112-396: Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (2 October 1907 – 7 June 2001) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 45th president of Bolivia for three nonconsecutive and four total terms from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964 and 1985 to 1989. He ran for president eight times ( 1947 , 1951 , 1960 , 1964 , 1978 , 1979 , 1980 and 1985 ) and was victorious in 1951, 1960, 1964 and 1985. His 1951 victory
224-588: A neoliberal structuring. The reforms and economic restructuring were strongly opposed by certain segments of society, which instigated frequent and sometimes violent protests, particularly in La Paz and the Chapare coca -growing region, from 1994 through 1996. The indigenous population of the Andean region was not able to benefit from government reforms. During this time, the umbrella labor-organization of Bolivia,
336-466: A new constitution changed the country's official name to "Plurinational State of Bolivia" to reflect the multi-ethnic nature of the country and the strengthened rights of Bolivia's indigenous peoples under the new constitution. The region now known as Bolivia had been occupied for over 2,500 years when the Aymara arrived; however, present-day Aymara associate themselves with the ancient civilization of
448-705: A child hero of the Pacific War, 1879–1884), an aid paid until the end of secondary school to parents whose children are in school in order to combat school dropout, and the Single Health System, which since 2018 has offered all Bolivians free medical care. The reforms adopted made the Bolivian economic system the most successful and stable in the region. Between 2006 and 2019, GDP grew from $ 9 billion to over $ 40 billion, real wages increased, GDP per capita tripled, foreign exchange reserves rose, inflation
560-591: A clash with the Bolivian army." Rodriguez said the US government had wanted Che in Panama, and "I could have tried to falsify the command to the troops, and got Che to Panama as the US government said they had wanted", but that he had chosen to "let history run its course" as desired by Bolivia. Elections in 1979 and 1981 were inconclusive and marked by fraud. There were coups d'état , counter-coups, and caretaker governments. In 1980, General Luis García Meza Tejada carried out
672-646: A fourth, and the 2016 Bolivian constitutional referendum asked voters to override the constitution and allow Evo Morales to run for an additional term in office. Morales narrowly lost the referendum; however, in 2017 his party then petitioned the Bolivian Constitutional Court to override the constitution on the basis that the American Convention on Human Rights made term limits a human rights violation. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights determined that term limits are not
784-504: A helicopter crash and new, populist military governments of progressive bend gained power in Bolivia (1970–1971). When the "excesses" of the left-leaning Torres military government (1970–71) became unbearable to most civilian elites of centrist and conservative persuasion, Torres was overthrown in a bloody coup d'état led by then-Colonel Hugo Banzer with the MNR's full support. This too was
896-433: A human rights violation in 2018; however, once again the Bolivian Constitutional Court ruled that Morales has permission to run for a fourth term in the 2019 elections, and this permission was not retracted. "[T]he country's highest court overruled the constitution, scrapping term limits altogether for every office. Morales can now run for a fourth term in 2019 – and for every election thereafter." The revenues generated by
1008-547: A move that would cost Paz and his party dearly in the years to come, especially in future elections. Paz was apparently under the impression that Banzer would rule for a year or two before calling elections. Presumably, since the MNR was still by some distance the largest party in the country, this would allow Paz to return to the presidency. However, Banzer had other ideas. He broke with the MNR in 1974, exiled Paz, and proceeded to rule only with military support until 1978. While Paz had tarnished his image by associating himself with
1120-475: A nationwide basis. He remained extremely popular with the miners, however, and once more he was elected to lead them and to chair the powerful Bolivian Workers' Union (COB). In 1980 he was the PRIN candidate for President and fared rather poorly at the polls, but in any case another military coup (this time led by Luis Garcia Meza ) forced him into exile a third time. When democracy was restored in 1982, Lechín and
1232-689: A partly-free democracy as of 2023, with a 66/100 score. Modern Bolivia is a charter member of the United Nations (UN), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Organization of American States (OAS), Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), Bank of the South , ALBA , and the Union of South American Nations (USAN). Bolivia remains a developing country , and the second-poorest in South America, though it has slashed poverty rates and now has one of
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#17328019975151344-539: A result, the policies were met with protest. In the months following the announcement of Decree 21060, a curfew was imposed on citizens, travel throughout the country restricted, universities and opposition meetings were raided, and hundreds of union leaders were kidnapped and taken to prison camps in the Amazon until strikes were called off. The readjustment policies—conducted to a large extent by Paz Estenssoro's vigorous Minister of Planning, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada , who
1456-426: A ruthless and violent coup d'état that did not have popular support. The Bolivian Workers' Center , which tried to resist the putsch, was violently repressed. More than a thousand people were killed in less than a year. Cousin of one of the most important narco-trafficker of the country, Luis García Meza Tejada favors the production of cocaine. He pacified the people by promising to remain in power only for one year. At
1568-553: A subsequent doubling of water prices. On 6 August 2001, Banzer resigned from office after being diagnosed with cancer. He died less than a year later. Vice President Jorge Fernando Quiroga Ramírez completed the final year of his term. 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
