Brief Outline

Bolivian weaver

Located on the south-eastern border of Peru, Bolivia is slightly smaller in size than Peru. It is a land-locked country - a sensitive issue in Bolivia since it lost its access to the sea in an 1884 war with Chile. Bolivia is bordered by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru. It has a population of only around 8 million. Geographically, Bolivia is divided between the high Andean plateau and the low-lying Amazon basin. Although Spanish is the main language, Quechua, Aymara & Guarani are also considered official languages. The administrative capital is La Paz and the constitutional capital and seat of judiciary is Sucre. Santa Cruz is the other major city and commercial capital of Bolivia. The Bolivian time zone is 9 ½ hours behind the IST.

Bolivia is rich in natural resources like tin, lead, zinc, silver, gold, bismuth and natural gas. Recent discoveries put Bolivia with the second largest reserves of natural gas in Latin America. Major exports include minerals as well as soya, natural gas, textiles, etc. while Bolivia imports most manufactured goods. The national currency Bolivianos is freely convertible with the US Dollar also being used for daily transactions.

Bolivia follows the Presidential form of democracy with an Executive President. There is a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary, which follows the "Roman law". It has a federal structure with 9 provinces. Bolivia also has independent newspapers and television channels.

Bolivia is a member of the Andean Community and an associate member of MERCOSUR, apart from being member of various international organisations.

In economic terms, Bolivia is the poorest country in Latin America with a per capita GDP of a little less than US$ 1000. There is wide income disparity and widespread poverty. The economy is very liberalised since 1985 with open import and investment regimes. However, there has been poor economic growth since 1998, accompanied by continued social unrest as well as opposition to coca-eradication efforts.

Some basic economic data is given below :

• Main economic indicators:

• Foreign Trade (US$ billion)

Principal exports : Zinc, Soyabeans, Natural gas, Gold, Wood, Tin etc.

Main export markets : USA, Brasil, Argentina, U.K., Peru, Japan, Colombia etc.

Historically, before the advent of the Spanish in the 16th century, Bolivia was ruled by the Inca Empire, who before them had absorbed the Aymara and other civilizations in the past. By 1539, Spain had conquered the present day Bolivia (then known as Higher Peru) and brought it under the Lima vice-regal authority. In 1776, it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the new vice-royalty at Buenos Aires (Argentina). The struggle for independence from Spain started from the beginning of 19th century with independence being achieved in 1825. The new country was named after the liberator Simon Bolivar and the official capital was named after another liberator Antonio Jose de Sucre, who subsequently became the first President of the independent nation. Bolivia's post independence history was marked by instability and insurrections. In 1879, Bolivia and Peru were involved in the `Pacific War' with Chile that resulted in the loss of its Pacific coastline in 1884 in the case of Bolivia. The disastrous Chaco war (which began over the exploration of oil at the foothills of Andes) with Paraguay during 1932-35 resulted in further loss of territory and shattered Bolivia's economy and morale. The 1952 popular revolution resulted, inter alia, in the virtual destruction of the army. Headed by Victor Paz Estensorro, the revolutionary Government introduced sweeping reforms. Again, during the period 1964-82, the political scene was dominated by the military. Democratic Governments have ruled Bolivia since 1982. In elections in July 2002, former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada narrowly defeated indigenous leader Evo Morales and formed a coalition Government. These elections also saw a sharp rise in representation of the indigenous community in Bolivia's parliament. However, social unrest, fuelled by economic discontent and protests against the possible use of Chilean ports for exports of Bolivian natural gas to the US, erupted in February 2003 and again in October 2003, finally forcing the resignation and exile of the President. Vice President Carlos Mesa was sworn-in as the new President. President Mesa also resigned in June 2005 following weeks of protests, road blocks etc. The President of the Supreme Court, Eduardo Rodriguez Veltzé, was sworn-in for the transition period till general elections are held in December 2005.

President Evo Morales Ayma won the Presidential elections in December 2005 for a five (5) year period until 2010. Post introduction of the radical policies of President Morales including the re-nationalization of the mining and hydrocarbon reserves of the country, foreign direct investment decreased which lead to social discomfort, economic dissatisfaction and protests against his government.

A "Recall Referendum" which proposed to recall civil governors (of the Provinces) and the same President, who have lost popularity compared to what they had when they won the elections previously, restored President Morales in August, 2008 with a large majority and maintained the opposition governors in their posts.

A referendum on the proposed new Constitution is scheduled for January 2009 and Presidential elections are expected to be held in December 2009.

Some important links:
www.boliviapost.com
www.presidencia.gov.bo/
www.abi.bo/
www.rree.gov.bo