Official name Republic of Bolivia, Span República de Bolivia
Local name Bolivia Timezone GMT -4 Area 1 098 580 km²/424 052 sq mi population total (2005e) 8 860 000 Status Republic Date of independence 1825 Capital La Paz (administrative), Sucre (legal) Languages Spanish, Quechua, Aymará (all used offcially) Ethnic groups Mestizo (30%), Quechua (30%), Aymará (25%), white (15%) Religions Roman Catholic (95%), Baha'i (3%) Physical features Landlocked country, bounded W by the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes, rising to 6542 m/21 463 ft at Sajama; separated from the Cordillera Real to the E by the flat, 400 km/250 mi-long Altiplano plateau, 3600 m/11 800 ft; major lakes, Titicaca and Poopó. Climate Varies with altitude, ranging from consistently warm (26°C) and damp conditions (1800 mm/71 in of rainfall per year) in NE rainforests of Amazon Basin, to drought conditions in S; over 500 m/16 000 ft, conditions become sub-polar. Currency 1 Boliviano (BOB) = 100 centavos Economy Dependent on minerals for foreign exchange; silver largely exhausted, but replaced by tin (a fifth of world supply); oil and natural-gas pipelines to Argentina and Chile; illegally-produced cocaine. GDP (2004e) $22·33 bn, per capita $2600 Human Development Index (2002) 0·681 History Part of Inca Empire, conquered by Spanish in 16th-c. Independence after war of liberation in 1825; much territory lost after wars with neighbouring countries; several changes of government and military coups during 196482; returned to civilian rule in 1982; resignation and exile of President Lozada (2003); governed by a bicameral Congress and an elected President and a Cabinet.|
República de Bolivia Republic of Bolivia |
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Motto: Spanish: ¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir! (English: "To die rather than to live as slaves!") |
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| Anthem: Bolivianos, el hado propicio | |||||
| Capital |
La Paz, Sucre 16°29′S 68°8′W |
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| Largest city | Santa Cruz | ||||
| Official language | Spanish, Aymara, Quechua | ||||
| Government | Republic | ||||
| - President | Evo Morales | ||||
| Independence | |||||
| - From Spain | August 6, 1825 | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - Total |
1,098,581 km² (28th) 424,163 sq mi |
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| - Water (%) | 1.29% | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - July 2005 estimate | 9,182,000 (84th) | ||||
| - 2001 census | 8,280,184 | ||||
| - Density |
8.4/km² (210th) 21.8/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate | ||||
| - Total | $25.684 billion (101st) | ||||
| - Per capita | $2,817 (125th) | ||||
| HDI (2003) | 0.687 (medium) (113th) | ||||
| Currency | Boliviano (BOB) | ||||
| Time zone | — (UTC-4) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .bo | ||||
| Calling code | +591 | ||||
Bolivia, officially the Republic of Bolivia (Spanish: República de Bolivia, IPA [re'puβlika ðe bo'liβi̯a], Quechua: Bolivia, Aymara: Bolivia), named after Simón Bolívar, is a landlocked country in central South America.
History
Colonial period
During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called "Upper Peru" or "Charcas" and was under the authority of the Viceroy of Lima.
The Republic and economic instability (1809)
Independence was proclaimed in 1809, but 16 years of struggle followed before the establishment of the republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on August 6, 1825 (see Bolivian War of Independence).
In 1836, Bolivia, under the rule of Marshal Andres de Santa Cruz, invaded Peru to reinstall the deposed president, General Luis Orbegoso. Peru and Bolivia formed the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, with de Santa Cruz as the Supreme Protector.
Following the independence of Peru, General Gamarra, the Peruvian president, invaded Bolivia in an attempt to reunify the two countries, under the Peruvian flag.
Due to a period of political and economic instability in the early to middle 19th century, Bolivia's weakness was demonstrated during the War of the Pacific (1879–83), during which it lost its access to the sea, and the adjoining rich nitrate fields, together with the port of Antofagasta, to Chile. Since independence, Bolivia has lost over half of its territory to neighboring countries due to wars. Bolivia also lost the state of Acre (known for its production of rubber) when Brazil persuaded the state of Acre to secede from Bolivia in 1903 (see the Treaty of Petrópolis).
An increase in the world price of silver brought Bolivia a measure of relative prosperity and political stability in the late 1800s.
Living conditions of the native people, who constituted most of the population, remained deplorable. Bolivia's defeat by Paraguay in the Chaco War (1932–35) marked a turning point.
