Transcript Bolivia - Northern Highlands

Bolivia
Economy
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Although Bolivia sits on South America's second-largest natural gas reserves as well as
considerable oil, the country has remained one of the poorest on the continent.
Following a disastrous economic crisis during the early 1980s, reforms spurred private
investment, stimulated economic growth, and cut poverty rates in the 1990s
It has shown positive growth rates as of late
Guevara revolution
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In 1965, a guerrilla movement mounted from Cuba and headed by Maj. Ernesto
(Ché) Guevara began a revolutionary war.
With the aid of U.S. military advisers, the Bolivian army smashed the guerrilla
movement, capturing and killing Guevara on Oct. 8, 1967.
Military/civilian rule
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A string of military coups followed before the military returned the government to
civilian rule in 1982, when Hernán Siles Zuazo became president.
At that point, Bolivia was regularly shut down by work stoppages and had the
lowest per capita income in South America.
1990s Bolivia stays
capitalistic
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In June 1993, free-market advocate Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada was elected
president.
He was succeeded by former general Hugo Bánzer, an ex-dictator turned
democrat who became president in Aug. 1997.
Coca eradication
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Bánzer made significant progress in wiping out illicit coca production and drug trafficking, which
pleased the United States. He was pro-business and anti-socialist
However, the eradication of coca, a major crop in Bolivia, plunged many Bolivian farmers into
abject poverty.
An old face
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In Aug. 2002, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada again became president, pledging to
continue economic reforms and to create jobs.
In Oct. 2003, Sánchez resigned after months of rioting and strikes over a gasexporting project that protesters believed would benefit foreign companies more
than Bolivians.
Mesa and government
control
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Vice president, Carlos Mesa, replaced him.
Mesa remained popular during his first two years as president.
In a July 2004 referendum on the future of the country's significant natural gas
reserves Bolivians overwhelmingly supported Mesa's plan to exert more control
over foreign gas companies.
Mesa managed to satisfy the strong anti-privatization sentiment among Bolivians
without shutting the door on some limited form of privatization in the future.
Unrest again
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But rising fuel prices in 2005 led to massive protests by impoverished farmers and
miners, and on June 6 Mesa resigned.
Supreme court justice Eduardo Rodriguez took over as interim president.
Evo comes to power
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Bolivian activist Evo Morales of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) won 54% of the vote in
the 2005 presidential elections, becoming the country's first indigenous president.
He carried out two of his three major initiatives in 2006: nationalizing Bolivia's energy industry,
which was expected to double the country's annual revenues; and forming in August a
constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution, which will ensure greater rights for indigenous
Bolivians.
His third major initiative is to legalize the growing of coca, which many Bolivians consider an
integral part of their culture.
Morales the nightmare
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In July 2007, Morales announced plans to nationalize the country's railways, which for the past
10 years have been run by investors from Chile and the United States.
His controversial coca policy, his plans to limit foreign investment, and his close ties with the
leftist governments of Venezuela and Cuba have predictably antagonized the United States.
Morales has referred to himself as the “United States' biggest nightmare.”
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-25-2007/president-evo-morales
Evo Morales and Reform
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On Dec. 9, 2007, Morales presented a new constitution to congress.
The new constitution, which will give indigenous people more rights, recognize 37 official
languages, and grant indigenous communities autonomy, was approved by 164 of the 255
constituent assembly members.
The opposition boycotted the meeting, however, claiming that the document is illegal because it
was not approved by the required two-thirds majority.
Regardless of the opposition, the government planned to submit the document to a referendum
in 2008.
Santa Cruz
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On May 4, 2008, at least one person died and many were injured when clashes broke out in a
Santa Cruz province because a referendum was held in opposition to President Morales’
government. This region has most of the gas reserves and is the most wealthy
The government strongly disapproved of the proposed referendum, which would give more
autonomy to the Santa Cruz province, including the ability to elect its own legislature, raise
taxes for public works, and create its own police force.
Resistance and referendum
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On Aug. 10, 2008, President Morales won a recall referendum with 63.5 percent of voters
supporting his administration.
