Teaching - BOLIVIA Country Facts

Bolivia

Population: 9.1 million (UN, 2005) Capital: Sucre (official), La Paz (administrative) Area: 1.1 million sq km (424,164 sq miles) Major languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guarani Major religion: Christianity Life expectancy: 62 years (men), 66 years (women) Monetary unit: 1 boliviano = 100 centavos Main exports: Soyabeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, silver, lead, tin, antimony, wood, sugar GNI per capita: US$1,010 (World Bank, 2006) International dialing code: +591

Geography

Landlocked by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru, Bolivia is one of South America's smallest countries. Its topography varies from the mountainous Andes with their towering peaks to the lowland plains of the Amazon Basin. With the variations in altitude, the climate ranges from humid and tropical to cold and semiarid. The land holds many natural resources including tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, silver, iron, lead and gold. Bolivia is experiencing environmental problems such as; deforestation caused by the clearing of land for agriculture and the international demand for tropical timber, soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods, desertification, loss of biodiversity, and pollution of water supplies with industrial waste.

People

The population of Bolivia is made up of 30% Quechua, 30% mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), 25% Aymara and 15% white. About 85% of the population are Roman Catholic. Spanish is an official language, but in more remote places many people only speak Aymara, Quechua or Guarani. Important aspects of Bolivian life include arts & crafts and music. The ancient traditions of feather-art, weaving and wood-carving have survived unchanged for years and play an important part in festivals and ceremonies. Bolivian music, played on pan-pipes and guitar, is famous for its distinctively evocative sound. Football is the national sport, and is often played on street corners. Education is compulsory for children between the ages of seven and fourteen and the literacy rate is estimated at 87%.

Brief History

Prior to the Spanish conquest of 1525, the land now defined as Bolivia had been inhabited by three separate cultural groups, the Tinawakan, the Moxos, and the Mollos. All three groups had simultaneously been developing architectural and agricultural techniques for centuries. By the 13th Century, these advanced societies had either disappeared or dissipated, and in 1450, the Quechua-speaking Incas discovered the Bolivian highlands and added it to their empire. The Inca rule over this land was short lived because in 1525 the Spanish arrived and conquered. They were attracted by the abundance of silver and the wealth it would bring them, so they tolerated the harsh climate and stayed for three centuries until the natives gained independence in 1809. However it wasn't until 1824, after 15 years of struggle against Spanish rule, that the country was finally liberated and named after Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan freedom fighter who had lead the struggle for independence. In 1825 Bolivia gained complete independence. Unfortunately, independence did not bring stability for Bolivia, and the following 60 years saw a series of coups and short-lived constitutions, as well as the damaging War of the Pacific in which Bolivia lost its seacoast and rich nitrate fields to Chile. Following this set-back, Bolivia experienced a period of relative prosperity after worldwide demand for silver increased as well as the price. By the early 20th Century, Bolivia's main source of wealth was no longer silver, but tin. The beginning of this century was defined by its harsh treatment of the indigenous people who were forced to work in primitive conditions in the mines with denied access to education, economic opportunities, or political involvement. Rebellions and revolts continued throughout the 1920's which were suppressed until 1952 when peasants and miners successfully overthrew the military regime. The following decades saw a series of military coups, counter-coups, inconclusive and fraudulent elections, and caretaker governments. In 1967 the monumental murder of 'Che' Guevara took place after he was betrayed to the US army while leading a peasant uprising. The years preceding the 1985 election involved three military governments, a weak president, social tension, chronic strikes, unchecked drug trafficking, and hyperinflation at 14,000%. Paz Estenssoro became president in 1985, and in four years managed to achieve a level of social and economic stability, but was also forced to sack 20,000 miners after the collapse of tin prices. Zamora, Banzer, Quiroga, Lozada, and Mesa were respectively elected as president over the next 15 years until in 2005, socialist leader Evo Morales won the election with over half the vote, becoming the first indigenous Bolivian to take office.

Politics

Since 1982, Bolivia has had a number of democratically elected governments, a stability which followed on from years of political instability and military coups. The current president is Evo Morales, who won the 2005 election with over half the votes. The former llama herder, coca grower and trumpet player from an impoverished Aymara Indian family, is the first indigenous Bolivian to take office. An admirer of Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, socialist Morales describes himself as the candidate "of the most disdained and discriminated against." His policies favor his people. He aims to redistribute non-productive lands, implement new forms of management over the county's hydrocarbons and minerals, and relax restrictions on coca growing which could potentially create an industry in coca tea for the home and overseas market. With his policies he wants to empower the nation's poor majority and change the country's traditional political class.

Economy

Despite Bolivia's abundance of valuable resources such as natural gas and minerals, as well as its rich agricultural potential, Bolivia remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America with 70% of the population living below the poverty line. Bolivia's weak economy is due to several factors including its turbulent political history, its low population growth and low life expectancy, its difficult topography which limits agricultural development, and inflation and corruption.