Rise of the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (1951)
The Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR) emerged as a broadly based party. Under President Víctor Paz Estenssoro, the MNR , having strong popular pressure, introduced Universal Suffrage into his political platform, and carried out a sweeping land reform promoting rural education and nationalization of the country's largest tin mines.
Twelve years of tumultuous rule left the MNR divided. The 1969 death of President René Barrientos Ortuño, a former member of the junta elected President in 1966, led to a succession of weak governments. He was forced to call elections in 1978, and Bolivia again entered a period of political turmoil.
Military governments: García Meza and Siles Zuazo (1978)
Elections in 1979 and 1981 were inconclusive and marked by fraud. during his presidency the inflation that would later cripple the Bolivian economy could already be felt.
After a military rebellion forced out García Meza in 1981, three other military governments in 14 months struggled with Bolivia's growing problems. Severe social tension, exacerbated by economic mismanagement and weak leadership, forced him to call early elections and relinquish power a year before the end of his constitutional term.
Sánchez de Lozada and Banzer: Liberalizing the economy (1993)
Sánchez de Lozada pursued an aggressive economic and social reform agenda. The most dramatic change undertaken by the Sánchez de Lozada government was the "capitalization" program, under which investors, typically foreign, acquired 50% ownership and management control of public enterprises, such as the state oil corporation, telecommunications system, airlines, railroads, and electric utilities in return for agreed upon capital investments. The Sánchez de Lozada government pursued a policy of offering monetary compensation for voluntary eradication of illegal coca by its growers in the Chapare region. The policy produced little net reduction in coca, and in the mid-1990s Bolivia accounted for about one-third of the world's coca going into cocaine.
During this time, the umbrella labor organization of Bolivia, the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), became increasingly unable to effectively challenge government policy.
In the 1997 elections, Gen. Considering the weak position that Bolivia was in vis-a-vis international corporations, though, this seemed unlikely.
The Banzer government basically continued the free market and privatization policies of its predecessor, and the relatively robust economic growth of the mid-1990s continued until about the third year of its term in office. Financial crises in Argentina and Brazil, lower world prices for commodity exports, and reduced employment in the Coca sector depressed the Bolivian economy.
At the outset of his government, President Banzer launched a policy of using special police units to physically eradicate the illegal coca of the Chapare region. The policy produced a sudden and dramatic 4-year decline in Bolivia's illegal coca crop, to the point that Bolivia became a relatively small supplier of coca for cocaine.
On August 6, 2001, Banzer resigned from office after being diagnosed with cancer.
In the June 2002 national elections, former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (MNR) placed first with 22.5% of the vote, followed by coca advocate and native peasant leader Evo Morales (Movement Toward Socialism, MAS) with 20.9%.
A July agreement between the MNR and the fourth-place MIR, which had again been led in the election by former president Paz Zamora, virtually ensured the election of Sánchez de Lozada in the congressional run-off, and on August 6 he was sworn in for the second time.
Social Crisis and the nationalization of hydrocarbon resources (2000-2005)
In April 2000, the social movements in Bolivia came together to protest the privatization of water provision in Cochabamba. Protests that included Cochabamba residents, those who had come in to the city from the country, and coca growers took over the city.
During February 2003, four-year economic recession, tight fiscal situation, and widespread corruption inside the government mounted again in a police revolt that nearly toppled the government of President Sánchez de Lozada; Approximately 80 people died during the demonstrations which led President Sánchez de Lozada to resign from office on October 17, and Lozada subsequently fled the country for quasi-exile in the United States. In a constitutional transfer of power, Vice President Carlos Mesa assumed the Presidency and promised to hold a binding referendum on the export of Bolivian natural gas. Mesa, a well-known journalist, enjoyed popularity with the Bolivian public previous to ascending the presidency, but he faced the same difficulties — social divisions, a radical opposition committed to extra-parliamentary action, and an ongoing fiscal deficit — as the previous administration.
On June 6, 2005, congress was forced to accept the resignation of President Carlos Mesa when more than 80,000 protestors surrounded the presidential palace demanding nationalization of the gas industry. The protestors argued that native communities, one third of Bolivia's population, were not adequately represented in government.
A civil war was averted when, on June 9, 157 members of congress converged on the Casa de La Libertad in Sucre and nominated Eduardo Rodríguez, then serving as President of the Supreme Court, to the Presidency of the Republic.
Evo Morales, Movement toward Socialism
The 2005 Bolivian presidential election was held on December 18, 2005.
