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Bolivia

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Bolivia Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government. ... bolivian coat of arms public This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Bolivias 1967 constitution, revised in 1994, provides for balanced executive, legislative, and judicial powers. ...

President Evo Morales National Congress Senate Chamber of Deputies Political parties Elections President 2005 Congress 2005 Human rights Bolivian Gas War 2005 Protests Foreign relations Foreign aid

See also History of Bolivia

The President of Bolivia is the head of state of Bolivia. ... Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, and the countrys first indigenous head of state in over 450 years since the Spanish Conquest. ... The National Congress (Spanish: Congreso Nacional) is the national legislature of Bolivia, based in the capital of La Paz. ... The National Congress (Spanish: Congreso Nacional) is the national legislature of Bolivia, based in the nations capital, La Paz. ... The National Congress (Spanish: Congreso Nacional) is the national legislature of Bolivia, based in the capital of La Paz. ... This article lists political parties in Bolivia. ... Politics of Bolivia Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Bolivia ... The 2005 Bolivian presidential election was held on December 18, 2005. ... The 2005 Bolivian legislative election was held simultaneously with the presidential election on 18 December 2005. ... Human Rights in Bolivia Bolivia is in accord with general human rights standards. ... The Bolivia natural gas protests in early 2005 are in many ways a continuation of the 2003 Bolivia Gas War, and some refer to the 2005 protests as a Second Bolivian Gas War. ... Bolivia traditionally has maintained normal diplomatic relations with all hemispheric states except Chile. ... Foreign aid to Bolivia funds its improvement projects and to service its large external debt. ... This is the history of Bolivia. ...

The Bolivian Gas War was a social conflict in Bolivia centering around the exploitation of the country's vast natural gas reserves. The expression can be extended to refer to the general conflict in Bolivia over the exploitation of gas resources, thus including the 2005 protests and the election of Evo Morales as president. Prior to these protests, Bolivia had seen a series of similar earlier protests, during the Cochabamba protests of 2000, which were against the privatization of the municipal water supply. Social conflict is a conflict or confrontation of social powers. ... Natural gas, commonly referred to as gas, is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, and the countrys first indigenous head of state in over 450 years since the Spanish Conquest. ... The Cochabamba protests of 2000 were a series of protests that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia, between January and April 2000, because of the privatization of the municipal water supply, which was sold to a private company, International Waters Limited (IWL) of London (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bechtel Corporation...

The conflict had its roots in grievances over the government's economic coca eradication policies and corruption as well as violent military responses against strikes and came to a head in October 2003. Strikes and road blocks mounted by indigenous and labor groups brought the country to a standstill. Violent suppression by the Bolivian armed forces left some 70 people dead in October 2003, mostly inhabitants of El Alto, located on the Altiplano above of the capital city La Paz. Coca eradication is a strategy strongly promoted by the United States government as part of its War on Drugs to eliminate the cultivation of coca, a plant whose leaves are not only traditionally used by indigenous cultures but also, in modern society, in the manufacture of cocaine. ... 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for October, 2003. ... The Aymara are a native ethnic group in the Andes region of South America; about 2. ... The Bolivian Workers Center (Spanish: Central Obrera Boliviana, COB) is the chief trade union federation in Bolivia. ... The city of El Alto (Spanish for The High) is a suburb of La Paz, Bolivia. ... The Altiplano (Spanish for high plain), where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on earth outside of Tibet. ... La Paz, Bolivia Central La Paz Panoramic sight of the city of La Paz La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. ...