1680-403: A third term as President of Bolivia. The opposition argued that a third term would be unconstitutional, but the Bolivian Constitutional Court ruled that Morales' first term under the previous constitution did not count towards his term limit. This allowed Evo Morales to run for a third term in 2014, and he was re-elected with 64.22% of the vote. During his third term, Evo Morales began to plan for
1792-529: A tropical climate, valleys with a warm climate, as well as being part of the Andes of South America and its high plateau areas with cold climates, hills and snow-capped mountains, with a wide biome in each city and region. It includes part of the Pantanal , the largest tropical wetland in the world, along its eastern border. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to
1904-461: A virtual arm of the MNR party. Clearly, the idea was to fashion a hegemonic party in the image of Mexico's Partido Revolucionario Institucional ( Institutional Revolutionary Party , PRI). The crucial difference between the MNR and PRI was the decidedly de-centralised structure of the country's new military power (i.e., armed workers and peasants), which was largely overseen by the left-wing minority bloc in
2016-483: A wholly independent state. Sucre opted to create a brand new state and on 6 August 1825, with local support, named it in honor of Simón Bolívar. The original name was Republic of Bolívar. Some days later, congressman Manuel Martín Cruz proposed: "If from Romulus , Rome, then from Bolívar , Bolivia" (Spanish: Si de Rómulo, Roma; de Bolívar, Bolivia ). The name was approved by the Republic on 3 October 1825. In 2009,
2128-410: Is multiethnic , including Amerindians , Mestizos , Europeans , Asians , Africans , Arabs , Jews and some other mixtures throughout. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guaraní , Aymara , and Quechua . Well before Spanish colonization , the third part of the high region of Bolivia
2240-690: Is now the Bolivian Andes, and extending its control into the fringes of the Amazon basin. The Spanish conquest of the Inca empire began in 1524 and was mostly completed by 1533. The territory now called Bolivia was known as Charcas, and was under the authority of Spain. Local government came from the Audiencia de Charcas located in Chuquisaca (La Plata—modern Sucre ). Founded in 1545 as a mining town, Potosí soon produced fabulous wealth, becoming
2352-576: Is the fifth-largest country in South America after Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia, and, alongside Paraguay, is one of two landlocked countries in the Americas. It is the 27th largest country in the world , the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere , and the seventh largest landlocked country on earth, after Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Ethiopia. The country's population, estimated at 12 million,
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#17328019975152464-622: The Acre territory, and the War of the Pacific (1879), in which Chile seized the country's Pacific coastal region. Bolivia experienced a succession of military and civilian governments until Hugo Banzer led a US-backed coup d'état in 1971, replacing the socialist government of Juan José Torres with a military dictatorship . Banzer's regime cracked down on left-wing and socialist opposition parties, and other perceived forms of dissent, resulting in
2576-576: The Bolivian Constituent Assembly to begin writing a new constitution aimed at giving more power to the indigenous majority. 2009 marked the creation of a new constitution and the renaming of the country to the Plurinational State of Bolivia. The previous constitution did not allow a consecutive reelection of a president, but the new constitution allowed for just one reelection, starting the dispute if Evo Morales
2688-645: The Bolivian Workers' Union (COB) from 1952 to 1987. He also served as the 29th vice president of Bolivia between 1960 and 1964. Lechín was born to a Syrian immigrant father and a Bolivian mother in Corocoro , a city in the Department of La Paz . He worked in the Catavi and Siglo XX tin mines , both of which were owned by the mining tycoon Simón Iturri Patiño . While working as a machinist in
2800-620: The Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), became increasingly unable to effectively challenge government policy. A teachers' strike in 1995 was defeated because the COB could not marshal the support of many of its members, including construction and factory workers. In the 1997 elections, General Hugo Banzer , leader of the Nationalist Democratic Action party (ADN) and former dictator (1971–1978), won 22% of
2912-718: The Chaco War (1932–1935), where Bolivia lost a great part of the Gran Chaco region in dispute, marked a turning-point. On 7 April 1943, Bolivia entered World War II , joining part of the Allies , which caused president Enrique Peñaranda to declare war on the Axis powers of Germany , Italy and Japan . In 1945, Bolivia became a founding member of the United Nations. The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR),
3024-593: The MNR government was overthrown in a military coup led by vice-president René Barrientos and Alfredo Ovando , commander of the army. Paz flew to a long exile to Lima , Peru , bitter toward René Barrientos' betrayal and unhappy that the "Revolution" had taken such a sad turn. It was not until 1982 (with minor and very temporary exceptions) that military rule ended. By this time Paz and Hernán Siles Zuazo had split, with Siles supporting more leftist policies. Wálter Guevara , for his part, had supported Barrientos and served in his administration. In 1969 Barrientos died in
3136-632: The Organization of American States (OAS) released a preliminary report concluding several irregularities in the election, though these findings were heavily disputed. The New York Times reported on 7 June 2020 that the OAS analysis immediately after the 20 October election was flawed yet fuelled "a chain of events that changed the South American nation's history". After weeks of protests, Morales resigned on national television shortly after
