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As time passed, it became clear that Lozano Díaz had ambitions to replace
the traditional parties with one that he controlled and could use to help
prolong his hold on power. He reduced the Council of State to a consultative
body, postponed elections, and set about forming his own party, the National
Unity Party (Partido de Unidad Nacional--PUN). The activities of other parties
were limited, and, in July 1956, Villeda Morales and other PLH leaders were
suddenly arrested and flown into exile. A few weeks later, the government
crushed an uprising by 400 troops in the capital. Public opinion, however, was
becoming increasingly hostile to the president, and rumors of his imminent fall
had begun to circulate.
Following the August 1956 uprising, Lozano Díaz's health began to
deteriorate, but he clung stubbornly to power. Elections for the legislature in
October were boycotted by most of the opposition, who charged that the process
was openly rigged to favor the president's supporters. The results seemed to
confirm this charge, as the PUN candidates were declared the winners of all
fifty-six seats in the congress.
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