The governing coalition disintegrated forcing the president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada to resign and leave the country on October 18 2003. He was succeeded by the vice president, Carlos Mesa, who put the gas issue to a referendum on July 18, 2004. In May 2005, under duress from protesters, the Bolivian congress enacted a new hydrocarbons law, increasing the state's royalties from natural gas exploitation. However, protesters, who included Evo Morales and Felipe Quispe, demanded full nationalization of hydrocarbon resources, and the increased participation of Bolivia's indigenous majority, mainly composed of Aymaras and Quechuas, in the political life of the country. On June 6, 2005, Mesa was forced to offer his resignation, as tens of thousands of protesters blockaded La Paz from the rest of the country daily. Evo Morales' election at the end of 2005 was met with enthusiasm by the social movements, since he was, as the leader of left-wing MAS, one of the staunchest opponents to the exportation of the gas without previous industrialization in Bolivia. Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada Bustamante (born July 1, 1930), familiarly known as Goni, is a former two-term president of Bolivia. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... Carlos Diego Mesa Gisbert (born August 12, 1953) was the President of Bolivia from October 17, 2003 until his resignation on June 6, 2005. ... Bolivia held a referendum on the future of its natural gas reserves on Sunday, 18 July 2004. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in May May 26: Eddie Albert May 25: Ismail Merchant May 25: Sunil Dutt May 25: Graham Kennedy May 22: Thurl Ravenscroft May 21: Howard Morris May 21: Subodh Mukherjee May 21: Stephen Elliott May 20... Natural gas, commonly referred to as gas, is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, and the countrys first indigenous head of state in over 450 years since the Spanish Conquest. ... Felipe Quispe (left) and Evo Morales. ... Nationalization or Nationalisation is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... Hydrocarbons are refined at oil refineries and processed at chemical plants In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is any chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ... Aymara is the name of a South-American people and of their language. ... Quechua (Standard Quechua, Runasimi Language of People) is an Native American language of South America. ... Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, and the countrys first indigenous head of state in over 450 years since the Spanish Conquest. ... MAS is a three-letter acronym for the following: Politics Mouvement pour une Alternative Socialiste (Movement for a Socialist Alternative), the Belgian section of the Committee for a Workers International Movement toward Socialism, (Movimiento al Socialismo), a Argentinian political party Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo), a Bolivian political...

Background

The second-largest gas reserves of South America

2003 demonstrations against president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. "The gas is our own by right, to recover it is our duty" (Indymedia copyleft)

At issue is Bolivia's large natural gas reserves and the prospect for their future sale and use. The Bolivian gas reserves are the second-largest in South America, after Venezuela, and were discovered in the mid-1990s. They are mainly located in the south-eastern Tarija Department, which contains 80% of gas and petrol reserves. Another 10% is located within the Santa Cruz Department, according to Le Monde. After further exploration between 1996 and 2002 the estimated size of the gas reserves was calculated to be 12.5 times larger, passing from 4.24 TCF (Trillion Cubic Feet) to 52.3 TCF. With the declining importance of tin mines, those reserves accounted for the majority of foreign investment in Bolivia. Brazil and Argentina pay US$2 per thousand cubic meter of gas, which costs between $12 to $15 in California^[1]. Image File history File links Bolivia_indymedia_guerradelgaz. ... Image File history File links Bolivia_indymedia_guerradelgaz. ... Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada Bustamante (born July 1, 1930), familiarly known as Goni, is a former two-term president of Bolivia. ... The Independent Media Center, also called Indymedia or the IMC, is a loose network of amateur or alternative media organizations and journalists who organize into decentralized collectives, normally around geographic locations. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Tarija is a city in southern Bolivia, located 22. ... Santa Cruz is the largest department in Bolivia, with an area of 370,621 km2. ... Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper with a circulation in 2002 of 389,200. ... The cubic foot (symbols ft³, cu. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tin, Sn, 50 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Atomic mass 118. ... The cubic metre (symbol m³) is the SI derived unit of volume. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total   - Width   - Length    - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 158,302 sq mi  410,000 km² 250 miles  402. ...

In 1994 a contract with Brazil was passed, two years before the 1996's privatization of the 70-year-old, state-owned Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales de Bolivia (YPFB). The construction of the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline cost US$ 2.2 billion. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ...

A consortium called Pacific LNG was formed to exploit the newly discovered reserves. The consortium comprised the British companies BG Group and BP, and Spain's Repsol YPF. Repsol is one of three companies that dominate the gas sector in Bolivia. The other two are Petrobras and Total. ^[1]. A plan costing US$6 billion was drawn up to build a pipeline to the Pacific coast, where the gas would be processed and liquefied before being shipped to Mexico and the United States (Baja California and U.S. state California), through a Chilean port, for example Iquique. The 2003 Lozada deal was heavily opposed by Bolivian society, in part because of nationalism (Bolivia still feel resentment after the territorial losses of the War of the Pacific in the late 19th century, which deprived it of the Litoral province and hence of an access to the sea). Consortium is a word that comes from the Latin consortium meaning association or society, from the word consors meaning owner of means or comrade. ... BG Group Plc is an energy production and distribution company which is headquartered in Reading outside London, England. ... BP plc (LSE: BP, NYSE: BP, TYO: 5051 ), originally British Petroleum, is a British energy company with headquarters in London, one of the four vertically integrated private sector oil, natural gas, and gasoline Super Majors in the world, along with Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, and Total. ... Repsol YPF is an integrated oil and gas company with operations in 29 countries, principally Spain and Argentina. ... Petrobras , short for Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., is a Brazilian oil company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ... Total SA (Euronext: FP, NYSE: TOT) is a French oil company headquartered in Paris, France, and one of the top four oil companies in the world (along with Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil). ... The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the worlds largest body of water. ... Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been processed to remove impurities and heavy hydrocarbons and then condensed into a liquid at atmospheric pressure by cooling it to approximately -160 degrees Celsius. ... Baja California is the northernmost state of Mexico. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total   - Width   - Length    - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 158,302 sq mi  410,000 km² 250 miles  402. ... Iquique (IPA /ikike/) is a city in northern Chile, capital of Tarapacá Region, on the Pacific coast, just west of the Atacama Desert. ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix Nationalism is an ideology that holds that (ethnically or culturally defined) nations are the fundamental units for human social life, and makes certain cultural and political claims based upon that belief; in particular, the claim that the nation is the only legitimate... Combatants Republic of Peru Republic of Bolivia Republic of Chile Commanders Juan Buendía Andrés Cáceres Miguel Grau Manuel Baquedano Patricio Lynch Arturo Prat Strength Peru-Bolivian Army Peruvian Navy Army of Chile Chilean Navy Casualties {{{notes}}} The War of the Pacific, sometimes called the Saltpeter War in... Antofagasta is Chiles second administrative region from north to south. ...