Morales won the election with 54 percent of the votes, an absolute majority unprecedented in Bolivian elections. Since the Spanish Conquest in the early 1500's, this region of South America, with a majority native population, has been ruled by external forces, and Morales has stated that the 500 years of colonialism are now over, and that the era of autonomy has begun.
His recent presidential election victory has also brought new attention to the U.S. drug war in South America and its heavy emphasis on coca crop eradication.
On May 1, 2006, Morales announced his intent to re-nationalize Bolivian hydrocarbon assets. Troops were also sent to the 2 Petrobra-owned refineries in Bolivia, which provide over 90% of Bolivia's refining capacity. A deadline of 180 days was announced, by which all foreign energy firms were required to sign new contracts giving Bolivia majority ownership and as much as 82% of revenues (the latter for the largest natural gas fields). By far the biggest customer for Bolivian hydrocarbons has been Brazil, which imports fully 2/3rds of Bolivia's natural gas via pipelines operated by the huge semi-private Petrobras (PBR). Since gas can only be exported from landlocked Bolivia via PBR's large (and expensive) pipelines, the supplier and customer are strongly linked. How the nationalization will unfold is quite uncertain, as PBR has announced plans to produce sufficient natural gas by 2011 to replace that now supplied by Bolivia. Bolivia's position is strengthened by the knowledge that hydrocarbon reserves are more highly valued than at the time of previous nationalizations as well as the pledged support of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
Politics
The 1967 constitution, amended in 1994, provides for balanced executive, legislative, and judicial powers.
Bolivia's nine departments received greater autonomy under the Administrative Decentralization law of 1995. Departmental autonomy further increased with the first popular elections for departmental governors (prefectos) on 18 December 2005, after long protests by pro-autonomy-leader department of Santa Cruz.
The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote. Elected president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada resigned in October 2003, and was substituted by vice-president Carlos Mesa. Six months later, on December 18, 2005, the Socialist native leader, Evo Morales, was elected president.
Legislative Branch: The Congreso Nacional (National Congress) has two chambers.
Bolivia has had more coups d'etat than any other country, with approximately 60 coups in its history.
Administrative divisions
Bolivia is divided into nine departments, or in Spanish departamentos:
Chuquisaca (Sucre) Cochabamba (Cochabamba) Beni (Trinidad) La Paz (La Paz) Oruro (Oruro) Pando (Cobija) Potosí (Potosí) Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz de la Sierra) Tarija (Tarija)Additionally, each department is further divided into provinces, or provincias, cantons, or cantones, and municipalities, or municipalidades, which handle local affairs.
Geography
At 424,135 mi² (1,098,580 km²), Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country (after Ethiopia).
Bolivia is a landlocked nation; The west of Bolivia is situated in the Andes mountain range, with the highest peak, Nevado Del Sajama at 6,542 metres (21,463 ft) located at the department of Oruro, the landscape encompasses many different backgrounds, which provide a beautiful view in one of the most incredible natural experiences someone can have. Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Bolivia and Peru.
Major cities are La Paz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba.
Economy
Bolivia remains the poorest country in South America after the Guyanas, in part, due to high corruption levels; angela>famous mines, which were known by the Incas and later exploited by the Spaniards, Bolivia owns the second largest natural gas field of South America after Venezuela.
Bolivia's 2002 gross domestic product (GDP) totaled USD $7.9 billion.
Bolivia’s current lackluster economic situation can be linked to several factors from the past two decades. The first major blow to the Bolivian economy came with a dramatic fall in silver prices during the early 1980s which impacted one of Bolivia’s main sources of income and one of its major mining industries. The second major economic blow came from the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and early 1990s as economic aid was withdrawn by western countries who had previously tried to keep a market liberal regime in power through financial support.
Since 1985, the Government of Bolivia has implemented a far-reaching program of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform aimed at maintaining price stability, creating conditions for sustained growth, and alleviating scarcity. (Capitalization in the Bolivian context is a form of privatization where investors acquire a 50% share and management control of public enterprises by agreeing to invest directly into the enterprise over several years rather than paying cash to the government).
Parallel legislative reforms have locked into place market liberal policies, especially in the hydrocarbon and telecommunication sectors, that have encouraged private investment. Foreign investors are accorded national treatment, and foreign ownership of companies enjoys virtually no restrictions in Bolivia. While the capitalization program was successful in vastly boosting foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bolivia ($1.7 billion in stock during 1996-2002), FDI flows have subsided in recent years as investors complete their capitalization contract obligations.