3248-671: The Peru-Bolivian Confederation , with de Santa Cruz as the Supreme Protector . Following tension between the Confederation and Chile, Chile declared war on 28 December 1836. Argentina separately declared war on the Confederation on 9 May 1837. The Peruvian-Bolivian forces achieved several major victories during the War of the Confederation : the defeat of the Argentine expedition and the defeat of
3360-473: The Plan de Todos , which led to the decentralization of government, introduction of intercultural bilingual education , implementation of agrarian legislation, and privatization of state owned businesses. The plan explicitly stated that Bolivian citizens would own a minimum of 51% of enterprises; under the plan, most state-owned enterprises (SOEs), though not mines, were sold. This privatization of SOEs led to
3472-560: The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR), though he maintained good relations with the Trotskyist POR. Following the 1952 Bolivian National Revolution, Lechín was chosen as Minister of Mines and Petroleum. He also led the founding congress of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), an umbrella federation of labor unions, and was elected its Executive Secretary. Since he had played a vital role in
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3584-662: The Tiwanaku Empire , which had its capital at Tiwanaku , in Western Bolivia. The capital city of Tiwanaku dates-back as early as 1500 BC, when it was a small, agriculturally-based village. The Aymara community grew to urban proportions between AD 600 and AD 800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes . According to early estimates, the city covered approximately 6.5 square kilometers (2.5 square miles) at its peak, and had between 15,000 and 30,000 inhabitants. However, in 1996, satellite imaging
3696-524: The state of Acre , in the Acre War , important because this region was known for its production of rubber. Peasants and the Bolivian army fought briefly but after a few victories, and facing the prospect of a total war against Brazil, it was forced to sign the Treaty of Petrópolis in 1903, in which Bolivia lost this rich territory. Popular myth has it that Bolivian president Mariano Melgarejo (1864–71) traded
3808-561: The Bolivian coast . Chile took control of today's Chuquicamata area, the adjoining rich salitre ( saltpeter ) fields, and the port of Antofagasta among other Bolivian territories. Since independence, Bolivia has lost over half of its territory to neighboring countries. Through diplomatic channels in 1909, it lost the basin of the Madre de Dios River and the territory of the Purus in the Amazon, yielding 250,000 km to Peru. It also lost
3920-460: The Bolivian economy. The public also perceived a significant amount of public sector corruption. These factors contributed to increasing social protests during the second half of Banzer's term. Between January 1999 and April 2000, large-scale protests erupted in Cochabamba , Bolivia's third largest city at the time, in response to the privatization of water resources by foreign companies and
4032-479: The Bolivian political elites, many of whose members may have been waiting for their turn to occupy the presidential palace for years. This was no exception, and Paz's move ended up being his undoing. To symbolize Paz's steady rightward drift, he chose the charismatic commander of the Bolivian Air Force, General René Barrientos , as his running mate. To be fair, Paz's increased reliance on the armed forces
4144-673: The Chilean government and public rejected the peace treaty. Chile organized a second attack on the Confederation and defeated it in the Battle of Yungay . After this defeat, Santa Cruz resigned and went to exile in Ecuador and then Paris, and the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation was dissolved. Following the renewed independence of Peru, Peruvian president General Agustín Gamarra invaded Bolivia. On 18 November 1841,
4256-598: The Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces General Williams Kaliman had urged that he do so to restore "peace and stability". Opposition Senator Jeanine Áñez declared herself interim president, claiming constitutional succession after the president, vice president and both head of the legislature chambers. She was confirmed as interim president by the constitutional court who declared her succession to be constitutional and automatic. International politicians, scholars and journalists are divided between describing
4368-569: The Guaraní tribes in defense of their territories in the eastern plains of Bolivia. Spanish conquistadores , arriving from Cusco , Peru, and Asunción , Paraguay, forcibly took control of the region in the 16th century. During the subsequent Spanish colonial period , Bolivia was administered by the Real Audiencia of Charcas . Spain built its empire, in large part, upon the silver that was extracted from Potosí Bolivia's mines , from there,
4480-509: The MNR and the fourth-place MIR, which had again been led in the election by former President Jaime Paz Zamora, virtually ensured the election of Sánchez de Lozada in the congressional run-off, and on 6 August he was sworn in for the second time. The MNR platform featured three overarching objectives: economic reactivation (and job creation), anti-corruption, and social inclusion. In 2003, the Bolivian gas conflict broke out. On 12 October 2003,
4592-615: The MNR at its 1964 convention. At that point, Lechín formed the Revolutionary Party of the National Left (PRIN). Rather surprisingly, Juan Lechín—the firebrand of the left—supported the 1964 military coup that toppled the MNR from power. Soon thereafter, however, he was forced into exile. He returned in 1971 and was elected as head of the Popular Assembly, a revolutionary congress endorsed by
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4704-500: The MNR divided. In 1964, a military junta overthrew President Estenssoro at the outset of his third term. The 1969 death of President René Barrientos Ortuño , a former member of the junta who was elected president in 1966, led to a succession of weak governments. Alarmed by the rising Popular Assembly and the increase in the popularity of President Juan José Torres , the military, the MNR, and others installed Colonel (later General) Hugo Banzer Suárez as president in 1971. He returned to