Government ministers hoped to use the gas profits to bolster the sagging Bolivian economy and claimed the money would be invested exclusively in health and education. Opponents argued that under the current law, the exportation of the gas as a raw material would give Bolivia only 18% of the future profits, or US$40 million to US$70 million per year. They further argued that exporting the gas so cheaply would be the latest case of foreign exploitation of Bolivia's natural resources, starting with silver and gold from the 17th century. They demanded that a plant be built in Bolivia to process the gas and that domestic consumption had to be met before export. As Le Monde puts it, "two reasons plead for the industrial exploitation of the gas, which the multinational companies now have the capacities of doing. The first is related to the necessity of satisfying the Bolivians' energy needs. The second demonstrates the interest of exporting a more profitable product, rather than selling raw material". According to the French newspaper, only La Paz, El Alto, Sucre, Potosi, Camiri and Santa Cruz are now connected to the gas network; making an interior network which would aprovisions all Bolivians would cost $1.5 billion, notwithstanding a central gas pipeline to link the various regions together. According to Carlos Miranda, an independent expert quoted by Le Monde, the best industrialisation project is the petrochemical complex proposed by the Brazilian Braskem firm, which would create 40 000 direct or indirect jobs and cost $1.4 billion. This figure is equivalent to the amount so far invested by Repsol, Total and Petrobras. ^[1]. Materials are inputs to production or manufacturing. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Atomic mass 107. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... Materials are inputs to production or manufacturing. ... Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia Prefecture Building Sucre Sucre (population 190,000) is the constitutional capital of Bolivia, seat of the Supreme Court (Corte Suprema de Justicia), and capital of the Chuquisaca department. ... Potosi may refer to: Potosí, a city and department in Bolivia A few places in the United States: Potosi, Missouri Potosi, Texas Potosi, Wisconsin Potosi (town), Wisconsin This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Santa Cruz, Spanish and Portuguese for Holy Cross, is the name of several cities, regions, and other geographical features around the world: Argentina Puerto Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz province Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Bolivia Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz Department Brazil Santa Cruz, Espírito Santo Santa Cruz... A petrochemical is any chemical derived from fossil fuels. ... Braskem S.A. the largestBrazilian petrochemical company with head office in Sao Paulo. ...

Indigenous communities

A Cholita - graffiti says "The gas is not for sell, carajo!

Bolivia, like much of Latin America, is a highly class-segregated society, in this case along ethnic lines: European-Indigenous people. European descendants tend to monopolize political and economic power and in fact the republican institutions are drawn along the lines of European schools of thought with little or no adjudment to the indigenous tradition. This makes it much harder for the indigenous to ingegrate into society and to achieve personal success. Since the late 1990s, the indigenous communities have become radicalized throughout the Andes pressing for political reform in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, loosely coordinated in the Pachacuti movement. The Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), is perhaps the strongest political expression of this movement in Bolivia, coordinating a wide range of community-based organizations mostly reflecting Aymara political aspirations. Image File history File links El_gas_no_se_vende_carajo. ... Image File history File links El_gas_no_se_vende_carajo. ... For other uses, see Graffiti (disambiguation). ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Indio, California is a city located in the Coachella Valley of Southern Californias desert region. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... The Andes between Chile and Argentina Computer generated image of the Andes, made from a digital elevation model with a resolution of 30 arcseconds The Andes is a vast mountain range forming a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. ... Pachacuti as drawn by Guaman Poma Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (or Pachacutec; Quechua Pachakutiq, literally world-turner, i. ... The Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) is a leftist party led by Evo Morales. ... The Aymara are a native ethnic group in the Andes region of South America; about 2. ...

