Bolivia History, Economics & Politics | | | | | 2/21/2013 |

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In this research paper I will be discussing three topics of the country of Bolivia. The three topics that I will be discussing is history of Bolivia during the 20th century, the current economic situation, and the politics of the country of Bolivia. The first topic that I am going to discuss is 20th century history of Bolivia. A major turning point in the history of this country is the Chaco War. This took place from 1932 to 1935. This was a war between Paraguay and Bolivia over a region that was known for being rich in oil. Paraguay defeated Bolivia which cost the lives of many Bolivians and the oil rich territory. The conflict also discredited their government. From 1941 to 1964 the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement, or MNR along with President Paz Estenssoro were the government figures that ruled Bolivia. This movement was the most important political party during the 20th century. This political party started out as a leftist/reformist party but has since moved sharply to the right. From 1965 to 2005 Bolivia struggled with electing a president that would be good for economy until they elected President Evo Morales. During the 1900’s indigenous people were not treated like they were citizens of Bolivia. Their living conditions were deplorable and they were forced to work under primitive conditions in the mines and on estates. They were also denied access to education, economic opportunity, and political participation. The indigenous people did not get the respect that the deserved until the current president of Bolivia took office. Minerals have always been in abundance in Bolivia especially tin. Tin was Bolivia’s major money maker of all the mineral exports, but this has gradually declined since World War. Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America despite being rich in mineral and energy resources. Bolivia’s major cash crop to date is the soybean due to the coca crop eradication program. With the new constitution that was adopted in early 2009 each country was given a greater role in the economy, but just like the rest of the world Bolivia saw a slowdown in its economy due to the recession most of the world seen in 2009. However, during this time Bolivia recorded the highest growth rate of all the South American countries. To back that up in 2010, Bolivia had the biggest trade surplus in history. In recent years the country has had problems with poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. The Bolivian economy has always been one of the poorest economies in South America and I do not see any major change for them in the years to come. With Bolivia having the second largest reserves of natural gas in South America, you would think that they would not be struggling economically but that is not the case. The long running tensions over the exploitation and export of natural gas has definitely hindered Bolivia from moving up in economic status within South America. You would think that being rich in minerals & energy resources such as natural gas that Bolivia would be one of the richest countries in South America. Instead they are at the opposite end of the spectrum and are the poorest country. I do have to say that the economy is doing much better under the current president, President Evo Morales, than any other president in the history of Bolivia. The Bolivian government has seen its fair share of presidents over the years. From the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement, or the MNR to the current president Evo Morales there has been many problems within Bolivia and its government to face. From the 1952 Revolution until the mid-1980’s the presidents was known for human rights violations and mismanaging of the Bolivian economy. From 1978 to 1980 the elections were marked by fraud. During this time there was no actual government in place, and the country was run by coups, counter-coups, and caretaker governments. One of the worst leaders in the history of Bolivia was during this time. And this leader General Luis Garcia Meza was known for notorious human rights abuse, narcotic trafficking, and economic mismanagement. He was later convicted of crimes including murder, and began serving a 30-year prison term in 1995. Starting in 1980 due to the unrest within the government the military convene the congress, which would choose a new president. The presidents elected after 1980 and through the 1990’s worked to make the economic situation better in Bolivia but this continued to be a struggle. The struggle continued due to the government’s eradication program to shut down coca crop production without a substantial crop to take its place. This caused for Bolivia to import a large amount of its food. There has been numerous times throughout the history of the Bolivia government where there was no candidate that received the majority of the popular votes for presidency. The Bolivian congress is responsible for electing a new president when one is note chosen by popular vote. In 2006, President Evo Morales was elected and he is still serving as president today, on his second term. In his last election he was elected as Bolivia’s president in a landslide. To date Morales is the best president that the Bolivians have seen. President Morales is the first indigenous leader. He is very popular with other indigenous Bolivians despite being plagued with poverty. Some of President Morales major accomplishments have been the redistribution of land to indigenous peasant communities, the decision to nationalize the countries energy supply, and the new constitution being approved in December of 2007. The country of Bolivia has many challenges ahead of them. The most important challenge that they are faced with is the improving of their economic system. Even though they have come a far way with their economy since the 1950’s they still have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the countries in South America. Being the poorest country despite having an overabundance of minerals such as natural gas does not make much sense. If Bolivia would start to export their natural gas this could help their economic system vastly.

References
Youngblood-Coleman, Denise, editor. Country Review: Bolivia. 2013. Houston, Texas: CountryWatch Publications, 2013. Country Review: Bolivia. Online. Available URL:
http://0-www.countrywatch.com.olinkserver.franklin.edu/cw_country.aspx?vcountry=21