4816-468: The MNR, headed by the Bolivian Workers' Center (COB) leader, Juan Lechín . Paz was not allowed to run for another consecutive term, and Hernán Siles was elected, serving as President from 1956 until 1960. During the Hernán Siles administration, the MNR began to polarize and fragment, with a conservative wing led by Wálter Guevara and an increasingly assertive left-leaning faction commanded by
4928-486: The Revolution, and had advocated the permanent extension of weapons to the workers' militias to guarantee regime stability against the possibility of an oligarchic/military backlash, he became extremely popular with the poorer sectors of society. Indeed, he was the most charismatic and popular MNR leader other than Víctor Paz Estenssoro . In addition, he was of far more radical political persuasion (Marxist-inspired) than
5040-436: The Revolution, but by 1960 were serving the interests of the party's radical left vice-president Lechín . Of Marxist political persuasion, the latter opposed the disarming of the militias and the reconstitution of the traditional military, urged the passing of more far-reaching reforms. Paz Estenssoro disagreed and, continuing the policies started by Siles , increasingly leaned on the "new" armed forces for support. This produced
5152-643: The Spanish authorities in the Viceroyalty of the Rio de La Plata, but the following year the Spanish American wars of independence raged across the continent. Bolivia was captured and recaptured many times during the war by the royalists and patriots. Buenos Aires sent three military campaigns, all of which were defeated, and eventually limited itself to protecting the national borders at Salta. Bolivia
5264-447: The Spanish empire. Likewise Bolivia was born as a nation in the city of Sucre, considered by its history the constitutional and historical capital of the country since August 6, 1825 sixteen years of fighting would follow before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar . Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bolivia lost control of several peripheral territories to neighboring countries, such as Brazil's of
5376-555: The United States. The country's internal situation became unfavorable for such political action on the international stage. After a resurgence of gas protests in 2005, Carlos Mesa attempted to resign in January 2005, but his offer was refused by Congress. On 22 March 2005, after weeks of new street protests from organizations accusing Mesa of bowing to U.S. corporate interests, Mesa again offered his resignation to Congress, which
5488-522: The battle de Ingavi took place, in which the Bolivian Army defeated the Peruvian troops of Gamarra (killed in the battle). After the victory, Bolivia invaded Peru on several fronts. The eviction of the Bolivian troops from the south of Peru would be achieved by the greater availability of material and human resources of Peru; the Bolivian Army did not have enough troops to maintain an occupation. In
5600-634: The best known archaeologies of the Chané-Guaraní culture is found in Samaipata , Bolivia. The largest carved stone in the world was later populated by the Incas and the Spanish, who found the carved archaeology known in Quechua as "El Fuerte." This intervention by different ethnic groups outside their territories was a dispute between Amazonian and Andean cultures, and the Incas were later expelled by
5712-476: The cabinet of Colonel Gualberto Villarroel (1943–1946), but was forced out of that government as a result of pressure emanating from Washington. The United States was at the time involved in World War II, and suspected some members of the MNR leadership of harboring pro-fascist sympathies. Paz Estenssoro nonetheless ran for president in 1947, earning 3rd place, and again in 1951, when the MNR surprisingly won
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#17328019975155824-478: The candidates polled the required 50% of the vote to win direct election, and thus the outcome was to be decided by Congress. Partisan intransigences prevailed and the latter could not agree on any of the candidates, eventually settling on naming as provisional President the head of the senate, Wálter Guevara , then in alliance with Paz's MNR. He was charged with calling elections again in 1980. Those elections reconfirmed Hernán Siles' victory and Paz's second place, but
5936-470: The charismatic COB leader Lechín. To prevent the fracturing of his party, Paz returned from London (where he had been serving as Bolivian ambassador) and ran for re-election in 1960, winning with an ample majority of the votes. His choice as vice-presidential running mate was the increasingly hard-to-manage Juan Lechín, an action that prompted the defection from the MNR of Wálter Guevara, who felt he had been stepped over. The second Paz Estenssoro administration
6048-816: The city of Sucre on 25 May 1809 and the Chuquisaca Revolution (Chuquisaca was then the name of the city) is known as the first cry of Freedom in Latin America. That revolution was followed by the La Paz revolution on 16 July 1809. The La Paz revolution marked a complete split with the Spanish government, while the Chuquisaca Revolution established a local independent junta in the name of the Spanish King deposed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Both revolutions were short-lived and defeated by
6160-738: The city of Sucre - Bolivia on May 25, 1809, being the first region of rebellion against the Spanish empire of an entire continent based on the Creole law students of the University San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca who inspired by the French revolution arose the first uprising of America, which thanks to this revolution in Sucre, the other Ibero-American countries (Latin Americans) were able to revolt and become independent of
6272-405: The commander Juan Buendía defeated a detachment led by Bolivian colonel José María García, who died in the confrontation. Bolivian troops left Tacna, Arica and Tarapacá in February 1842, retreating towards Moquegua and Puno. The battles of Motoni and Orurillo forced the withdrawal of Bolivian forces occupying Peruvian territory and exposed Bolivia to the threat of counter-invasion. The Treaty of Puno