Santa Cruz autonomy movement

People of primarily mestizo descent (mix of european and serveral native tribes the largest of which are the Guaraní) from the wealthier eastern department of Santa Cruz have been mobilizing against both domination by tribes of Altiplano who consider their culture to be Bolivia and by the economic and political corruption of european oligarchy based out of the highlands. Important issues are opposition to the seizure of resources though nationalization, the confescation of land from local control by outside ethnic groups (mainly the Aymara-Quechua), and greater regional autonomy for their department. These demands are supported by local co-ops and by business organizations such as cattle farmers and the agribusiness sector. Because of this, there has been some recent fears about a possible civil war in Bolivia between a new MASMovement Toward Socialism(Aymara-Quechua dominated) led government from the highlands of the country and the more mestizo eastern part of the country, which itself is an extension of a struggle that has gone on for centuries in Bolivia. As the highland Indians, the Incas, then later the Spanish periodically invaded into the lowlands dominated by the Guaraní. The Chiriguano, in Bolivia called the Guaraní, are a tribe that stretches from Brazil to Argentina. Another contributing factor to conflict is the disconnect between the whites of Santa Cruz who came as farmers from Paraguay and eventually mixed with the local tribes and the spanish conquistadors which came for the quick weath of the mountains. The conquistadors created a society based on segregation and distrust in order to exploit the rich mines in the highlands. This distrust between native and white cultures has not been as easy to displace in the highlands as in the more mixed lowlands which until the growth of the past 25 years was quite poor. The cultural, social, environmental distance between the two halves of Bolivia has created periodic conflict. The last war between Santa Cruz and the central government was the war for Independence from 1904 to the 1960s. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Santa Cruz is the largest department in Bolivia, with an area of 370,621 km2. ... The Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) is a leftist party led by Evo Morales. ...

 Movement Toward Socialism 

The Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) is a leftist party led by Evo Morales. ...

Via Chile or Peru

The dispute arose in early 2002, when the administration of President Jorge Quiroga proposed building the pipeline through neighboring Chile to the port of Mejillones, the most direct route to the Pacific ocean. However, antagonism towards Chile runs deep in Bolivia because of the loss of Bolivia's Pacific coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879-1884). Jorge Fernando Tuto Quiroga Ramírez (born May 5, 1960) was President of Bolivia from August 7, 2001 to August 6, 2002. ... Mejillones is a port city on northern Chile. ... Combatants Republic of Peru Republic of Bolivia Republic of Chile Commanders Juan Buendía Andrés Cáceres Miguel Grau Manuel Baquedano Patricio Lynch Arturo Prat Strength Peru-Bolivian Army Peruvian Navy Army of Chile Chilean Navy Casualties {{{notes}}} The War of the Pacific, sometimes called the Saltpeter War in...

Bolivians began campaigning against the Chilean option, arguing instead that the pipeline should be routed north through the Peruvian port of Ilo, 260 km further from the gas fields than Mejillones, or, better yet, first industrialised in Bolivia. According to Chilean estimates, the Mejillones option would be $600 million cheaper. Peru, however, claimed the difference in cost would be no more than $300 million. Bolivian proponents of the Peruvian option say it would also benefit the economy of the northern region of Bolivia through which the pipeline would pass. Ilo may refer to: Ilo, a port in southern Peru Ilo, an artist on the Icelandic Bad Taste record label Ilo, the Estonian goddess of feasts This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Supporters of the Chile pipeline argued that US financiers would be unlikely to develop processing facilities within Bolivia.

Meanwhile, the Peruvian government, eager to promote territorial and economic integration, offered Bolivia a special economic zone for 99 years for exporting the gas at Ilo, the right of free passage, and the concession of a 10 km² area, including a port, that would be exclusively under Bolivian administration.

President Jorge Quiroga postponed the decision shortly before leaving office in July 2002 and left this highly contentious issue to his successor. It was thought Quiroga did not want to jeopardize his chances of re-election as president in the 2007 elections.

After winning the 2002 presidential election Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada expressed his preference for the Mejillones option but made no "official" decision. However, the Gas War led to his resignation in October 2003. His successor, Carlos Mesa, also resigned following the 2005 Hydrocarbons Law. Carlos Diego Mesa Gisbert (born August 12, 1953) was the President of Bolivia from October 17, 2003 until his resignation on June 6, 2005. ...

