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Dissertation Information for Jayne Spencer

NAME:
- Jayne Spencer

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Los Angeles (USA) (1996)

ADVISORS:
- William R. Summerhill

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- John Heritage
- Eduardo Jose Wense Dias
- James Lockhart
- William H. Worger

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Oil, politics, and economic nationalism in Bolivia, 1899-1942: The case of the Standard Oil Company of Bolivia

Abstract: Oil, Politics, and Economic Nationalism in Bolivia. 1899-1942 is a political, economic and diplomatic history which examines the historical roots of one of the most powerful forces in Latin America: economic nationalism. To achieve economic parity with other modernizing nations after 1899, Bolivian military and civilian officials relied on foreign credit and technology. This study analyzes why Liberal, Republican, and military leaders, seeking to modernize Bolivia, turned to petroleum as the panacea for all of Bolivia's economic problems. It also evaluates the domestic, regional, and global factors that attracted or compelled Bolivian governments to open national oil reserves to foreign capitalists.

My investigation illustrates the unique legal and extralegal agreements between Bolivian and Standard Oil officials to achieve oil production. However, the company's back-room tactics, its inability to fulfill contract stipulations, and its failure to supply the Bolivian military during the Chaco War (1932-1935), initiated an international controversy eventually resolved in Bolivian courts. In 1937, Bolivian military-socialists ordered the de facto nationalization of the Standard Oil Company of Bolivia, predating the 1938 nationalization of the Mexican oil industry by one full year.

This is the first study which examines the company's contracts and evaluates the rationale of Bolivian courts to uphold the 1937 cancellation (caducidad) decree. It also documents the successful efforts of Bolivian military governments after 1939 to limit Standard Oil's legal appeals, to break Bolivia's dependency on refined oil imports, and to reassert state sovereignty over petroleum resources. In 1942, Bolivian military pragmatists negotiated with the United States and gained extensive financial and industrial markets in exchange for Allied support. Bolivia concluded the Standard Oil "matter" on its own terms without fear of US intervention. This success influenced subsequent foreign investment and diplomacy throughout Latin America.

Eight substantive chapters provide analyses of the forces and policies that shaped twentieth-century Bolivian economic nationalism. This study integrates primary sources from Bolivian congressional, ministry, and military documents as well as US and British consular and commerce records. An appendix provides Spanish and English texts of oil contracts and legislation.

MPACT Scores for Jayne Spencer

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calculated 2009-01-15 16:43:02

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ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None