6384-413: The conditions attached to the loan were unacceptable. On 26 June 2024, a military coup attempt led by Juan José Zúñiga ended after lasting only 5 hours. In the evening of 26 June, Bolivian police arrested Zúñiga. Juan Lech%C3%ADn Juan Lechín Oquendo (18 May 1914 – 27 August 2001) was a labor-union leader and head of the Federation of Bolivian Mine Workers (FSTMB) from 1944 to 1987 and
6496-444: The country into a hyperinflationary spiral. In fact, this was Bolivia's most serious economic crisis in its history, one largely prompted by the collapse of international tin prices and the onset of the Latin American debt crisis . The gravity of the situation prompted Congreso Nacional ( National Congress ) to prevail upon Hernán Siles to call early elections in 1985. Paz again came second (this time to former dictator Hugo Banzer) but
6608-475: The country's tin mines by Paz Estenssoro (due to declining production and the collapse of world prices) led to considerable in-fighting in the unions. In 1987, Lechín—now aged 73—retired from the leadership of the FSTMB and was voted out as head of the COB. He was replaced in the FSTMB by Filemón Escobar and by Genaro Flores in the COB. Juan Lechín Oquendo died in August 2001, at the age of 87. A controversial but undeniably important historical figure, Lechín
6720-436: The district of Locumba – Tacna, a column of Peruvian soldiers and peasants defeated a Bolivian regiment in the so-called Battle of Los Altos de Chipe (Locumba). In the district of Sama and in Arica, the Peruvian colonel José María Lavayén organized a troop that managed to defeat the Bolivian forces of Colonel Rodríguez Magariños and threaten the port of Arica. In the battle of Tarapacá on 7 January 1842, Peruvian militias formed by
6832-461: The east of the country with a diverse non-Andean culture. The sovereign state of Bolivia is a constitutionally unitary state divided into nine departments . Its geography varies as the elevation fluctuates, from the western snow-capped peaks of the Andes to the eastern lowlands, situated within the Amazon basin . One-third of the country is within the Andean mountain range. With an area of 1,098,581 km (424,164 sq mi), Bolivia
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#17328019975156944-462: The economic and social elite followed laissez-faire capitalist policies through the first 30 years of the 20th century. Living conditions of the native people, who constitute most of the population, remained deplorable. With work opportunities limited to primitive conditions in the mines and in large estates having nearly feudal status, they had no access to education, economic opportunity, and political participation . Bolivia's defeat by Paraguay in
7056-473: The election of socialist Evo Morales in 2005. Paz finished his term and finally retired from politics upon leaving office in 1989. He died by his home in Tarija on 7 June 2001. Bolivia in South America (gray) Bolivia , officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country located in central South America . It is a country with the largest geographic extension of Amazonian plains and lowlands, mountains and Chaco with
7168-417: The electoral contest, despite the fact that the laws of that time confined the vote to a small, propertied stratum of the citizenry. The elections, however, were unilaterally annulled by the ultra-conservative government of Mamerto Urriolagoitía , and the MNR at that point went underground, coming to power after a popular national revolution the next year. Among the many important structural reforms adopted by
7280-604: The end of his first term of office (1956–1960). In 1993, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada was elected president in alliance with the Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement , which inspired indigenous-sensitive and multicultural-aware policies. Sánchez de Lozada pursued an aggressive economic and social reform agenda. The most dramatic reform was privatization under the "capitalization" program, under which investors, typically foreign, acquired 50% ownership and management control of public enterprises in return for agreed upon capital investments. In 1993, Sanchez de Lozada introduced
7392-488: The end of the year, he staged a televised rally to claim popular support and announced, " Bueno, me quedo ", or, "All right; I'll stay [in office]". After a military rebellion forced out Meza in 1981, three other military governments in 14 months struggled with Bolivia's growing problems. Unrest forced the military to convoke the Congress , elected in 1980, and allow it to choose a new chief executive. In October 1982, Hernán Siles Zuazo again became president, 22 years after
7504-519: The event as a coup or a spontaneous social uprising against an unconstitutional fourth term. Protests to reinstate Morales as president continued becoming highly violent: burning public buses and private houses, destroying public infrastructure and harming pedestrians. The protests were met with more violence by security forces against Morales supporters after Áñez exempted police and military from criminal responsibility in operations for "the restoration of order and public stability". In April 2020,
7616-466: The fastest-growing economies on the continent (in terms of GDP). Its main economic resources include agriculture, forestry , fishing, mining, and goods such as textiles and clothing, refined metals, and refined petroleum . Bolivia is very geologically rich , with mines producing tin , silver, lithium , and copper. The country is also known for its production of coca plants and refined cocaine . In 2021, estimated coca cultivation and cocaine production
7728-415: The first Chilean expedition on the fields of Paucarpata near the city of Arequipa . The Chilean army and its Peruvian rebel allies surrendered unconditionally and signed the Paucarpata Treaty. The treaty stipulated that Chile would withdraw from Peru-Bolivia, Chile would return captured Confederate ships, economic relations would be normalized, and the Confederation would pay Peruvian debt to Chile. However,