Evo Morales was elected president in 2005 and is strongly opposed to having a foreign consortium export Bolivia's natural gas without processing it before. He argued it should be used domestically to help Bolivia, the poorest country in South America. Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, and the countrys first indigenous head of state in over 450 years since the Spanish Conquest. ...

Escalation

2003 Poster for a photo exhibition of the gas war

. Image File history File linksMetadata Laguerradelgas. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Laguerradelgas. ...

The social conflict escalated in September 2003 with protests and road blockages paralyzing large parts of the country, leading to increasingly violent confrontations with the Bolivian armed forces. The unrest was spearheaded by Bolivia's indigenous majority, who accused Sánchez de Lozada of pandering to the US government's "war on drugs" and blamed him for failing to improve living standards in Bolivia. On September 8, 650 Aymaras started a hunger strike to protest against the state detention of a villager. The man detained was one of the head of the village, and was emprisonned for having sentenced to the death penalty two young men in a "community justice" trial. On September 19, the National Coordination for the Defense of Gas mobilized 30,000 people in Cochabamba and 50,000 in La Paz to demonstrate against the pipeline. The following day six Aymara villagers, including an eight year-old girl, were killed in a confrontation in the town of Warisata. Government forces used planes and helicopters to circumvent the strikers and evacuate several hundred Bolivian tourists in Sorata who had been stranded by the road blockades for five days (the Bolivian tourists were there for religious festivities). 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for September, 2003. ... Operation Mallorca, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, 2005 [1] The War on Drugs is an initiative undertaken in the United States to carry out an all-out offensive (as President Nixon described it) against the prohibited use of certain legally controlled drugs. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... The Aymara are a native ethnic group in the Andes region of South America; about 2. ... A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest or to achieve a goal such as a policy change. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... A side street in Cochabamba, looking towards the Plaza 14 de Septiembre Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. ... Central La Paz La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. ... The Aymara are a native ethnic group in the Andes region of South America; about 2. ...

In response to the shootings, Bolivia's Labor Union (COB) called a general strike on September 29 that paralyzed the country with road closures. Union leaders insisted they would continue until the government backed down on its decision. Poorly armed Aymara community militias drove the army and police out of Warisata and the towns of Sorata and Achacachi (they were only equipped of traditional Aymara sling-shots and guns from the 1952 Bolivian National Revolution. Eugenio Rojas, leader of the regional strike committee, declared that if the government refused to negotiate in Warisata, then the insurgent Aymara communities would surround La Paz and cut it off from the rest of the country — a tactic employed in the Túpaj Katari uprising of 1781. Felipe Quispe, leader of the Indigenous Pachakuti Movement (MIP), stated that he would not participate in dialogue with the government until the military withdrew from blockaded areas. The government refused to negotiate with Quispe, claiming that he did not have the authority to represent the campesino movement. The Bolivian Workers Center (Spanish: Central Obrera Boliviana, COB) is the chief trade union federation in Bolivia. ... Tupac Kataris Wiphala Tupac Katari (c. ... Felipe Quispe (left) and Evo Morales. ... The Indigenous Pachakuti Movement (Movimiento Indígena Pachakuti) is a political party in Bolivia. ... Campesino may refer to A simple farmer is referred to as a campesino in Spanish. ...

As the protests continued, protesters in El Alto, a sprawling indigenous city of 750,000 people on the periphery of La Paz, proceeded to block key access routes to the capital causing severe fuel and food shortages. They also demanded the resignation of Sánchez de Lozada and his ministers, Yerko Kukoc, Minister of Government, and Carlos Sánchez de Berzaín, Minister of Defense, who were held responsible for the Warisata massacre. Protesters also voiced their opposition to the Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement that was at the time under negotiation by the U.S. and Latin American countries (since the November 2005 Mar del Plata Summit of the Americas, it has been put on stand-by). This article needs to be updated. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... The tourist resort of Mar del Plata, 400 kilometers southeast of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, is the venue of the Fourth Summit of the Americas, which will gather the leaders of all the countries of the Western Hemisphere, except Cuba. ...

Martial law in El Alto

On October 12 the government imposed martial law in El Alto after sixteen people were shot by the police and several dozen wounded in violent clashes which erupted when a caravan of oil trucks escorted by police and soldiers deploying tanks and heavy-caliber machine guns tried to breach a barricade. October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect (usually after a formal declaration) when a military authority takes control of the normal administration of justice. ...

On October 13, the administration of Sánchez de Lozada suspended the gas project "until consultations have been conducted [with the Bolivian people]." However, Vice President Carlos Mesa deplored what he referred to as the "excessive force" used in El Alto (80 dead) and withdrew his support for Sánchez de Lozada. The Minister of Economic Development, Jaime Torres, of the MIR party, also resigned. October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ...