In 1996, three units of the Bolivian state oil corporation (YPFB) involved in hydrocarbon exploration, production, and transportation were capitalized, facilitating the construction of a gas pipeline to Brazil. Bolivia has the second-largest natural gas reserves in South America, and its current domestic use and exports to Brazil account for just a small portion of its potential production. Widespread opposition to exporting gas through Chile touched off protests that led to the resignation of President Sánchez de Lozada in October 2003.
In April 2000, Bechtel signed a contract with Hugo Banzer, the former president of Bolivia, to privatize the water supply in Bolivia's 3rd-largest city, Cochabamba. Amidst Bolivia's nationwide economic collapse and growing national unrest over the state of the economy, the Bolivian government was forced to withdraw the water contract.
Bolivian exports were $1.3 billion in 2002, from a low of $652 million in 1991. Bolivia's trade deficit was $460 million in 2002.
Bolivia's trade with neighboring countries is growing, in part because of several regional preferential trade agreements it has negotiated. Bolivia is a member of the Andean Community and enjoys nominally free trade with other member countries (Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.) Bolivia began to implement an association agreement with Mercosur (Southern Cone Common Market) in March 1997.
The United States remains Bolivia's largest trading partner. In 2002, the United States exported $283 million of merchandise to Bolivia and imported $162 million. Bolivia's major exports to the United States are tin, gold, jewelry, and wood products. A Bilateral Investment Treaty between the United States and Bolivia came into effect in 2001. Agriculture accounts for roughly 15% of Bolivia's GDP.
The Government of Bolivia remains heavily dependent on foreign assistance to finance development projects. External creditors have been willing to do this because the Bolivian Government has generally achieved the monetary and fiscal targets set by IMF programs since 1987, though economic crises in recent years have undercut Bolivia's normally good record. As a result, some countries have forgiven substantial amounts of Bolivia's bilateral debt. The U.S. Government reached an agreement at the Paris Club meeting in December 1995 that reduced by 67% Bolivia's existing debt stock. Bolivia is a beneficiary of the Heavily debted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC debt relief programs, which by agreement restricts Bolivia's access to new soft loans. Bolivia was one of three countries in the Western Hemisphere selected for eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Account and is participating as an observer in FTA negotiations.
In 2004 the government gave great importance to the development of port facilities at Puerto Busch on the Paraguay river. As of 2004 about half of Bolivia's exports leave via the Paraguay river. When Puerto Busch is finished, larger ocean-going ships will be able to dock in Bolivia. This will greatly increase Bolivia's competitiveness, in that they will have a reduced need for foreign ports, such as those in Peru and Chile, which adds to the price of exports and imports. In 1992 Bolivia produced over 1,000 million tons of it.
Demographics
Bolivia's ethnic distribution is estimated to be 30% Quechua and 25% Aymara Amerindians.
The white population consists mostly of criollos who consist of families of relatively unmixed Spanish ancestry, descend from the early Spanish colonists, which have formed much of the aristocracy since independence. Other smaller groups within the white population are Germans who founded the national airline Lloyd Aereo Boliviano, as well as Italian, American, Basque, Croatian, Russian, Polish and other minorities, many of whose members descend from families that have lived in Bolivia for several generations.
Also noteworthy is the Afro-Bolivian community that numbers under 0.5% of the population, descended from African slaves that were transported to work in Brazil and then migrated down south to Bolivia.
Bolivia is one of the least developed countries in South America.
La Paz is the world's highest capital city at 3,600 meters (11,800 ft.) above sea level.
The great majority of Bolivians are Roman Catholic (the official religion), although Protestant denominations are expanding strongly. More than 1% of Bolivians practice the Bahá'í Faith (giving Bolivia one of the largest percentages of Bahá'ís in the world). The cultural development of what is present-day Bolivia is divided into three distinct periods: pre-Columbian, colonial, and republican.
The Spanish brought their own tradition of religious art which, in the hands of local native and mestizo builders and artisans, developed into a rich and distinctive style of architecture, painting, and sculpture known as "Mestizo Baroque".
Bolivian artists of stature in the 20th century include, among others, Guzmán de Rojas, Arturo Borda, María Luisa Pacheco, and Marina Núñez del Prado. Bolivia has rich folklore.
Culture
Bolivian culture has many Inca, Aymara and other native influences in religion, music and clothing, depending upon the region of the country, isolation of the cultures and contact with European (Spanish) culture.
See also: Music of Bolivia and Public holidays in BoliviaNational symbols
The Cantuta (often spelled kantuta or qantuta) (Cantua buxifolia or Fuchsia buxifolia) is a flower found in the high valleys of the Yungas, and is considered the national flower of Bolivia.
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