer fled to Argentina, but did not give up his ambitions to the presidency.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1971-01-11|title=AN ATTEMPTED COUP REPORTED IN BOLIVIA|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/11/archives/an-attempted-coup-reported-in-bolivia.html|access-date=2021-04-23|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>