Juan Lechin Oquendo
Juan Lechín "El Maestro" Oquendo (born May 19, 1912 in the Municipio Coro Coro , La Paz Department , † August 27, 2001 in La Paz ) was a Bolivian trade union official and politician .
Life
After leaving school, Lechín Oquendo worked as a drill cutter in the mining industry and also achieved fame as a talented football player. At the request of his father, he then attended the American school in La Paz , where he also met Hernán Siles Zuazo and Rafael Otazo , who asked him in December 1943 to work in the government of Gualberto Villarroel López . However, he turned down the offered position of director for industry and trade and instead asked for the appointment as sub-prefect of the Municipio Uncía in the Department of Potosí . It was the most important prefecture, since Catavi, the most important tin mine and thus the economic center of the country, was in Uncía.
Shortly after taking office, he established close relationships with the miners working there and defended the legality of the formation of their union . At the first meeting of the Bolivian Miners' Federation FSTMB (Federación Sindical de Trabajadores Mineros de Bolivia) on June 11, 1944, he was appointed permanent secretary of the union and held this position in the first row of the labor movement until 1987. At the same time he was chairman of the umbrella organization of the trade unions COB ( Central Obrera Boliviana ) between 1952 and 1987 . As such, he had a significant influence on the revolt of 1952 . On April 9, 1952, a revolt led by sections of the army, students and unions helped Paz Estenssoro, who was prevented from taking office, to power after the interim government of Hernán Siles Zuazo. The anti-oligarchical and anti-imperialist-oriented MNR became the strongest political force in the country and introduced extensive measures (mobilization and integration of the masses of workers and peasants into society). On October 30, 1952, the nationalization of the tin mines led to a drop in prices on the world market, resulting in a lack of capital and sales difficulties.
In 1960 he became Vice President and thus until 1964 the representative of President Víctor Paz Estenssoro , who, along with Siles Zuazo, had founded the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR) in 1941 , to which Lechín Oquendo also belonged.
In June 1971 he became president of the newly founded People's Assembly, where he lost this office shortly after the inauguration of President Hugo Banzer Suárez , under whose dictatorship he was initially arrested and placed under house arrest. After he went into exile , he was placed first on the “black list” of Banzer's opponents, which is why he was not allowed to re-enter.
Only later did he return to his home country. In his work as union chairman, he repeatedly organized general strikes, particularly in 1984, which permanently paralyzed the government of President Siles Zuazo and his vice-president Jaime Paz Zamora .
In 2000 he was awarded the "Condor de los Andes" order by Banzer, now democratically elected President of Bolivia, the highest Bolivian honor for civilians.
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lechín Oquendo, Juan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | El Maestro |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bolivian union official and Vice President of Bolivia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 19, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Municipio Coro Coro , La Paz Department |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 27, 2001 |
| Place of death | La Paz |