Editing Hugo Banzer (section)

==Military and ideological formation==
Banzer was native to the rural lowlands of the [[Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia)|Santa Cruz Department]]. He attended military schools in [[Bolivia]], [[Argentina]], [[Brazil]] and the [[United States]], including the Armored Cavalry School at [[Fort Hood]], [[Texas]]. He took a Motor Officer Course at the [[School of the Americas]]. He was a descendant of the German immigrant Georg Banzer Schewetering.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

Banzer was promoted to colonel in 1961, and appointed three years later to head the Ministry of Education and Culture in the government of General [[René Barrientos]], a personal friend. Banzer became increasingly involved in politics, siding with the [[right wing]] of the [[Bolivian Army]]. He was also appointed director of the military academy and the Coronel [[Gualberto Villarroel]] Military School.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}