History UsefulNotes / Bolivia

In 2019, Morales resigned from the presidency after mass protests over alleged election fraud after seeking a fourth term as president, something his sympathizers have claimed was a coup (needless to say, this is a touchy subject). In the wake of these events, and the multiple resignations that followed, Senate second-Vice President Jeanine Añez took over as interim President, with another round of elections set for the following year. After a tumultuous 11 months marked by COVID, violent crackdowns on political dissidents, and Añez's controversial campaign for a full term as President, which ultimately ended with her withdrawal from the race a month before Election Day, October 2020 saw Luis Arce, Morales's former Minister of Economy and Public Finance, win the Presidency in a clean race.

Bolivia had the luck of having huge tin deposits, but that mainly benefited the Tin Barons who controlled the tin mines. The poorer classes did not take that well and forced a revolution in 1953. Since then, the government has switched between left and right extremes. In 2006, Evo Morales, an ethnic Aymara, was elected President. He nationalized the natural gas industry but angered the eastern part of the country with a large mestizo and white population [Bolivia is mostly Amerindian]. Morales was seen by people as their own version of UsefulNotes/HugoChavez of Venezuela; in fact, Morales was on good terms with the Venezuelan before Chávez' death in 2013 and has a similar relationship with his successor Nicolás Maduro. In 2019, Morales resigned from the presidency after mass protests over alleged election fraud after seeking a fourth term as president, something his sympathizers have claimed was a coup (needless to say, this is a touchy subject). In the wake of these events, and the multiple resignations that followed, Senate second-Vice President Jeanine Añez took over as interim President, with another round of elections set for the following year. After a tumultuous 11 months marked by COVID, violent crackdowns on political dissidents, and Añez's controversial campaign for a full term as President, which ultimately ended with her withdrawal from the race a month before Election Day, October 2020 saw Luis Arce, Morales's former Minister of Economy and Public Finance, win the Presidency in a clean race.

Bolivia had the luck of having huge tin deposits, but that mainly benefited the Tin Barons who control the tin mines. The poorer classes did not take that well and forced a revolution in 1953. Since then, the government has switched between left and right extremes. In 2006, Evo Morales, an ethnic Aymara, was elected President. He nationalized the natural gas industry but angered the eastern part of the country with a large mestizo and white population [Bolivia is mostly Amerindian]. Morales was seen by people as their own version of UsefulNotes/HugoChavez of Venezuela; in fact, Morales was on good terms with the Venezuelan before Chávez' death in 2013 and has a similar relationship with his successor Nicolás Maduro. In 2019, Morales resigned from the presidency after mass protests over alleged election fraud after seeking a fourth term as president, something his sympathizers have claimed was a coup (needless to say, this is a touchy subject). In the wake of these events, and the multiple resignations that followed, Senate second-Vice President Jeanine Añez took over as interim President, with another round of elections set for the following year. After a tumultuous 11 months marked by COVID, violent crackdowns on political dissidents, and Añez's controversial campaign for a full term as President, which ultimately ended with her withdrawal from the race a month before Election Day, October 2020 saw Luis Arce, Morales's former Minister of Economy and Public Finance, win the Presidency in a clean race.

Despite being a landlocked nation, Bolivia has a naval branch as part of its armed forces. The reasons for this date back to events more than a century ago. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land that connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining these resources. This act, along with subsequent actions against a Chilean mining company, was in direct violation of a treaty Bolivia had with UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}. The Chilean government attempted to find a diplomatic solution, but when the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, thus beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific. Neighboring UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} would end up joining the war on the side of Bolivia because both nations had signed a secret mutual defense pact. The war ultimately ended in a Chilean victory, after which Chile annexed Bolivia's entire coast, in addition to annexing some territory from Peru. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. The most notable being Lake Titicaca, which is divided between Bolivia and Peru. Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Officially the '''Plurinational State of Bolivia''' (Spanish: ''Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia''; Quechua: ''Puliwya Mamallaqta''; Guarani: ''Tetã Hetãvoregua Mborivia''; Aymara: ''Wuliwya Suyu''), Bolivia is a country is South America, the only one besides UsefulNotes/{{Paraguay}} to be landlocked. It was one of the former South American colonies that threw off Spanish rule in the 1810s. As a nod by Bolivians to Venezuelan leader UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar's efforts to help gain the country independence, they named the country for him.

