Bolivia: the Name of the People in Honor of the Liberator Simon Bolivar
The West-Central South American country, formally known as 'The Plurinational State of Bolivia' exists today after a sequential journey to independence. Whether its honorable success in liberation or elevated topography and scenic views, Bolivia offers unique features to South America's historical timeline and attractions. Furthermore, this timeline is documented all the way back to ancient BC as the indigenous population endured its rocky venture to freedom through many years of combat and defeat to become what is known as current-day Bolivia. I will acknowledge the notable events that make up the legacy of its past, what has defined Bolivia in its era of complete independence, and what characterizes the fifth largest country in South America today.
Bolivia is a landlocked nation located in the western central region of South America and shares borders with five of the eleven countries in the continent which are; Brazil, Paraguay, Argentine, Chile, and Peru. Bolivia's topography is split into three regions that include dramatic elevation changes making it the highest and most isolated country in South America. In fact, one of its two capitals, La Paz, is considered the world's highest capital city at 3,600 meters above sea level. The three regions that make up Bolivia are the Andes and Arid highlands of the west, the Yungas, and semi-tropical valleys moving east to central Bolivia, with the eastern third of the country known as the Oriente tropical lowlands. The area of Bolivia can be compared to almost three times the size of Montana and is considered the fifth largest country in South America.
Bolivia's history dates back to 400-500 BC a time when indigenous peoples are believed to have colonized and founded the town known as Tiahuanaco, also referred to as Tiwanaku. This long timeline leaves much room for error in the documentation and A Brief History of Bolivia by Tim Lambert provides the key points in Bolivia's fight to freedom starting with the very first years. This timeline claims that the population of this indigenous tribe reached in between forty and fifty thousand people who designed and built the beginning of the empire. They also worked in pottery, silver, copper, and obsidian, and from 700 AD onward, they ruled this empire until broke up into states in 1,000 AD. By the 15 century, the Incas had conquered Bolivia According to The Library of Congress's Federal Research Division Country Profile of Bolivia, It was then in 1524 when Francisco Pizarro and his fellow Spanish conquistadors set their eyes on the 'New World' which was to soon be conquered by the Spaniards in 1538. A few years later in 1545, Spain hit the jackpot when silver was found in the Potosi leading the native Bolivians into forced labor that lead to many deaths if not already from the European diseases brought over. The native Bolivians took charge after years of resentment and began a rebellion in the late 1700s that eventually failed but started back up in the early 1800s that was led by people of Spanish descent as Napoleon Bonaparte deposed of their Spanish King to make his own brother the King of Spain. Slowly regions of South America declared independence and in 1824, a Venezuelan freedom fighter named Simon Bolivar joined the movement and liberated Bolivia from Spain on August 6th, 1825. The Republic of Bolivia honored Bolivar by naming their nation after him.
Bolivia's notable events after independence continued onward through the 20 and 21st centuries involving many presidencies, wars, a revolution, and a series of coups and counter-coups throughout the year. After completing independence, Simon Bolivar served as the first president of Bolivia for five months until being succeeded by General Antonio José de Sucre Alcalá in 1826 who served until 1829 when Marshall Andrés de Santa Cruz took over for ten years. Cruz even forged a political union of Peru and Bolivia leading to a war with Chile on the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy for the last three years of his presidency. In 1879, Bolivia increased taxation on the Chilean-owned nitrate companies resulting in the War of the Pacific. In 1884, Bolivia completely their coastal region and officially became a landlocked country. Later in the nineteenth century, Bolivia's economy began to prosper with silver, tin, and rubber industries. In 1920, Bolivia thrived but suffered by 1929 after The Wall Street Crash. A couple of years later, the Chaco War took place in 1932 for border disputes and ended badly for Bolivia as they lost to the Chaco region with 65,000 men dead from the war. Bolivia continued to suffer depression and 'military socialism' was introduced to Bolivia and they affirmed an alliance with the United States of America by compensating Standard Oil. In the 1950s Bolivia's inflation was high and they accepted loans from the United States to lower the inflation levels and give the economy a boost. In 1964 one of many coups in Bolivian history and military dictatorship took place for the next few years on into the 1980s where the economy gone back downhill after having recovered which was their most severe economic crisis to date with a foreign debt of 3 billion dollars. A close presidential election took place in 1985 which involved a former military dictator, Hugo Banzer against the founder of The Nationalist Revolutionary Movement, Paz Etenssoro. Banzer was elected and focused on ending the hyper-inflation that Bolivia had been experiencing. He negotiated deals for power-sharing agreements and MNR leaders agreed to investments and by 2000, they received $550,000 in royalties. In 2001, Banzer retired from his position due to a terminal illness and presidential elections took place in 2002 where socialist Evo Morales and former president Sanchez de Lozada participated in a close race where Lozada was elected, however the next couple years of his presidency were disrupted by social movements so he resigned and by 2005 Evo Morales was name president of Bolivia and has held that position ever since. He has won three more re-elections with the most recent being in October of 2019.
Bolivia has endured a long and complicated sequence of events within the past few hundred years to become the country it stands as today. Bolivia currently holds a population of 11,585,260 residents which is comprised of 68% Mestizo which is of mixed ancestry between Amerindians and Europeans and only 20% is officially considered to be indigenous according to the Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook profile on Bolivia. Bolivia's national constitution of 2009 designates Spanish, and all indigenous languages as an official with a grand total of thirty-six. Of these languages, the most 60.7% speak Spanish with, 21.2% speak Quechua, 14.6% speak Aymara, and the remainder speaks other native or foreign languages. Bolivia has young age demographic with a median age of 24.6 years old in comparison with the United States who has a median age of 37.8 according to the United States census bureau. Following that, Bolivia also has one of the world's lowest population densities according to The World Population Review's Bolivia Population profile as it ranks 180 out of 195 countries but can be explained by elements such as extreme altitude.