7840-409: The free-market and privatization-policies of its predecessor. The relatively robust economic growth of the mid-1990s continued until about the third year of its term in office. After that, regional, global and domestic factors contributed to a decline in economic growth. Financial crises in Argentina and Brazil, lower world prices for export commodities, and reduced employment in the coca sector depressed
7952-412: The globalization of the world arose by creating the first silver coins, which were then stamped with the " $ " sign, inspired by Potosí and Spanish royalty. There, the saying was born: "You are worth a Potosí", which means innumerable wealth. In fact, Bolivia was the first territory where the First Libertarian Cry of Latin America arose in the city of Charcas or city of the four names, now known as
8064-462: The government imposed martial law in El Alto after 16 people were shot by the police and several dozen wounded in violent clashes. Faced with the option of resigning or more bloodshed, Sánchez de Lozada offered his resignation in a letter to an emergency session of Congress. After his resignation was accepted and his vice president, Carlos Mesa , invested, he left on a commercially scheduled flight for
8176-400: The inevitable final rift, and Lechín was expelled from the party prior to the 1964 elections. Increasingly unable to control events, and considering himself the only man who could keep the MNR coalition together, in 1964 Paz decided to amend the constitution to allow himself to run for re-election. Traditionally, attempts such as these (known as "prorroguismo") have been strongly condemned by
8288-586: The interim government took out a loan of more than $ 327 million from the International Monetary Fund to meet the country's needs during the COVID-19 pandemic . New elections were scheduled for 3 May 2020. In response to the coronavirus pandemic , the Bolivian electoral body, the TSE, made an announcement postponing the election. MAS reluctantly agreed with the first delay only. A date for
8400-469: The interruption, the official count showed Morales fractionally clearing the 10-point margin he needed to avoid a runoff election, with the final official tally counted as 47.08 percent to Mesa's 36.51 percent, starting a wave of protests and tension in the country. Amidst allegations of fraud perpetrated by the Morales government, widespread protests were organized to dispute the election. On 10 November,
8512-451: The land for what he called "a magnificent white horse" and Acre was subsequently flooded with Brazilians, which ultimately led to confrontation and fear of war with Brazil. In the late 19th century, an increase in the world price of silver brought Bolivia relative prosperity and political stability. During the early 20th century, tin replaced silver as the country's most important source of wealth. A succession of governments controlled by
8624-654: The largest city in the New World with a population exceeding 150,000 people. By the late 16th century, Bolivian silver was an important source of revenue for the Spanish Empire . A steady stream of natives served as labor force under the brutal, slave conditions of the Spanish version of the pre-Columbian draft system called the mita . Charcas was transferred to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776 and
8736-555: The military intervened rather than allow Hernán Siles (now associated with parties deemed to be from the "far left") to take office. General Luis García Meza grabbed the reins of power in the bloody coup d'état of 17 July 1980, and Paz once more flew to exile. In 1982, the beleaguered military finally left the Palacio Quemado and confirmed the results of the 1980 elections, making Hernán Siles president. Paz's MNR opposed Hernán Siles on every front, as his administration plunged
8848-631: The mines, he was made aware of the desperate conditions of the vast majority of the highland workers. In the 1940s he became involved in the nascent labor movement and joined the Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR), a Trotskyist political party. In 1944, Lechín led a congress of miners in Huanuni, Oruro , that led to the formation of the FSTMB. Lechín was elected the union's Executive Secretary. At this point, he became affiliated with
8960-468: The most historic political party, emerged as a broad-based party. Denied its victory in the 1951 presidential elections, the MNR led a successful revolution in 1952. 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
9072-579: The new election was delayed twice more, in the face of massive protests and violence. The final proposed date for the elections was 18 October 2020. Observers from the OAS, UNIORE, and the UN all reported that they found no fraudulent actions in the 2020 elections. The general election had a record voter turnout of 88.4% and ended in a landslide win for MAS which took 55.1% of the votes compared to 28.8% for centrist former president Carlos Mesa. Both Mesa and Áñez conceded defeat. On 8 November 2020, Luis Arce
9184-490: The other leaders of the FSTMB and COB returned to the political arena. In his restored position as top labor leader in the country, he strongly criticized the economic policies of president Hernán Siles Zuazo (1982–85), coming close to toppling his beleaguered regime with crippling strikes and other non-cooperation measures. Lechín also vigorously opposed the neoliberal administration of Víctor Paz Estenssoro , who served his fourth term from 1985 to 1989. The closure of most of
9296-624: The partial nationalization of hydrocarbons made it possible to finance several social measures: the Renta Dignidad (or old age minimum) for people over 60 years old; the Juana Azurduy voucher (named after the revolutionary Juana Azurduy de Padilla, 1780–1862), which ensures the complete coverage of medical expenses for pregnant women and their children in order to fight infant mortality; the Juancito Pinto voucher (named after
9408-627: The people from Buenos Aires, the capital of the Viceroyalty, coined the term " Upper Peru " (Spanish: Alto Peru ) as a popular reference to the Royal Audiencia of Charcas. Túpac Katari led the indigenous rebellion that laid siege to La Paz in March 1781, during which 20,000 people died. As Spanish royal authority weakened during the Napoleonic Wars , sentiment against colonial rule grew. The struggle for independence started in
