Yearbook 2004
Bolivia. The total population in Bolivia is 11,673,032 people in 2020. The political turmoil that led to President Gonzálo Sánchez de Lozada’s dramatic resignation in October 2003 also employed his successor Carlos Mesa. His proposal for a referendum on the future of the natural gas sector was rejected by the workers’ central organization COB, which claimed that the protests the year before had already clarified the will of the people.
However, the general strike that COB called for in January was a failure. In February, however, Congress approved a constitutional amendment that prepared the way for the referendum. It was finally held on July 18 and became a success for the government. The voters approved its proposal for new legislation and increased state control of the oil and gas sector, including through a new state-owned company, Petrobolivia, which will review and negotiate with private oil and gas companies and the new founding of the old state oil company YPFB.
Although the outcome was largely in line with the opposition’s demands, it demanded a more radical nationalist interpretation of the result. total re-state of the mineral sector. The government flipped and tightened the bill somewhat.
The political battle has diluted the talk of creating a state of its own in the eastern part of the country (Camba or the “Crescent”), where Santa Cruz, the country’s second largest city, is located and fossil fuel deposits are located.
The municipal elections in December were a setback for the established parties, with the exception of the cocoa leader Evo Morales MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo), and a success for citizen movements who were allowed to participate for the first time. The elections were preceded by several bomb attacks in La Paz.
In order to reduce tensions, amendments were made to the constitution that increase local autonomy. The changes were confirmed by a referendum in January 2009. See barblejewelry.com for Bolivia sights, UNESCO, climate, and geography.
Bolivia’s relations with the United States deteriorated drastically in 2008 when it was revealed that the superpower supported the autonomy opposition against the Morales government. In September, a film was revealed showing US Ambassador Philip Goldberg on his way from a meeting with Conservative autonomy Governor Rubén Costas. Goldberg was therefore declared a persona non-grata. Subsequently, it was revealed that the United States used DEA agents to support the opposition, and most DEA agents in the country were therefore expelled. The superpower once again responded by placing Bolivia in a group with Venezuela and Myanmar in its annual report on the fight against narcotics, as a country that opposes the fight against drug trafficking. It was a political branding. Following Obama’s takeover of the United States, Bolivia sought closer relations with the superpower,
In December 2009, Evo Morales was elected to a second presidential term with 63% of the votes cast. In October, in the light of his tireless struggle for the environment and against climate change, he was named “World Hero of Mother Earth” by the UN General Assembly in October of that year. Morales took part in the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December 2009 and argued here – in vain – the “polluter pays” principle. Ie that it should be the rich industrial countries – which are historically responsible for almost all CO 2the discharge – who had to pay. In Copenhagen, Morales, together with Venezuela’s Hugo chavez and several other Latin American presidents, attended a large meeting in the Valby Hall. In April 2010, Bolivia hosted a global climate change conference attended by most of the world’s countries – except for the pollutants, including Denmark.
In May, the government decided to raise the minimum wage by 5%. It sparked protests and a general strike on the part of the national organization COB, which felt the increase was too low. Despite the protests, the government maintained the 5% increase, accusing the protesters of being useful idiots for the right wing.
In late December 2010, the government eliminated fuel subsidies, which first triggered significant price increases and then widespread popular protests. Also from Morales’ own voter base. After a few days, the government saw itself forced to reintroduce the subsidies.
After Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2009, relations between the two countries improved somewhat, but without resuming diplomatic relations. When the United States launched an attack war on Libya in the spring of 2011, relations deteriorated again, and Morales demanded that Obama return his Nobel Peace Prize. Nevertheless, the situation improved at the end of the year and in November diplomatic relations were resumed – though without the DEA’s access to the country.