Despite being a landlocked nation, Bolivia has a Navy as a branch of its armed forces. The reasons for this date back to events more than a century ago. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land that connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining these resources. This act, along with subsequent actions against a Chilean mining company, was in direct violation of a treaty Bolivia had with UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}. The Chilean government attempted to find a diplomatic solution, but when the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, thus beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific. Neighboring UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} would end up joining the war on the side of Bolivia because both nations had signed a secret mutual defense pact. The war ultimately ended in a Chilean victory, after which Chile annexed Bolivia's entire coast, in addition to annexing some territory from Peru. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. The most notable being Lake Titicaca, which is divided between Bolivia and Peru. Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Despite being a landlocked nation, Bolivia currently has a Navy. The reasons for this date back to events more than a century ago. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land that connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining these resources. However, this act was in direct violation of a treaty Bolivia had with UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}. The Chilean government attempted to find a diplomatic solution, but when the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, thus beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific. Neighboring UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} would end up joining the war on the side of Bolivia because both nations had signed a secret mutual defense pact. The war ultimately ended in a Chilean victory, after which Chile annexed Bolivia's entire coast, in addition to annexing some territory from Peru. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. The most notable being Lake Titicaca, which is divided between Bolivia and Peru. Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Despite being a landlocked nation, Bolivia currently has a Navy. The reasons for this date back to events more than a century ago. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land which connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining these resources. However, this act was in direct violation of a treaty Bolivia had with UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}. The Chilean government attempted to find a diplomatic solution, but when the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, thus beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific. Neighboring UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} would end up joining the war on the side of Bolivia because both nations had signed a secret mutual defense pact. The war ultimately ended in a Chilean victory, after which Chile annexed Bolivia's entire coast, in addition to annexing some territory from Peru. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. The most notable being Lake Titicaca which is divided between Bolivia and Peru. Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Despite being a landlocked nation, Bolivia currently has a Navy. The reasons for this date back to events more than a century ago. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land which connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining these resources, which violated a treaty they had with UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}. The Chilean government attempted to find a diplomatic solution, but when the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, thus beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific. Neighboring UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} would end up joining the war on the side of Bolivia because both nations had signed a secret mutual defense pact. The war ultimately ended in a Chilean victory, after which Chile annexed Bolivia's entire coast, in addition to annexing some territory from Peru. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. The most notable being Lake Titicaca which is divided between Bolivia and Peru. Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Despite being a landlocked nation, Bolivia currently has a Navy. The reasons for this date back to events more than a century ago. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land which connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining these resources, which violated a treaty they had with UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}. The Chilean government attempted to find a diplomatic solution, but when the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, thus beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific. Neighboring UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} would end up joining the war on the side of Bolivia because both nations had signed a secret mutual defense pact. The war ultimately ended in a Chilean victory, after which Chile annexed Bolivia's entire coast, as well as some territory from Peru. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. The most notable being Lake Titicaca which is divided between Bolivia and Peru. Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Despite being landlocked, Bolivia has a Navy. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land which connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining these resources, which violated a treaty they had with UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}. When the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific, which ended with Chile annexing Bolivia's entire coast. (Along with some territory from UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} who joined the war on Bolivia's side because they had a mutual defense pact) Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a " [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. (The most notable being Lake Titicaca which is divided between Bolivia and Peru) Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Officially the '''Plurinational State of Bolivia''' ('''Spanish:''' ''Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia''; '''Quechua:''' ''Puliwya Mamallaqta''; '''Guarani:''' ''Tetã Hetãvoregua Mborivia''; '''Aymara:''' ''Wuliwya Suyu''), Bolivia is a country is South America, the only one besides UsefulNotes/{{Paraguay}} to be landlocked. It was one of the former South American colonies that threw off Spanish rule in the 1810s. As a nod by Bolivians to Venezuelan leader UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar's efforts to help gain the country independence, they named the country for him.

By the way, the capital according to the constitution is Sucre, where the Supreme Court is located, but the government is seated on La Paz, which makes it de facto capital. That makes La Paz the highest capital in the world, at almost 12,000 feet above sea level.

While most Bolivians watch Mexican, Argentine, Brazilian, and Colombian soap operas, they had an SoapOpera industry of their own, though it was mainly by independent producers.

Bolivia had the luck of having huge tin deposits, but that mainly benefited the Tin Barons who control the tin mines. The poorer classes did not take that well and forced a revolution in 1953. Since then, the government has switched between left and right extremes. In 2006, Evo Morales, an ethnic Aymara, was elected President. He nationalized the natural gas industry but angered the eastern part of the country with a large mestizo and white population [Bolivia is mostly Amerindian]. Morales was seen by people as their own version of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela; in fact, Morales is in good terms with the Venezuelan. In 2019, Morales resigned from the presidency after mass protests over alleged election fraud after seeking a fourth term as president, something his sympathizers have claimed was a coup (needless to say, this is a touchy subject). In the wake of these events, and the multiple resignations that followed, Senate second-Vice President Jeanine Añez took over as interim President, with another round of elections set for the following year. After a tumultuous 11 months marked by COVID, violent crackdowns on political dissidents, and Añez's controversial campaign for a full term as President, which ultimately ended with her withdrawal from the race a month before Election Day, October 2020 saw Luis Arce, Morales's former Minister of Economy and Public Finance, win the Presidency in a clean race.