The U.S. Department of State issued a statement on October 13 declaring its support for Sánchez de Lozada, calling for "Bolivia's political leaders [to] publicly express their support for democratic and constitutional order. The international community and the United States will not tolerate any interruption of constitutional order and will not support any regime that results from undemocratic means." ^[2]. The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ...

On October 18, Sánchez de Lozada's governing coalition was fatally weakened when the New Republic Force party withdrew its support. He was forced to resign and was replaced by his vice president, Carlos Mesa, a former journalist. The strikes and roadblocks were lifted. Mesa promised that no civilians would be killed by police or army forces during his presidency. Despite dramatic unrest during his time in office, he respected this promise.

Among his first actions as president, Mesa promised a referendum on the gas issue and appointed several indigenous people to cabinet posts. On July 18, 2004, Mesa put the issue of gas nationalization to a referendum. On May 6, 2005, the Bolivian Congress passed a new law raising taxes from 18% to 32% on profits made by foreign companies on the extraction of oil and gas. Mesa failed to either sign or veto the law, so by law Senate President Hormando Vaca Diez was required to sign it into law on May 17. Many protesters felt this law was inadequate and demanded full nationalization of the gas and oil industry. July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bolivia held a referendum on the future of its natural gas reserves on Sunday, 18 July 2004. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... Hormando Vaca Diez (born April 30, 1949) was formerly president of the upper house (Senate) of the Bolivian National Congress. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ...

The 2005 Hydrocarbons Law

On May 6, 2005 the long awaited Hydrocarbons Law was finally approved by the Bolivian Congress. On May 17 Mesa failed to either sign or veto the Bolivian congress’ controversial Hydrocarbons Law, thus constitutionally requiring Senate President Hormando Vaca Díez to sign the measure and put it into effect. May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... Hormando Vaca Diez (born April 30, 1949) was formerly president of the upper house (Senate) of the Bolivian National Congress. ...

The new law returned legal ownership to the state of all hydrocarbons and natural resources, maintained royalties at 18 percent, but increased taxes from 16 to 32 percent. It gave the government control of the commercialization of the resources and allowed for continuous government control with annual audits. It also ordered companies to consult with indigenous groups who live on land containing gas deposits. The law stated that the 76 contracts signed by foreign firms must be renegociated before 180 days. This has not yet been done. Protesters argued that the new law did not go far enough to protect the natural resources from exploitation by foreign corporations, demanding a complete nationalization of the gas and process in Bolivia. Nationalization or Nationalisation is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ...

Due to the uncertainty over renegociation of contracts, foreign firms have practically stopped investing in the gas sector. Foreign investment virtually came to a standstill in the second half of 2005. Shortages in supply - very similar to those observed in Argentina after the 2001 price-fixing - are deepening in diesel, LPG, and begin to be apparent in natural gas. The May-June social unrest affected the supply of hydrocarbons products to the internal market, principally LPG and natural gas to the occidental region. Brazil implemented a contingency plan - led by the Energy and Mines Minister - to mitigate any potential impact from gas export curtailment. Although the supply was never curtailed, the social unrest in Bolivia created a strong sensation that security of supply could not be guaranteed. Occasional social action has continued to affect the continuity of supply, especially valve-closing actions.

Carlos Mesa's June 2005 resignation

The protests

Over 80,000 people participated in the May 2005 protests. Tens of thousands of people each day walked from El Alto to the capital La Paz, where protesters effectively shut down the city, bringing transportation to a halt through strikes and blockades, and engaging in street battles with police. The protestors demanded the nationalisation of the gas industry and reforms to give more power to the indigenous majority, who were mainly Aymaras from the impoverished highlands. They were pushed back by the police with tear gas and rubber bullets, while many of the miners involved in the protests came armed with dynamite. La Paz, Bolivia Central La Paz Panoramic sight of the city of La Paz La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. ... Nationalization is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... The Aymara are a native ethnic group in the Andes region of South America; about 2. ... A riot control agent is a type of lachrymatory agent (or lacrimatory agent). ... Rubber bullets are rubber-coated projectiles fired from guns. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

May 24, 2005 More than 10,000 Aymara peasant farmers from the twenty highland provinces came down from El Alto's Ceja neighborhood into La Paz to protest. May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The city of El Alto (Spanish for The High) is a suburb of La Paz, Bolivia. ...

