Opposing the policy of the twenty-first century socialism in Bolivia: the political activities of Branko Marinković

Abstract

The Marinković family, which originated from the island of Brač, immigrated to the eastern Bolivian province of Santa Cruz in the mid-1950s. Thanks to a successful agricultural business, among other things, the family has become one of the richest and most influential families in Bolivia. Some analysts link Branko Marinković's origins with his oppositional activities in Bolivia. This is due to the fact that Marinković compares the contemporary "Twenty-first century socialism" policies of Bolivian president Evo Morales with the communist policies of Tito in Yugoslavia. With that in mind, the aim of this paper is to analyze to what extent the immigrant origin of Marinković's family has influenced his political activities. This analysis can be carried out by relating his political activities to the Ustaša immigrants who came to Latin America after the Second World War and also within the context of the narrative of Bolivian authorities who believed Marinković was trying to Balkanize Bolivia.