Bolivia
Civilization in the Bolivian Andes is thought to stretch back some 21,000
years. The most influential Pre-Columbian cultures were the Tiahuanaco,
who were based around Lake Titicaca and who ruled the region between 600-1200
AD, and the Incas, who headed a vast empire comprising most of Peru, Bolivia,
Ecuador and northern Chile.
The Spanish conquest of the country began in 1531 under Francisco Pizarro.
The conquistadors made rapid progress, exploiting the trust (and later
the disunity) of the Indians to secure the territory that within two years
became known as Alto Peru. In 1544, deposits of silver were discovered
at Potosí. The wealth generated by this find underwrote the Spanish
economy (and the extravagance of its monarchs) for more than two centuries.
However, conditions for the mine workers were appalling, with most of
the enslaved Indians and Africans dying within a few years.
The process of achieving independence from the profligate Spanish administration
finally came in the form of Simón Bolivar's lieutenant Antonio
José de Sucre, in the battle of Ayacucho in 1824. Bolivia was formally
declared a republic the following year.
Bolivia's territory had always been coveted by its neighbors, encompassing
as it did over 2 million square kilometers (780,000 sq mi). Chile's desire
for more land first bore fruit in the War of the Pacific, which it fought
with Bolivia between 1879 and 1884. Chile triumphed, securing 850km (527mi)
of coastline and robbing Bolivia of the port of Antofagasta, leaving the
country landlocked. Soon after, Peru, Brazil and Argentina also began
hacking away at Bolivia's borders. In 1932, a border dispute with Paraguay
in the Chaco region over oil deposits stripped Bolivia of further land.
The ensuing Chaco War (1932-35) also served to foment civil unrest within
the country, promulgating reformist associations and leading to a series
of coups by reform-minded military leaders.
Perhaps the most significant development during this time was the formation
of the populist Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR). In 1951,
the MNR, under the leadership of Víctor Paz Estenssoro, prevailed
in the general elections but was stymied by a last-minute coup. The coup
provoked a popular armed revolt which became known as the April Revolution
of 1952. The military was subsequently defeated and Paz Estenssoro was
brought back.
In 1964, a military junta headed by General René Barrientos overthrew
the MNR. Military regimes subsequently came and went with monotonous regularity
until the election of the leftist civilian Movimiento de la Izquierda
Revolucionaria (MIR) under Dr Hernán Siles Zuazo in 1982. Three
years later Zuazo was defeated by Paz Estenssoro, who immediately sought
to curb the stratospheric inflation levels (at one point reaching 35,000%
annually) and implemented austerity measures.
Bolivia is currently vying to strengthen its regional links and is a
supporter of a South American common market. It's reputation as a cocain-producing
country in the early 1990s hurt relations with the US, the hemisphere's
800lb gorilla. This strained relationship exacerbated a severe recession
that peaked in 1999 with a record 20% unemployment. While inflation has
been reduced, the country's history of economic
instability still deters overseas investors. Bolivia's main structural
problem is the huge gulf that seperates this divided society, half immersed
in the world of 21st-century business and half who remain subsistent peasants.
*The above information was obtained from
www.lonelyplanet.com and Youth International
wants to acknowlege all due credit to the source of the information.
