Briefings

Morales & MAS Govt

Significance of elections of Evo Morales and challenges his government will face

Hydrocarbons

Bolivia has the second largest reserves of gas and oil in Latin America but the vast majority of Bolivians have up to now seen little benefit from their own natural resources

Water

Water has been the theme of two major struggles against privatisation in the last five years: in Cochabamba and El Alto

Coca

 

Trial for Goni

Former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada with two other ministers is currently wanted by the Bolivian Government to stand trial for more than 60 death in 2003

Constituent Assembly

The demand for a constituent assembly to refound the country and make it more representative of the indigenous majority has been a core demand of the social movements in the last years

Trade

Free Trade has been sold as one of the key solutions to Bolivia's impoverishment, but the evidence shows that it can deepen poverty and environmental degradation

Debt & External financing

Bolivia has been crippled by a debt burden which has forced it to divert resources from essential services. It has also become highly dependent on external financing which has restricted its ability to decide its own policies

IMF, World Bank & IFIs

The economic policies of the IMF, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and other international insitutions that have dominated Bolivian politics especially since 1985 have come under increasing question by social movements in Bolivia.

Social Movements

Social movements have been at the forefront of forging a new vision of Bolivia based on justice and environmental sustainability

Military & Security

Security issues

USA

The US Government has had a dominant and controversial role in Bolivia in particular on issues of aid, trade and coca.

Neoliberalism

Bolivia was a model pupil for the IMF because of the narrow range of market-led economic policies it followed known as neo-liberalism

Nationalization wins praise, but falls short for Bolivian left

Christian Parenti, reporting from Bolivia for The Nation, highlights Morales's moves to take state control of the oil and gas sector, but emphasizes that many on the Bolivian left say "nationalization" does not go far enough.

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