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| 1940 |
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| Enrique Peñaranda became president. | 1 |
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| 1941 |
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| A group of middle-class intellectuals and lawyers founded the populist NATIONALIST REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT (MNR). | 2 |
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| 1942, June |
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| Founding of the National Agrarian Party (PAN). An offshoot of the MNR, PAN called for valorization of Bolivia's Indian heritage along with major agrarian reform. | 3 |
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| 1943, Dec. 21 |
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| President Enrique Peñaranda was unseated by an MNR-army alliance headed by Maj. Gualberto Villarroel. The new regime was not recognized diplomatically except by Argentina. The U.S. refused recognition because of the ruling faction's Fascist sympathies. | 4 |
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| 1945, May 10 |
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| Opening of the National Indigenous Congress in La Paz. Reflecting a growing politicization among Bolivian peasants (highlighted by increased confrontations with landlords since the 1930s), delegates to the congress called for more education, agrarian reform, and an expansion of peasant rights. (See Bolivia) | 5 |
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