Today, Bolivia has The Presidential Republic similar to the United States with nine administrative divisions and three branches of government made up by executive, legislative and judicial branches. There are two capital cities in Bolivia with Sucre named the official capital where the judicial branch exists, and the city of La Paz as Bolivia's other capital city of the executive and legislative branches. Juan Evo Morales Ayma who came to Bolivia with a socialist agenda and as said before has won re-elections in both 2009, 2014, and again in 2019 as presidents serve five-year terms in Bolivia. Since his recent re-election for his fourth term in October, Morales resigned from his presidency on November 10th, 2019. According to an NPR article 'Bolivian President Evo Morales Resigns', author Michel Martin explains that The Organization of American States had found voting irregularities and even Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of state had similar sentiments concerning Bolivia's flawed voting in the recent election. Morales was Bolivia's longest-serving head of state and considered an iconic representative for the Indigenous, Bolivia's lower class, and the global left, however, his alliances have quickly faded after speculation that election rules were bent in favor of a Morales victory Moreover, Anatoly Kamenev penned New York Times article 'Evo Morales and Bolivia: What We Know About the President's Resignation. Kamenev explains that the Indigenous groups and most shockingly the armed forces had withdrawn their support for Morales. He had offered a new election, however, he eventually gave his resignation speech and continued onto an exile in Mexico days later, leaving Bolivia without a leader.
Since then, Jeaenine Anez the proclaimed president is apart from political news, Bolivia is home of the second-largest reserves of natural gas in South America. The indigenous population is said to have strong beliefs over relinquishing control as it is Bolivia's sole natural resource that remains useful today. Bolivia also stands as one of the world's largest coca producers which is the raw material for cocaine an opportunity in the working force for Bolivian natives. Although resource-rich, Bolivia's struggling economy has deemed the country one of the poorest in Latin America and as of 2019, the fifth poorest country in the Western Hemisphere behind Haiti, Nicaragua, Guyana, and Honduras. Habitat for Humanity of Great Britain reports that 58% of Bolivian families living in that do not meet the minimum living conditions that include basic services and sanitation. HFH also reports that 70% of Bolivian houses have dirt floors, which significantly increases susceptibility to respiratory diseases and illness, showing that the majority of living conditions for the Bolivian population are unsafe. The 2018 study Exploring chronic disease in Bolivia: A cross-sectional study in La Paz surveyed over 1165 adults living in Bolivia's capital city, collecting information about their mental, physical and financial wellness. This study reported that 50% had 2 or more non-communicable diseases, 74% of participants had low levels of medication adherence and 26% of the population was found to have an undiagnosed depressive disorder. The Bolivian residents, fortunately, do receive universal health care from the United Health System, although Bolivian doctors have protested this system due to budgets being too limited to treat the ill population. A 2017 Study Meeting the communication support needs of children and young people with intellectual disabilities in the Bolivian Andes conducts interviews and surveys and collects information regarding the scarcity of services and the impacts of speech therapy services in Bolivia today. This study reported that the quality of speech therapy services is poor and can be attributed to a lack of education as well as the negative stigma surrounding disabilities. Low-income countries typically have a high disability rate and it is thought to be burdensome, so lack of societal support plays a role in the prioritization of disability services. This country faces challenges in receiving adequate communication services as well as the support to sustain them including societal and professional attitudes toward the necessity for it.
Along with Bolivia's landlocked geography, extreme elevation, and shocking current events, Bolivia is also home of many natural landmarks and tourist attractions. With that being said, a visit to Bolivia can lead to many experiences that cannot be seen elsewhere. The Salar de Uyuni Salt Flats has been the must-see of all attractions as it is one of the flattest places in the world. It lays 4,000 square miles and after it rains, the salt on the ground mimics a mirror-like quality reflecting the sky above explaining its picturesque views. Another standout sight is 'Yungas Road'; a road that runs from La Paz to the very north in the rainforest region. It has been named the 'World's Most Dangerous Road' because is perched on a hill in Yunga valley ascending 15,000 feet before descending 4,000 down to the city of Coroico. Although many more tourist attractions, the last one I will mention is Cerro Rico, Potosi. This is sight is also known as the 'rich mountain' and known most for having the silver that the Spanish conquistadors so desired which eventually shaped changed Bolivian history and the indigenous community of Bolivia forever. With that being said, the natural attractions have not been enough to become a tourist destination country due to its lack of first-class accommodations and history of political instability. It began to boom and progress as a tourist destination country until the September 11, 2001 tourist attacks, and almost half of Bolivia was named a natural disaster area due to heavy rains in the same year.
Amongst the natural beauty of this country, Bolivia has a culture comprised of the indigenous and Spanish colonial backgrounds that give Bolivia its unique identity today. Bolivia residents have Christian identities, leaving around three percent left that practice an indigenous or other religion. The Christian religion has been so prominent in Bolivia that the separation of church and state was not officially recognized until the 1960s. This strong Christian background may have been implemented after the Spanish invasion but the Bolivian cuisine is comprised of both indigenous and Spanish influence. The Bolivians have one of the biggest potato diversities in the world. Potatoes are a staple and one of Bolivia's most important crops aside from soybeans. You may find these two vegetables in hardy meals also containing rice, beef, chicken, corn, and eggs. During a visit to Bolivia, one might fit in with the younger generation as they wear typical western-style clothing however, older Bolivians might be seen in traditional clothing. Women may wear polleras, which are long colorful skirts with shawls while men can be seen wearing ponchos and vests. The social beliefs and customs align with many Latin countries in that the population is focused on family and one house may hold several generations.
