Andean Information Network

You have asked me to address several questions on future joint counternarcotics efforts with Bolivia and future U.S. foreign assistance to the country. Are there any actions the Obama Administration can take to improve relations with Bolivia? What will the Bolivian Government need to do to help get relations back on track? Should the Obama [...]

As predicted, Bolivian voters ratified the new constitutional draft in the national referendum held on January 25, 2009.  Exit polls project that the winning margin will be approximately 62 percent. (1) This referendum also set the limit for private land holdings at 5,000 hectares, winning over the other option of 10,000 hectares by an unconfirmed [...]

A Fresh Start for Bilateral Relations?
However, since last November, when U.S. voters made history by electing Barack Obama, President Morales and other high-ranking Bolivian officials have frequently expressed their optimism about the Obama presidency and their interest in improving relations.  After addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York in mid-November, Morales remarked: “My [...]

Bad Blood
Since Morales’ inauguration, his lack of confidence in the Catholic Church hierarchy and ecclesiastical officials’ susceptibility about possible impact of constitutional and education reform led to recurring bouts of friction and verbal sparring. President Morales recently denounced the Church as “an ideological instrument of domination,”1  perpetuating this unproductive cycle.  Bolivian Cardinal Julio Terrazas has [...]

In general, the current political atmosphere is marked by unfounded accusations and lies regarding the content of the draft presented in TV spots and other media outlets as the opposition attempts to defeat the proposed constitution.  This propaganda takes advantage of the length and complexity of the document, which suggests that most people will not [...]

Morales administration Supreme Decree sets off protests
In addition to the blockade on the highway between La Paz and Oruro at Patacamaya, protests occurred in several other regions. The majority of participants could lose their jobs at duty-free zones as a result of the new restrictions. The December 4th decree, which limits the import of vehicles [...]

Saturday, September 19 – Sunday, September 20

By the end of last week, Bolivian television networks released footage of the killings in the Pando region on September 11. Although the images are a bit unclear, several groups of people flee to a river, ostensibly to escape the gunfire clearly audible in the background.  It is hard [...]

With ambassadors being expelled and unrest claiming the lives of dozens, the recent upheaval in Bolivia has put this Andean nation on the radar of US public attention.  Most people in the US, however, know little about Bolivia other than the election of that nation's first indigenous president, Evo Morales and the right-wing caricature of [...]

 
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 8:30 PMSubject: Evacuation Update
Dear Family and Friends,
First of all, greetings from Peru!  Secondly, I am completely safe.  As you may have already heard, there were recent bursts of violence in Bolivia and US-Bolivian relations are deteriorating.  The US ambassador to Bolivia was told to leave the country and the US [...]

Friday, September 12 – Sunday, September 14
•    Tarija Prefect, Mario Cossio, and Vice President Garcia Linera met on Friday night to begin discussions between the central government and opposition leaders, following violent outbreaks in the Eastern regions the week before. Their meeting reportedly lasted until the early morning on Saturday. Cossio, who was acting [...]