On May 31, 2005, residents of El Alto and the Aymara peasant farmers returned to La Paz. More than 50,000 people covered an area of nearly 100 square kilometers. The next day, the first regiment of the National Police decided, by consensus, not to repress the protests and were internally reprimanded by the government. May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On June 2, as the protests raged on, President Mesa announced two measures, designed to placate the indigenous protesters on the one hand and the Santa Cruz autonomy movement on the other: elections for a new constitutional assembly and a referendum on regional autonomy, both set for October 16. However, both sides rejected Mesa's call: the Pro-Santa Cruz Civic Committee declared its own referendum on autonomy for August 12, while in El Alto protesters began to cut off gasoline to La Paz. 2 June is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Approximately half a million people mobilized in the streets of La Paz, on June 6, and President Mesa subsequently offered his resignation. Riot police used tear gas as miners amongst the demonstrators traditionally set off dynamite in clashes near the presidential palace, while a strike brought traffic to a standstill. However, Congress failed to meet for several days owing to the "insecurity" of meeting as protests raged nearby. Many members of Congress found themselves unable to physically attend the sessions. Senate President Hormando Vaca Díez decided to move the sessions to Bolivia's alternate capital, Sucre, in an attempt to avoid the protesters. Radical farmers occupied oil wells owned by transnational companies, and blockaded border crossings. Mesa ordered the military to airlift food to La Paz, which remained totally blockaded. June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ... Hormando Vaca Diez (born April 30, 1949) was formerly president of the upper house (Senate) of the Bolivian National Congress. ... Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia Prefecture Building Sucre Sucre (population 190,000) is the constitutional capital of Bolivia, seat of the Supreme Court (Corte Suprema de Justicia), and capital of the Chuquisaca department. ...

Vaca Diez and House of Delegates president, Mario Cossío, were the two next in the line of succession to become President. However, they were strongly disliked by the protesters, and each declared they would not accept succession to the Presidency, finally promoting Edwardo Rodriguez, Supreme Court Chief Justice, to the Presidency. Considered apolitical and hence trustworthy by most, his admistration is a temporary one until elections can be held. Protesters quickly disbanded in many areas, and like many times in Bolivia's past, major political upheavals were taken as a normal part of the political process. Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé (born March 2, 1956) is a former president of Bolivia; prior to that appointment he was the chief justice of the Supreme Court. ... Politics of Bolivia Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Bolivia ...

Caretaker President Rodriguez proceeded to implement the Hydrocarbons Law. The new tax IDH has been levied from the companies that are paying 'under reserve'. A number of upstream gas companies have invoked Bilateral Investment Protection Treaties and entered the conciliation phase with the state of Bolivia. The treaties are a step towards a court hearing before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), dependent of the World Bank, which could force Bolivia to pay indemnization to the companies. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an institution of the World Bank group, was founded in 1966 under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States. ... Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means...

Other countries

The social conflicts of the last few years have paralyzed Bolivia's political life. The unpopularity of the neoliberal Washington consensus, a set of economic strategies implemented by Gonzalo de Lozada's administration, set the stage for the 2006 election of president Evo Morales, the country's first indigenous president. In the meantime, South American countries are contemplating other ways to secure gas supplies. Chile is considering importing liquified gas from Indonesia or Australia. Another project aims at linking the Camisea gas reserves in Peru to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. Linking Pisco (south of Peru) to Tocopilla (north of Chile) with a 1200km pipeline would cost $2 billion. However, experts doubt the Camisea reserves are enough for all the Southern Cone countries. The Washington Consensus is a set of policies promulgated by many neoliberal economists as a formula for promoting economic growth in many parts of Latin America and other parts of the world by introducing various market-oriented economic reforms which are designed to make the target economy more like that... Some bottles of Chilean Pisco Some bottles of Peruvian Pisco Pisco (from Quechua: pisqu, little bird) is a liquor distilled from grapes (a brandy) made in wine-producing regions of South America. ... Tocopilla is a city and province in the region of Antofagasta in the north of Chile. ... The term Southern Cone (Spanish: Cono Sur, Portuguese: Cone Sul) refers to a geographic region composed of the southernmost areas of South America. ...

Another 8,000km gas pipeline has been proposed that would link Venezuela to Argentina via Brazil. Its cost is estimated between $8 and $12 billion.

