The history of Bolivia involves thousands of years of human habitation.

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...

had been an important center of culture and development for thousands of years. The

Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and in ...

people reached an advanced level of civilization before being conquered by a rapidly expanding

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Inca themselves were shortly afterward conquered by the Spanish led by

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

in the early 16th century. The region that now makes up Bolivia fell under the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

. It was specifically known as

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

, and in 1776 was transferred to the newly established Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata with its capital in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. A notable but ill-fated indigenous revolt against the Spanish authorities occurred in the late 18th century being led by

Túpac Amaru II Tupac Amaru II (born José Gabriel Condorcanqui Noguera, – 18 May 1781) was an Indigenous ''cacique'' who led a Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II, large Andean rebellion against the Viceroyalty of Peru, Spanish in Peru as Self-proclaimed monarc ...

. Upper Peru joined the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence () took place across the Spanish Empire during the early 19th century. The struggles in both hemispheres began shortly after the outbreak of the Peninsular War, forming part of the broader context of the ...

in the early 19th century and the Bolivian Republic was established in 1825, being named after Simon Bolivar. In the course of the 19th century, Bolivia fell repeatedly into wars against its neighbors, culminating in a devastating loss in the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

, which resulted in Bolivia losing its access to the sea, along with rich nitrate fields. Bolivia faced a further losses in the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, Bolivian National Revolution broke out in the 1950s and attempted a program of nationalization of resources and expansion of suffrage. The country fell into military rule and experienced a series of coups until a transition to democratic government in the 1980s which still struggled with a rapidly deteriorating economy. 21st century Bolivian politics would be dominated by

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to come ...

until he resigned in the wake of the 2019 Bolivian political crisis.

Pre-Columbian period

Cultures of

indigenous peoples in Bolivia The Indigenous peoples in Bolivia or Native Bolivians () are Bolivians who have predominantly or total Amerindian ancestry. They constitute anywhere from 41.52% to 62.05% of Bolivia's population, depending on different estimates, and they belong ...

developed in the high altitude settings of

altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...

with low oxygen levels, poor soils and extreme weather patterns. The better-suited lowlands were sparsely inhabited by hunter-gatherer societies while much of the pre-Columbian population was concentrated in altiplano valleys of

Cochabamba Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...

and Chuquisaca. The potato was domesticated near lake Titicaca between 8000 and 5000 BC,

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechuan languages, Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae, amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are high in prote ...

some 3,000–4,000 years ago and production of copper began in 2000 BC.

Llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. Traditionally, alpacas were kept in herds that grazed on the level heights of the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile. More recentl ...

and

vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', Vicugna, its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine tundra, alpine areas of the Andes; the other cameli ...

were domesticated and used for transport, food and clothing.

Aymara people The Aymara or Aimara (, ) people are an Indigenous people in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America. Approximately 2.3 million Aymara live in northwest Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The ancestors of the Aymara lived in the reg ...

arrived in the region some 2000 years ago, eventually settling in Western Bolivia, Southern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and Northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Present-day Aymaras associate themselves with the advanced culture of

, which after 600 became an important regional power. According to early estimates, at its maximum extent, the city covered approximately 6.5 square kilometers and had between 15,000 and 30,000 inhabitants. However, satellite imaging was used recently to map the extent of "flooded-raised fields" (''suka qullu'') across the three primary valleys of Tiwanaku, arriving at population-carrying capacity estimates of anywhere between 285,000 and 1,482,000 people. William H. Isbell states that "Tiahuanaco underwent a dramatic transformation between AD 600 and 700 that established new monumental standards for civic architecture and greatly increased the resident population." Tiwanaku gained its power through the trade it implemented between all of the cities within its empire. The empire continued to grow with no end in sight. William H. Isbell states "Tiahuanaco underwent a dramatic transformation between AD 600 and 700 that established new monumental standards for civic architecture and greatly increased the resident population." Tiwanaku continued to absorb cultures rather than eradicate them. Archaeologists note a dramatic adoption of Tiwanaku ceramics into the cultures which became part of the Tiwanaku empire. Tiwanaku's power was further solidified through the trade it implemented among the cities within its empire. Tiwanaku's elites gained their status through the surplus food they controlled, collected from outlying regions, and then redistributed to the general populace. Further, this elite's control of

