Bolivia

= ¡BIENVENIDOS BOLIVIA! =

**Historical Summary: ** Famous since Spanish colonial days for its mineral wealth, modern Bolivia was once a part of the ancient Incan empire. After the Spaniards defeated the Incas in the 16th century, Bolivia's Indian population was reduced to slavery.

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__The country won its independence in 1825 and was named after Simón Bolívar__, the famous liberator. __Bolivia lost great quantities of territory to their three neighboring nations__. __Several thousand square miles and its outlet to the Pacific were taken by Chile after the War of the Pacific__ (1879–1884). In 1938, __after losing the Chaco War of 1932–1935 to Paraguay, Bolivia gave up its claim to nearly 100,000 sq mi of the Gran Chaco__. ======

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In __June 1993, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada was elected president__. He was succeeded by former general Hugo __Bánzer, who became president for the second time in August 1997.__ Bánzer made significant progress in __wiping out most of the coca production and drug trafficking__, which pleased the United States. With the elimination of coca, a major crop in Bolivia since Incan times, plunged many Bolivian farmers into poverty. Although Bolivia has the second-largest natural gas reserve in South America's and a considerable amount of oil, the country has remained one of the poorest on the continent. ====== In August of 2002, __Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada again became president__, pledging to continue economic reforms and to create jobs. In October 2003, Sánchez resigned after months of rioting and strikes over a gas-exporting project that protesters believed would benefit foreign companies more than Bolivians. His vice president, Carlos Mesa, replaced him. Despite continued unrest, Mesa remained popular during his first two years as president. In July 2004 the decisions on the future of the country's significant natural gas reserves were pondered upon, Bolivians overwhelmingly supported Mesa's plan to exert more control over foreign gas companies. On June 6, Mesa resigned and supreme court justice Eduardo Rodriguez took over as interim president. __2005, December, socialist leader Evo Morales wins presidential elections and becomes the first indigenous Bolivian to take office. __

Historical Timeline:
**1538** - Spanish conquer Bolivia, which becomes part of the Vice-royalty of Peru. **1824** - Venezuelan freedom fighter Simon Bolivar, after whom Bolivia is named, liberates the country from Spanish rule. **1825** - __Bolivia becomes independent with Simon Bolivar as its president.__ **1836-39** - Bolivia enters into a federation with Peru, but the federation fails following Peru's defeat in war with Chile. **1879-84** - __Bolivia becomes landlocked after losing mineral-rich, coastal territory in the Atacama to Chile.__ **1932-35** - __Bolivia loses territory to Paraguay after it is defeated in the Chaco War.__ <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**1986** - Twenty-one thousand miners lose their jobs following the collapse of the tin market. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**1993** - __Banzer withdraws from the presidential race, which is won by Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.__ <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**1997** - __Banzer elected president.__ <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**1998** - __Banzer tells the United Nations that he is committed to freeing Bolivia from drugs before the end of his term in 2002.__ <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**2000** - Banzer announces the almost total eradication of the coca plant in the Chapare jungle region. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**2002 Augus**t - Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada wins a clear victory in a National Congress run-off vote and becomes president for a second time. His rival, coca growers' representative Evo Morales, leads a strengthened opposition.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Democracy and economic collapse **

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**2005 June** - As angry street protests continue, President Mesa resigns. Supreme Court head Eduardo Rodriguez is sworn in as caretaker president. ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**2005 December** - __Socialist leader Evo Morales wins presidential elections. He becomes the first indigenous Bolivian to take office.__ ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**2006 December** - Bolivia completes its gas nationalisation programme, launched in May, giving the state control over the operations of foreign energy firms in the country. ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**2007 December** - President Morales formally receives controversial new draft constitution which he says will promote re-distribution of the country's wealth and give a greater voice to the indigenous majority. ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**2009 January** - New constitution giving greater rights to indigenous majority is approved in a national referendum, with more than 60% voting in favour. ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**2010 May** - President Morales orders nationalisation of four electricity firms, saying the state now controlled 80% of country's power generation. ======