9520-402: The popular Paz Estenssoro government was the extension of universal suffrage to all adult citizens (natives and illiterates included), the nationalization of the largest tin-mining concerns, and an extensive program of land distribution (agrarian reform). Much of the military, which had served so well the interests of the economic elites prior to the Revolution, was dismantled and re-organized as
9632-404: The presidency in 1997 through 2001. Juan José Torres, who had fled Bolivia, was kidnapped and assassinated in 1976 as part of Operation Condor , the U.S.-supported campaign of political repression by South American right-wing dictators. The United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) financed and trained the Bolivian military dictatorship in the 1960s. The revolutionary leader Che Guevara
9744-503: The reform-minded general General Juan José Torres . Once more Lechín's role was polarizing, as he attempted to create a parallel (union and Assembly-based, quite reminiscent of soviets) alternative to the established order. After the Torres's overthrow later that year, Lechín was exiled once again and did not return until the democratic opening of 1978. By then the years had caught up with him and he had lost much luster and electoral appeal on
9856-415: The rest of the government leadership. This inevitably led to growing intra-party tensions and disagreements over labor issues and personal ambitions. In frank disagreement with what he saw as the increasingly conservative policies of president Hernán Siles Zuazo , by the late 1950s Lechín had begun to form a left-wing opposition within the ruling party. To reduce these tensions and prevent fragmentation, Paz
9968-612: The reviled Hugo Banzer dictatorship, Hernán Siles was turning steadily to the left and gaining adherents at Paz's expense. When at long last elections were called in 1978, it was apparently Hernán Siles who won it (there were vast irregularities and the elections were annulled), with Paz getting only third place. It was a major decline from what the MNR had been used to obtaining in the 1950s and early 1960s. Elections were rescheduled for 1979, and when they took place Hernán Siles won again but this time Paz got second place. The elections again proved inconclusive, however, in as much as none of
10080-486: The south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government is La Paz , which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while the constitutional capital is Sucre , the seat of the judiciary. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra , located on the Llanos Orientales (eastern tropical lowlands), a mostly flat region in
10192-455: The torturing and murders of countless Bolivian citizens. Banzer was ousted in 1978 and, twenty years later, returned as the democratically elected President of Bolivia (1997–2001). Under the 2006–2019 presidency of Evo Morales , the country saw significant economic growth and political stability, but was also widely accused of democratic backsliding and was described as a competitive authoritarian regime. Freedom House classifies Bolivia as
10304-534: The vote, while the MNR candidate won 18%. At the outset of his government, President Banzer launched a policy of using special police-units to eradicate physically the illegal coca of the Chapare region. The Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) of Jaime Paz Zamora remained a coalition-partner throughout the Banzer government, supporting this policy (called the Dignity Plan). The Banzer government basically continued
10416-522: Was 39,700 hectares and 317 metric tons, respectively. Bolivia is named after Simón Bolívar , a Venezuelan leader in the Spanish American wars of independence . The leader of Venezuela, Antonio José de Sucre , had been given the option by Bolívar to either unite Charcas (present-day Bolivia) with the newly formed Republic of Peru, to unite with the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata , or to formally declare its independence from Spain as
10528-499: Was accepted on 10 June. The chief justice of the Supreme Court, Eduardo Rodríguez , was sworn as interim president to succeed the outgoing Carlos Mesa. Evo Morales won the 2005 presidential election with 53.7% of the votes. On 1 May 2006, Morales announced his intent to re-nationalize Bolivian hydrocarbon assets following protests which demanded this action. Fulfilling a campaign promise, on 6 August 2006, Morales opened
10640-671: Was an Andean part of great Inca Empire , among which was born the most important culture of America: the Tihuanaco culture in La Paz-Bolivia that converges the ruins of Pumapunko that had a great commercial influence in the Andes of South America reaching Ecuador, Chile and Peru. The largest territory of Bolivia on the eastern side of the lowlands of the north and east of the country were inhabited by independent non-Andean Amazonian tribes with their own civilization and language, cultures and ethnicities that prevail to this day. One of
10752-402: Was announced, Paz and his planning team had not informed the rest of his cabinet or the public of the direction in which they were moving, knowing that it would be met with mass protest and strike action. One member of Paz's economic team compared their approach to the bombing of Hiroshima with nuclear weapons. The reforms were in many ways the opposite of what Paz had represented to his voters. As
10864-510: Was annulled by a military junta led by Hugo Ballivián , and his 1964 victory was interrupted by the 1964 Bolivian coup d'état . In 1941 Víctor Paz Estenssoro co-founded (along with Hernán Siles and others) the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario ( Revolutionary Nationalist Movement , MNR), originally a reformist revolutionary movement and later a centrist party. Paz became an influential member in
10976-410: Was elected president by Congreso Nacional since, as usual, none of the parties had attained the 50% threshold for direct election. It was in fact the first time an opposition party gained power peacefully in a free election, even though there had long been multi-party competition in elections. The now-nearly octogenarian Paz began his fourth (and final) term as President in 1985. The economic situation