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

herds became a powerful control mechanism, as llamas were essential for carrying goods between the civic center and the periphery. These herds also came to symbolize class distinctions between the commoners and the elites. Through this control and manipulation of surplus resources, the elite's power continued to grow until about AD 950. After 950 a dramatic shift in climate occurred and there was a significant drop in precipitation for the Titicaca Basin. Tiwanaku disappeared around AD 1150 because food production collapses and could no longer sustain the large population. The land was not inhabited for many years after that. Between 1438 and 1527 the

Inca empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

embarked on a mass expansion, acquiring much of what is now western Bolivia under their 9th emperor, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, whose reign lasted from 1438 to 1471. Pachacuti Yupanqui was succeeded by his son,

Topa Inca Yupanqui Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui (), also Topa Inga Yupangui, erroneously translated as "noble Inca accountant" (before 14711493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–1493) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pac ...

whose reign also increased the Incan territory and lasted from 1471 to 1493. During the 15th century, the Incas conquered the region of Lake Titicaca and western Bolivia became a part of the Inca territory as province of Qullasuyu.

Spanish colonial period

Conquest by Spain

, Diego de Almagro, and Hernando de Luque led the Spanish discovery and conquest of the

.. They first sailed south in 1524 along the Pacific coast from

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

to confirm the existence of a legendary land of gold called "Biru" (later altered to Peru). Because the rapidly expanding Inca Empire was internally weak, conquest was remarkably easy. After the Inca Emperor

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (; Cuzco Quechua: ''Wayna Qhapaq'' ) (before 14931527) was the third Sapa Inca of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. He was the son of and successor to Túpac Inca Yupanqui,Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; 2015, originally published in Sp ...

died in 1527, his sons Huascar and

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa or Ataw Wallpa ( Quechua) ( 150226 July 1533), was the last effective Inca emperor, reigning from April 1532 until his capture and execution in July of the following year, as part of the Spanish conquest of the In ...

fought over the succession. Although Atahualpa defeated his brother, he had not yet consolidated his power when the conquistadors arrived. Atahualpa did not attempt to defeat Pizarro when he arrived on the coast in 1532 because the Incan ruler was convinced that those who commanded the mountains also controlled the coast. Atahualpa's refusal to accept the permanent Spanish presence and to convert to Christianity led to the bloody

Battle of Cajamarca The Battle of Cajamarca, also spelled Cajamalca (though many contemporary scholars prefer to call it the Cajamarca massacre), was the ambush and seizure of the Incan ruler Atahualpa by a small Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro, on November ...

on 16 November 1532. Pizarro in a masterful strike killed Atahualpa's 12-man honor guard and took the Inca captive at the so-called

ransom room The Ransom Room (''El Cuarto del Rescate'') is a small building located in Cajamarca, Peru. It is considered to be the place where the Inca Empire came to an end with the capture and eventual execution of the Inca Emperor Atahualpa. Capture of ...

. One year later, the Inca capital of

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

fell and was refounded as a new Spanish settlement. Francisco-pizarro

Despite Pizarro's quick victory, Inca rebellions soon began and continued periodically throughout the colonial period. In 1537

Manco Inca Manco Inca Yupanqui (1544) was the founder and first Sapa Inca of the independent Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, Peru, Vilcabamba, although he was originally a Puppet government, puppet Inca Emperor installed by the Spaniards. He was also known ...

, whom the Spanish had established as a puppet emperor, rebelled against the new rulers and restored a "neo-Inca" state.. This state continued to challenge Spanish authority even after the Spanish suppressed the revolt and beheaded Túpac Amaru in the public square of Cuzco in 1572. Later revolts in the Bolivian highlands were usually organized by the elders of the community and remained local in nature, except for the great rebellion of

. During the first two decades of Spanish rule, the settlement of the Bolivian highlands – now known as Upper Peru (''Alto Perú'') or

Real Audiencia of Charcas The Real Audiencia of Charcas () was a Spanish '' audiencia'' with its seat in what is today Bolivia. It was established in 1559 in Ciudad de la Plata de Nuevo Toledo (later Charcas, modern-day Sucre) and had jurisdiction over the Governorate o ...