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__Peru and Bolivia have been drawn together as allies, towards Chile after the War of Pacific__. Peru’s denial to concede pacific coast to Bolivia, made them enemies. ====== <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__Conflicts arise between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru for the territory containing valuable mineral resources__, particularly sodium nitrate beds in the Atacama Desert. This __resulted in Chilean annexation of disputed territory on the Pacific coast.__ -Chile's superior resources and military discipline brought overwhelming defeat to Peru and its ally Bolivia.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">Historical Conflict:
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What is the Pacific War? <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War __refers broadly to the parts of Word War ll__ that took place in the Pacific Ocean in its islands, and in the Far East. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">It is generally considered that the Pacific War began on December 7, 1941 with the invasion of British Malaya and the attack on Pearl Harbor in the United States Territory of Hawaii by the Empire of Japan. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bolivia in the Pacific War <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">War of the Pacific, GUERRA DEL PACÍFICO (1879-83), was the __conflict between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru for the territory containing valuable mineral resources__, particularly sodium nitrate beds in the Atacama Desert, which grew out of a dispute between Chile and Bolivia over control of a part of the Atacama Desert on the Pacific coast of South America. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__National borders in the region had never been definitively established__; the two countries __negotiated a treaty__ that recognized the 24th parallel as their boundary and that gave __Chile the right to share the export taxes on the mineral resources__ of Bolivia's territory. With this idea Bolivia subsequently became __dissatisfied at having to share its taxes with Chile and feared Chilean seizure of its coastal region__, by this time Chile already controlled Bolivia's mining industry. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Peru's interest in the conflict arrived from its traditional __rivalry with Chile for control of the Pacific coast.__ The prosperity of the Peruvian government's __guano (fertilizer) monopoly and the thriving nitrate industry__ in Peru's Tarapacá province were related to mining activities on the Bolivian coast. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In 1874 Chilean-Bolivian relations were ameded by a __revised treaty__ under which __Chile relinquished its share of export taxes on minerals shipped from Bolivia__, and __Bolivia agreed not to raise taxes on Chilean enterprises in Bolivia for 25 years.__ <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__The treaty was broken__ in 1878 when Bolivia tried to __increase the taxes__ of the Chilean Antofagasta Nitrate Company over the protests of the Chilean government. When __Bolivia threatened to confiscate the company's property__, Chilean armed forces occupied the port city of Antofagasta on Febuary 14, 1879 __Bolivia then declared war on Chile__ and called upon Peru for help. __Chile declared war on both Peru and Bolivia__ on April 5, 1879. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chile easily occupied the __Bolivian coastal__ region (Antofagasta province) and then took the offensive against Peru more strongly. The Naval Battle of Iquique was a confrontation that occurred on May 21, 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific. The battle took place off the Peruvian port of Iquique, which currently is Chilean territory. __The Peruvian ironclad Huáscar__, commanded by Miguel Grau Seminario, __sank the Esmeralda, a Chilean wooden corvette__ captained by Arturo Prat Chacón, after four hours of combat. The Huáscar was sunk on October 8, and this lead to the __eventual surrender of control of the sea__ permitted by a Chilean army to land on the Peruvian coast. This __enabled Chile to control the sea approaches to Peru.__ On Jan. 17, 1881, Chilean forces __captured the capital of Lima, Peru.__ Looting and pillaging followed and the National Library was destroyed. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Finally, on Oct. 20, 1883, Peru and __Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón__, Peru turned over to Chile full possession of the province of Tarapacá and the administration for 10 years of the provinces of Tacna and Arica. Chile was also to occupy the provinces of Tacna and Arica for 10 years, after which a plebiscite (a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a question of national importance) was to be held to determine their nationality. But the two countries failed for decades to agree on what terms the plebiscite was to be conducted. This diplomatic dispute over Tacna and Arica was known as the Question of the Pacific.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In 1904, __Chile and Bolivia would sign a Treaty of Peace and Friendship which would establish the definite boundaries between both nations__. In return, Chile agreed to build a __railroad connecting the Bolivian capital of La Paz with the port of Arica and guaranteed freedom of transit for Bolivian goods through Chilean ports and territory__. Again Bolivia was dissatisfied, continuing its attempt to break out of its __landlocked situation__ through the La Plata river system to the Atlantic coast, an effort that __led ultimately to the Chaco War (1932-35) between Bolivia and Paraguay.__ The Chaco War (also known as La Guerra de la Sed or "War of Thirst") was __fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco__ (which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil), __Bolivia gave up its claim to nearly 100,000 sq mi of the Gran Chaco__. At the war's end, a seven-month civil war ensued and the nation's economy sunk for decades thereafter. __To this day Bolivian national sentiment seeks the return of their former coast.__

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 * Map of Bolivia:**



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**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Flag & Significance: **

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Three equal horizontal bands of red, yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Red stands for bravery and the blood of national heroes.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Yellow stands for the nation's mineral resources.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Green stands for the fertility of the land.

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**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Traditional Cultures: **

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bolivia has a population of about 8.5 million. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[|http://www.languagecrossing.com/Desti]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The largest ethnic group is the Quechua with 30% of Bolivia’s population.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">About another 30% aremestizo, or a mix of indigenous and European lineage.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">25% of Bolivians are Aymara, about 14% are European descent and less than 1% have African heritage.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Over half of the population is full-blooded indigenous and the vast majority has some ethnic connection to the indigenous cultures that lived in the region before the arrival of the Europeans
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Most Bolivians speak Quechua or Aymara in addition to Spanish.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[[image:http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kIWY2DV0KnE/SaIsm_XEXpI/AAAAAAAACZs/t0mP9yjNxHM/La%20Diablada%202.jpg width="420" height="263" align="left" caption="Festival of La Diablada, or the Devil's Carnival (Oruro, Bolivia)"]] Bolivia’s national holiday is Independence Day on August 6th. Almost all Bolivians are Roman Catholic (mixed with traditional indigenous beliefs in many communities) and so Catholic holidays such as Christmas and Easter are also nationally celebrated. In addition, all towns and communities have their own festivals and rituals throughout the year.

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Traditional Clothing: ** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Some men wear brown, orange, red and pink ponchos with woolen helmet-style hats, pantaloons and sandals. Women wear elaborate woven overskirts and hats with sequins, pearls, and braided pigtails. Also common for Bolivian Andean women of indigenous descent to wear a skirt called a pollera, originally a Spanish peasant skirt that the colonial authorities forced the indigenous women to wear; now a pollera is a symbol of pride in being indigenous. Another fashion is the bowler hat, which was adopted from the British. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[]



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Traditional Foods:
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">"¡Buen provecho!" <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Humitas - Fresh corn with cheese wrapped in corn leaves and steamed. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Salteñas - Only eaten in the morning. A warm savory pastry that holds a juicy combination of chicken or meat, greens and sauce, and is cooked in an oven. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Empanadas - A savory pastry containing cheese, onion, olives and locoto. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Sandwich de Chola - Sandwich with roasted pork leg, lettuce and locoto. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Some common Bolivian drinks: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Changa de pollo - Soup make with chicken, potato, peas, avas and green onion.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chicharron - Pieces of fried pork, cooked with chicha and served with stewed corn.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chicha - Fermented corn - the sacred drink of the Incas.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chicha de mani - Soft drink with peanut.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Tojori - Hot thick drink made from white mashed corn.