Portal:Bolivia

Introduction

Welcome to the Bolivia portal

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government and administrative capital is La Paz, which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while the constitutional capital is Sucre, the seat of the judiciary. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales (eastern tropical lowlands), a mostly flat region in the east of the country.

The sovereign state of Bolivia is a constitutionally unitary state divided into nine departments. Its geography varies as the elevation fluctuates, from the western snow-capped peaks of the Andes to the eastern lowlands, situated within the Amazon basin. One-third of the country is within the Andean mountain range. With an area of 1,098,581 km² (424,164 sq mi), Bolivia is the fifth-largest country in South America after Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia, and, alongside Paraguay, is one of two landlocked countries in the Americas. It is the 27th largest country in the world, the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere, and the seventh largest landlocked country on earth, after Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Ethiopia.

Bolivia experienced a succession of military and civilian governments until Hugo Banzer led a CIA-supported coup d'état in 1971, replacing the socialist government of Juan José Torres with a military dictatorship. Banzer's regime cracked-down on left-wing and socialist opposition parties, and other perceived forms of dissent, resulting in the torturing and murders of countless Bolivian citizens. Banzer was ousted in 1978 and, twenty years later, returned as the democratically elected President of Bolivia (1997–2001). Under the 2006–2019 presidency of Evo Morales, the country saw significant economic growth and political stability. (Full article...)

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Corruption in Bolivia is a major problem that has been called an accepted part of life in the country. It can be found at all levels of Bolivian society. Citizens of the country perceive the judiciary, police and public administration generally as the country's most corrupt. Corruption is also widespread among officials who are supposed to control the illegal drug trade and among those working in and with extractive industries.

Many Bolivians are uneducated and thus unaware of their rights as citizens or of laws against corruption. (Full article...)

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... that Yesenia Yarhui, the youngest parliamentarian in Bolivian history, was sworn into the Chamber of Deputies at just 19 years old?
... that cocalera activist Ancelma Perlacios, the first Afro-Bolivian to be elected to the Senate, was her organization's secretary of defense of the coca leaf?
... that while serving in the Bolivian parliament, legislator Emeliana Aiza took night courses to receive her high school baccalaureate?
... that when the US government offered Bolivian president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada US$15 million to help quell riots in La Paz, he said that with that amount he couldn't even afford to pay for the cigars he smoked?
... that to combat water privatization in Bolivia, Freddy Huayta joined a "coordinator"—a loose-knit alliance of organizations united around a single cause?
... that as part of its strategy of political renovation, National Convergence nominated a librarian to contest one of Bolivia's most competitive legislative districts?

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Credit: Denelson83

The flag of Bolivia adopted on October 31, 1851 by the government of Manuel Isidoro Belzu

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General images

The following are images from various Bolivia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Francisco Pizarro (from History of Bolivia)
Image 2Satellite view of coca leaf and tropical fruit plantations in the Ivirgazama region of Bolivia. Several tropical areas in the country have experienced major deforestation. (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 3A proportional representation of Bolivian exports, 2019 (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 4Headquarters of the Bolivian Stock Exchange in La Paz. (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 5The Diablada dance primeval, typical and main of Carnival of Oruro a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity since 2001 in Bolivia (Image: Fraternidad Artística y Cultural "La Diablada"). (from Culture of Bolivia)
Image 6Inca expansion (1438–1533 CE) (from History of Bolivia)
Image 7Bolivian children playing the tarka. (from Culture of Bolivia)
Image 8Historical GDP per capita development (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 9The Cerro Rico, from which the Spanish drew most of their silver (from History of Bolivia)
Image 10Map showing the area of indigenous peoples in Bolivia (from List of cities and largest towns in Bolivia)
Image 11An Afro-Bolivian woman in Coroico. (from Culture of Bolivia)
Image 12The Salar de Uyuni is a major tourist destination in Bolivia. (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 13Headquarters of YPFB in La Paz, Bolivia's largest energy company. (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 14"Map of Bolivia, Showing Forest and Agriculture Areas, and Mineral Localities" from 1912 (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 15Quinoa field near Lake Titicaca. Bolivia is the world's second largest producer of quinoa. (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 16Lithium mine in the Salar de Uyuni (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 17Oil refinery plant in Cochabamba belonging to Brazilian state-owned company Petrobras. (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 18Estadio Hernando Siles (from Culture of Bolivia)
Image 19Bolivia's territorial losses between the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century (from History of Bolivia)
Image 20Traditional folk dress during a festival in Bolivia. (from Culture of Bolivia)
Image 21Bolivia during the Peru-Bolivian Confederation (from History of Bolivia)
Image 22Cerro Rico in Potosi, still a major silver mine. Bolivia is the world's 8th largest producer of silver. (from Economy of Bolivia)
Image 23Antonio José de Sucre, hero of Ayacucho (from History of Bolivia)