While Argentina and Chile are large consumers of gas (50 percent and 25 percent respectively), other South American countries are lot less dependent. ^[1]

The Protesters

Population of El Alto

El Alto is a large, but poor town of over 750,000 people, mostly of Aymara heritage. Alteños are said to the largest group involved in the 2005 protests, led by Abel Mamani. These residents played a pivotal role in the 2003 Bolivian Gas War and the Cochabamba protests of 2000. They favor nationalization, oppose free-trade economics, and demand more political power to the indigenous people of Bolivia. The Aymara are a native ethnic group in the Andes region of South America; about 2. ... The Cochabamba protests of 2000 were a series of protests that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia, between January and April 2000, because of the privatization of the municipal water supply, which was sold to a private company, International Waters Limited (IWL) of London (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bechtel Corporation...

Miners

Miners from the Bolivian trade union Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) have also been very active in the recent protests. Recently they have been active against propositions to privatize pensions. They have been known for letting off very loud explosions of dynamite in the recent protests. The Bolivian Workers Center (Spanish: Central Obrera Boliviana, COB) is the chief trade union federation in Bolivia. ...

Coca farmers

Shortly after the law passed Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian and leader of the opposition party Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), took a moderate position calling the new law "middle ground". However, as the protests progressed, Morales has come out in favor of nationalization and new elections. Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, and the countrys first indigenous head of state in over 450 years since the Spanish Conquest. ... The Movement Toward Socialism (abbreviated MAS, from the Spanish name) is a Bolivian political party led by Evo Morales. ...

Protesters in Cochabamba

Oscar Olivera was a prominent leader in the 2001 protests in Cochabamba against the privatization of water in Bolivia and has also become a leading figure. Specifically the protesters in Cochabamba, Bolivia's fourth largest city, have cut off the main roads in the city and are calling for a new Constituent Assembly as well as nationalization. A side street in Cochabamba, looking towards the Plaza 14 de Septiembre Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. ...

Indigenous and peasant groups in Santa Cruz

Indians in the eastern lowland department of Santa Cruz have also become active in the recent disputes over nationalization of the gas and oil industry. The Indian groups are composed mainly of immigrants from the western part of the country. They are composed indigenous groups such as the Guaraní, Ayoreo, Chiquitano and the Guyarayos. They have been active in recent land disputes and the main organization representing this faction is known as the "Confederacion de pueblos indigenas de Bolivia" (CIDOB) and another smaller more radical group called the "Landless Peasant Movement" (MST) which is somewhat similar to the Landless Workers' Movement in Brazil. Currently in the recent upheaval Guaraní Indians from this group have taken oil fields run by Spain's Repsol YPF and the United Kingdom's BP and have forced them to stop production. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... MST logo The Brazilian Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), commonly known in English as the Landless Workers Movement, is the largest social movement in Latin America with more than a 1. ... Repsol YPF is an integrated oil and gas company with operations in 29 countries, principally Spain and Argentina. ... BP plc (LSE: BP, NYSE: BP, TYO: 5051 ), originally British Petroleum, is a British energy company with headquarters in London, one of the four vertically integrated private sector oil, natural gas, and gasoline Super Majors in the world, along with Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, and Total. ...

Felipe Quispe and peasant farmers

Felipe Quispe is a radical Aymara leader who wishes to return control of the country from what he sees as the "white elite" to the indigenous Aymaran people who make up the majority of the country's population. Therefore he is in favor of an independent "Aymaran state". Quispe is the leader of the Pachakutik Indigenous Movement which is a party who in the 2002 Bolivian elections won six seats in Congress and the secretary general of the United Peasants Union of Bolivia (CSTUB). Felipe Quispe (left) and Evo Morales. ... The Indigenous Pachakuti Movement (Movimiento Indígena Pachakuti) is a political party in Bolivia. ...

Endnotes

1. ↑ ^{a b c} "Evo Morales et l'arme du gaz", Le Monde, January 25, 2006.
2. ↑ ^a October 13, 2003 US State Department Call for Respect for Constitutional Order in Bolivia

See also

• Cochabamba anti-privatization protests
• History of Bolivia
• List of dead in Bolivian Gas War
• Bolivian gas referendum, 2004

The Cochabamba protests of 2000 were a series of protests that took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia, between January and April 2000, because of the privatization of the municipal water supply, which was sold to a private company, International Waters Limited (IWL) of London (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bechtel Corporation... This is the history of Bolivia. ... Bolivia held a referendum on the future of its natural gas reserves on Sunday, 18 July 2004. ...

External links

• Znet Bolivia Watch website
• Bolivia Indymedia (in Spanish)
• Democracy in Crisis in Latin America. Bolivia and Venezuela Test the International Community's Democratic Commitment, SWP-Comments 26/2005 (June 2005)
• An article on the June 2005 uprising
• Bolivia's top Court chief takes Presidency AP (Yahoo news)
• Main Protest Groups in Bolivia
• The Chequered Rainbow (New Left Review)