Bolivia

1. Bolivia

2. Economy • 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

3. Guevara revolution • 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.

4. Military/civilian rule • A string of military coups followed before the military returned the government to civilian rule in 1982, when HernánSilesZuazo became president. • At that point, Bolivia was regularly shut down by work stoppages and had the lowest per capita income in South America.

5. 1990s Bolivia stays capitalistic • 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.

6. Coca eradication • 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.

7. An old face • 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 gas-exporting project that protesters believed would benefit foreign companies more than Bolivians.

8. Mesa and government control • 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.

9. Unrest again • 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.

10. Evo comes to power • 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.

11. Morales the nightmare • 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

12. Evo Morales and Reform • 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.

13. Santa Cruz • 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.

14. Resistance and referendum • 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.

15. Anti-U.S. • 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.

16. DEA removed • 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.

17. Expansion of power • 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.

18. Morales a winner • In December 2009, Morales was elected to a second term, taking more than 60% of the vote, well ahead of his conservative opponent.

19. 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.

20. 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."

21. Protests 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.

22. News http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/world/americas/bolivia-reduces-coca-plantings-by-licensing-plots.html?ref=bolivia&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/world/americas/turnabout-in-bolivia-as-economy-rises-from-instability.html?_r=0

23. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoWcTDrv3pY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4_qim_hAKQ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-21023259 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2629138/Coke-gets-eyes-Bolivian-police-burn-1-500kg-cocaine-war-traffickers-worlds-largest-producer.html