Bolivia - Country Profile
Geography: (Map of Bolivia - Bolivia central) Size: 1 098 581 km2. The west in the upland of the Andes (highest peak Ancohuma 6920 alt.) with the plateau Altiplano (3500 alt.), lowland in the east (Chaco Boreal and 'Yunga' at the slope of the Andes), no acces to the Pacific.
Natural Resources: gas, oil, tin, silver, gold, copper, antimony, lead, wolframite, nickel, selenium.
Political Partition: Capital: nominal: Sucre (2694 alt.), since 1898 seat of government La Paz (3690 alt.); Provinces: Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pano, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija.
Agriculture: scanty cultivation in the Andes: potatoes, barley, wheat, corn and cattle-breeding (Lama); in the tropical lowland: cocoa, sugar-cane, tobacco, cotton, coca, caoutchouc, Peruvian bark.
Population: (2000) 7,958 million, indigenous about 50%.
History: 1538 conquest by Spanish troops. Independence together with Peru in 1825 with Sucre (President 1825-28) and Simon Bolivar (Protector). 1827 separated from Peru. After the war on salpeter with Chile and Peru 1879-84 loss of the Pacific coast (Tarapaca). 1903 renunciation to Acre in favour of Brasil. Some wars with Paraguay on the Gran Chaco jungle. 1971-78 military dictatorship with Hugo Banzer. Recent Presidents: Hugo Banzer (1997-2001) Jorge Quiroga Ramírez (2001/02), "Goni" Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (2002-03), Carlos Mesa (since October 2003)
recent Bolivia News:
- Uprisings in 2005
- Noviembre de 2003 ("guerra del gas")
- Octubre de 2003 ("guerra del gas")
- Setiembre de 2003 ("guerra del gas")
- Enero - Agosto de 2003
- Guerra del Agua de Tiquipaya (Junio/ Julio de 2003)
- Enero - Diciembre de 2002
- Mayo de 2000 - Diciembre de 2001
- Febrero - Abril de 2000
- Guerra del Agua de CCBA (desde Abril de 2000)
- protest against privatization of oil fields (March 1996)
- general strike and road blocks (April 1995)
- general strike against World Bank 'reforms' (October 1994)
- road blocks (April 1994)
- Exploitation of Oil and Gas in Bolivia