11088-466: Was enabled to run for a second term arguing he was elected under the last constitution. This also triggered a new general election in which Evo Morales was re-elected with 61.36% of the vote. His party, Movement for Socialism , also won a two-thirds majority in both houses of the National Congress . By 2013, after being reelected under the new constitution, Evo Morales and his party attempted
11200-484: Was essentially eliminated, and extreme poverty fell from 38% to 15%, a 23-point drop. During the 2019 elections, the Transmisión de Resultados Electorales Preliminares (TREP) (a quick count process used in Latin America as a transparency measure in electoral processes) was interrupted; at the time, Morales had a lead of 46.86 percent to Mesa's 36.72, after 95.63 percent of tally sheets were counted. Two days after
11312-468: Was finally freed of Royalist dominion by Marshal Antonio José de Sucre , with a military campaign coming from the North in support of the campaign of Simón Bolívar . After 16 years of war the Republic was proclaimed on 6 August 1825. In 1836, Bolivia, under the rule of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz , invaded Peru to reinstall the deposed president, General Luis José de Orbegoso . Peru and Bolivia formed
11424-421: Was indeed dire, but Paz and his aides had a radical neo-liberal plan. Through Decree 21060 important economic reforms designed to curb galloping hyperinflation (inherited from Hernán Siles ) were instituted, the labor unions were repressed in order to reestablish government authority, and 30,000 miners were expunged from state payrolls to reduce the size of the government. Up until the economic restructuring
11536-445: Was killed by a team of CIA officers and members of the Bolivian Army on 9 October 1967, in Bolivia. Félix Rodríguez was a CIA officer on the team with the Bolivian Army that captured and shot Guevara. Rodriguez said that after he received a Bolivian presidential execution order, he told "the soldier who pulled the trigger to aim carefully, to remain consistent with the Bolivian government's story that Che had been killed in action during
11648-513: Was later to serve as President of Bolivia —came to be known as the New Economic Policy (NEP). The latter restructured the bulk of the hitherto-statist Bolivian economy and transformed it into a neo-liberal , privatization-oriented one, and successfully contained hyperinflation. However, Bolivia remained the poorest country in South America and anti neo-liberal forces began to grow as a result of his liberal economic policies leading to
11760-547: Was not a violent or domineering culture; to expand its reach, the state exercised great political astuteness, created colonies, fostered local trade agreements (which made other cultures rather dependent), and instituted state cults. As rainfall gradually decreased, the stores of food supplies decreased, and thus the elites lost power. Tiwanaku disappeared around AD 1000. The area remained uninhabited for centuries thereafter. Between 1438 and 1527, Incan Empire expanded from its capital at Cusco , gaining control over much of what
11872-403: Was persuaded to return from retirement and lead the MNR in the 1960 presidential elections. The conciliatory Paz chose Lechín as his vice-presidential candidate, apparently with a promise that Lechín would be the presidential candidate in 1964. Instead, Lechín's intransigence on political issues eventually convinced Paz not only to reneg on his promise but also to expel vice-president Lechín from
11984-414: Was plagued by violence, dissent, and continued hemorraghing of the original leadership. Of great importance during this period was the thorny issue of disarming the miners and workers' militias who had combatted in the 1952 Revolution and who had been for the most allowed to keep their weapons since. They had served as a useful counterbalance to the possibility of a conservative or military reassertion against
12096-424: Was reviled by many and followed almost blindly by others. A major criticism used against him is that he tended to de-stabilize precisely those regimes that were friendliest to the interests of the working class (Paz Estenssoro, Torres, Siles Zuazo between 1982 and 1985), while being quite deferential to the most hardline right-wing governments (Barrientos, Banzer, Garcia Mesa), at least until he could get safely out of
12208-437: Was signed on 7 June 1842, ending the war. However, the climate of tension between Lima and La Paz would continue until 1847, when the signing of a Peace and Trade Treaty became effective. A period of political and economic instability in the early-to-mid-19th century weakened Bolivia. In addition, during the War of the Pacific (1879–83), Chile occupied vast territories rich in natural resources south west of Bolivia, including
12320-566: Was sworn in as President of Bolivia alongside his Vice President David Choquehuanca . In February 2021, the Arce government returned an amount of around $ 351 million to the IMF. This comprised a loan of $ 327 million taken out by the interim government in April 2020 and interest of around $ 24 million. The government said it returned the loan to protect Bolivia's economic sovereignty and because
12432-520: Was to some extent influenced by Washington's constant demands that the military be fully reconstituted and equipped to fight possible Cuban-style Communist insurgencies. In any case, the René Barrientos choice was a final act of folly, as Paz did not seem to have noticed the deep resentment of the outwardly loyal commanders of the "new, revolutionary" military toward the MNR's manipulation of the armed forces for political ends. On 4 November 1964,
12544-580: Was used to map the extent of preserved suka kollus ( flooded raised fields ) across the three primary valleys of Tiwanaku, with the results suggesting a population-carrying capacity of anywhere between 285,000 and 1,482,000 people. Around AD 400, Tiwanaku went from being a locally-dominant force to a 'predatory' state, aggressively expanding its reach into the Yungas and bringing its culture and ways to new peoples in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Nonetheless, Tiwanaku
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