Despite being landlocked, Bolivia has a Navy. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land which connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining theese resources, which violated a treaty they had with Chile. When the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific, which ended with Chile annexing Bolivia's entire coast. (Along with some territory from Peru who joined the war on Bolivia's side since they shared a mutual defense pact) Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a " [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. (The most notable being Lake Titicaca which is divided between Bolivia and Peru) Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Bolivia, despite being landlocked, has a Navy. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land which connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by Bolivians, and Chilean settlers moved in. When a large deposit of nitrates was discovered, Chile asserted that it had the rights to the minerals. The Bolivians and the [[UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} Peruvians]] were enraged, and in 1879, the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific occurred, which ended with Chile annexing Bolivia's coast along with some territory from Peru. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a " [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. (The most notable being Lake Titicaca which is divided between Bolivia and Peru) Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Bolivia, despite being landlocked, has a navy. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land which connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by Bolivians, and Chilean settlers moved in. When a large deposit of nitrates were discovered, Chile asserted that it had the rights to the minerals. The Bolivians and the [[UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} Peruvians]] were enraged, and in 1879, the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific occured. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and maintains a navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it (It performs training maneuvers on Lake Titicaca). Bolivia also lost land to Brazil and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].

Bolivia had the luck of having huge tin deposits, but that mainly benefited the Tin Barons who control the tin mines. The poorer classes did not take that well and forced a revolution in 1953. Since then, the government has switched between left and right extremes. In 2006, Evo Morales, an ethnic Aymara, was elected President. He nationalized the natural gas industry but angered the eastern part of the country with a large mestizo and white population [Bolivia is mostly Amerindian]. Morales was seen by people as their own version of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela; in fact, Morales is in good terms with the Venezuelan. In 2019, Morales resigned from the presidency after mass protests over alleged election fraud after seeking a fourth term as president, something his sympathizers have claimed was a coup (needless to say, this is a touchy subject). In the wake of these events, and the multiple resignations that followed, Senate second-vice president Jeanine Añez took over as interim President, with another round of elections set for the following year. After a tumultuous 11 months marked by COVID, violent crackdowns on political dissidents, and Añez's controversial campaign for a full term as President, which ultimately ended with her withdrawal from the race a month before Election Day, October 2020 saw Luis Arce, Morales's former Minister of Economy and Public Finance, win the Presidency in a clean race.

Bolivia is well known for its Andean music, alongside Peru and Ecuador, with popular folk bands such as Music/LosKjarkas.

* '''Highest point:''' Sajama (6542 m/21,463 ft) (35th)

Bolivia had the luck of having huge tin deposits, but that mainly benefited the Tin Barons who control the tin mines. The poorer classes did not take that well and forced a revolution in 1953. Since then, the government has switched between left and right extremes. In 2006, Evo Morales, an ethnic Aymara, was elected President. He nationalized the natural gas industry but angered the eastern part of the country with a large mestizo and white population [Bolivia is mostly Amerindian]. Morales was seen by people as their own version of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela; in fact, Morales is in good terms with the Venezuelan. In 2019, Morales resigned from the presidency after mass protests over alleged election fraud after seeking a fourth term as president, something his sympathizers have claimed was a coup ([[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement needless to say, this is a touchy subject]]). In the wake of these events, and the multiple resignations that followed, Senate second-vice president Jeanine Añez took over as interim President, with another round of elections set for the following year. After a tumultuous 11 months marked by COVID, violent crackdowns on political dissidents, and Añez's controversial campaign for a full term as President, which ultimately ended with her withdrawal from the race a month before Election Day, October 2020 saw Luis Arce, Morales's former Minister of Economy and Public Finance, win the Presidency in a clean race.

Officially the '''Plurinational State of Bolivia''' ('''Spanish:''' ''Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia'', '''Quechua:''' ''Puliwya Mamallaqta'', '''Guarani:''' ''Tetã Hetãvoregua Mborivia''; '''Aymara:''' ''Wuliwya Suyu''), Bolivia is a country is South America, the only one besides UsefulNotes/{{Paraguay}} to be landlocked. It was one of the former South American colonies that threw off Spanish rule in the 1810s. As a nod by Bolivians to Venezuelan leader UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar's efforts to help gain the country independence, they named the country for him.

Officially the '''Plurinational State of Bolivia''' ('''Spanish:''' ''Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia''), Bolivia is a country is South America, the only one besides UsefulNotes/{{Paraguay}} to be landlocked. It was one of the former South American colonies that threw off Spanish rule in the 1810s. As a nod by Bolivians to Venezuelan leader UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar's efforts to help gain the country independence, they named the country for him.

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' BO

->The red, yellow and green stripes symbolize the blood of Bolivia's freedom fighters, mineral wealth, and natural bounty, respectively. The state flag adds at the center the national coat-of-arms. It shows an oval cartouche depicting an allegorical Andean landscape, featuring an alpaca, a palm tree and a bundle of wheat in front of Mount Potosí, once one of the largest silver mines in the world. Behind the shield are a pair of crossed cannons (struggle for independence), Phrygian cap (liberty), fasces (law), and six Bolivian flags. The shield is topped by an Andean condor superimposed on a pair of crossed olive branches.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/coat_of_arms_of_bolivia_8.png]]

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bolivia_flag_1301.png

The James Bond film ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' was set here during its second half, and ''VideoGame/GhostReconWildlands'' takes place entirely here.

* '''Area:''' 1,098,581 sq km (424,164 sq mi) (27th)

* '''Area:''' 1,098,581 km (424,164 sq mi) (27th)