The recall vote was an unsuccessful effort to remove Morales from office by Podemos, an
opposition party
Morales has garnered criticism from some lowland provinces for his policies, including the
acceptance of financing from Venezuela.
Anti-U.S.
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On Sept. 10, 2008, President Morales ordered the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia,
Philip Goldberg, to leave the country, accusing Goldberg of "conspiring against
democracy" and encouraging rebel groups who were protesting in eastern Bolivia.
DEA removed
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In November, 2008, relations between Bolivia and the United States deteriorated
further—the U.S. suspended duty-free access for Bolivian exports and President
Morales suspended U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration operations, accusing its
agents of espionage.
Expansion of power
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A new constitution that extended the rights of the indigenous majority,
granted increased autonomy to the states, and allowed the president to
run for a second five-year term was passed in a national referendum in
January 2009 despite widespread protests.
Morales a winner
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In December 2009, Morales was elected to a second term, taking more
than 60% of the vote, well ahead of his conservative opponent.
A Third Term?????
 In the spring of 2013, Bolivia's Constitutional Court
ruled that President Evo Morales could run for a third
term in the December 2014 elections. Even though the
country's constitution only allows two consecutive
terms, the court ruled that Morales's first term would
not be counted because it predated Bolivia's current
constitution, which was amended in 2009.
 The 2009 constitution limited both the president and
vice-president to two consecutive terms. Opposition
and critics said the ruling proved that the government
controlled the court.
USAID REMOVED
 In May 2013, President Morales expelled the U.S.
Agency of International Development (USAID). Morales
had threated to expel the agency for some time,
accusing it in the past of funding groups that opposed
his policies such as a planned highway through a
rainforest preserve.
 A state news agency in Bolivia reported that the USAID
was "accused of alleged political interference in
peasant unions and other social organizations."
Protests
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On May 16, 2013, hundreds of teachers, miners and other workers
marched into Bolivia's capital. It was the 11th day of demonstrations for
higher pensions. Protestors asked for their pensions, which ranged from
$21 to $28 a month, to be doubled. Protestors attempted to take over the
plaza where the government was located and miners set off dynamite.
Police fought off protestors with tear gas.
Snowden
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Bolivia found itself involved in the international controversy surrounding the future
of Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee who leaked top-secret information
about U.S. domestic surveillance to several news organizations in June 2013.
President Morales offered asylum to Snowden.
Bolivia was one of about 20 countries from which Snowden sought asylum. On July
3, the plane carrying Morales from Russia back to Bolivia was diverted because
several European nations, believing that Snowden was on board the plane, refused
Morales access to their airspace.
The move created a diplomatic furor, and Morales called the incident an "affront to
all [Latin] America," and the vice president, Alvaro Garcia, said Morales was "being
kidnapped by imperialism."
France apologized the day after the incident. Morales's regional allies, including
presidents from Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela, met in a show of
solidarity and demanded an explanation about the incident.
Morales in back
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President Evo Morales won a third consecutive term on Oct. 12, 2014,
taking 61% of the vote. His closest opponent in the election received
24.5%. During his victory speech, Morales said, "This victory is the victory
of the anti-colonialists and the anti-imperialists."
Morales dedicated his third term re-election to Hugo Chávez. Critics
expressed fear that Morales would follow Chávez's lead and attempt to
stay in office past 2020. The Constitution currently bars him from seeking
a fourth term, but last year Bolivia's Constitutional Court ruled that
Morales could run for a third term in the 2014 elections. Many suspect his
party would seek another change to the Constitution, allowing him to run
again like Chávez did in Venezuela.
News
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/13/world/americas/bolivia-seen-likely-to-re-electmorales-as-president.html?ref=topics
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/opinion/evo-morales-of-bolivia-anddemocracy.html?ref=topics
Video
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoWcTDrv3pY
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4_qim_hAKQ
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america21023259
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2629138/Cokegets-eyes-Bolivian-police-burn-1-500kg-cocaine-wartraffickers-worlds-largest-producer.html
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8K5YpQUTJ4