– was delayed by a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

between the forces of Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. The two

conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

had divided the Incan territory, with the north under the control of Pizarro and the south under that of Almagro. Fighting broke out in 1537 when Almagro seized Cuzco after suppressing the Manco Inca rebellion. Pizarro defeated and executed Almagro in 1538, but was himself assassinated three years later by former supporters of Almagro. Pizarro's brother Gonzalo assumed control of Upper Peru but soon became embroiled in a rebellion against the Spanish crown. Only with the execution of Gonzalo Pizarro in 1548 did the Spanish crown succeed in reasserting its authority; later that year colonial authorities established the city of

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

, which soon became an important commercial center. The conquest and colonial rule were traumatic experiences for the

.. Easily susceptible to European diseases, the native population decreased rapidly. However, the resistance of indigenous people of the Bolivian lowlands managed to delay the conquest and settlement of their lands. The Spanish established

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

in 1561, but the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion o ...

(the colonial name for the arid Chaco region) remained a wild frontier throughout colonial rule. In the Chaco, the Native Americans, mostly Chiriguano, carried out unrelenting attacks against colonial settlements and remained independent of direct Spanish control.

Spanish administration

During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was under the authority of the

. Local government was implemented by the

, located in Chuquisaca or La Plata (modern

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

). Bolivian silver mines produced much of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

s wealth, and

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

, site of the famed

Cerro Rico Cerro Rico (Spanish for "Rich Mountain"), Cerro Potosí ("Potosí Mountain") or Sumaq Urqu (Quechuan languages, Quechua ''sumaq'' "beautiful, good, pleasant", ''urqu'' "mountain", "beautiful (good or pleasant) mountain"), is a mountain in the A ...

("Rich Mountain") was for a couple of centuries the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. The wealth of Upper Peru and its remoteness from

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

convinced the authorities to create a new audiencia in the city of Chuquisaca (present-day Sucre) in 1558.. Chuquisaca had become particularly important as Potosí's administrative and agricultural supply center. The jurisdiction of the audiencia, known as Charcas, initially covered a radius of 100 leagues (1,796 km²) around Chuquisaca, but it soon included Santa Cruz and territory belonging to present-day

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and, until 1568, also the entire district of

. The president of the ''audiencia'' had judicial authority as well as administrative and executive powers in the region, but only in routine matters; more important decisions were made in Lima. This situation led to a competitive attitude and the reputation of Upper Peru for assertiveness, a condition reinforced by the economic importance of the region. The longevity of Spain's empire in South America can be explained partly by the successful administration of the colonies and the integration of the people conquered. Spain was at first primarily interested in controlling the independent-minded conquerors, but its main goal soon became maintaining the flow of revenue to the crown and collecting the tribute of goods and labor from the Native American population. To this end, Spain soon created an elaborate bureaucracy in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

, in which various institutions served as watchdogs over each other and local officials had considerable autonomy. Spain exercised its control of smaller administrative units in the colonies through royal officials, such as the ''corregidor'', who represented the king in the municipal governments that were elected by their citizens. By the early 17th century, there were four ''corregidores'' in Upper Peru. In the late 18th century, Spain undertook an administrative reform to increase revenues of the crown and eliminate a number of abuses. It created an intendancy system, giving extensive powers to highly qualified officials who were directly responsible to the king.. In 1784, Spain established four intendancy districts in Upper Peru, covering the present-day departments of La Paz, Cochabamba, Potosí, and Chuquisaca. Upper Peru was joined to the new

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata or Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires ( or Virreinato de Buenos Aires or ) meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was ...

with capital in

) upon its creation in 1776. The viceroy was aided by the audiencia (council), which was simultaneously the highest court of appeal in the jurisdiction and, in the absence of the viceroy, also had administrative and executive powers.

Christianity

Along with the conquistadors came the Catholic clergy which began the conversion of native peoples to Christianity. In 1552 the first

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

in Upper Peru was established in La Plata; in 1605 La Paz and Santa Cruz also became bishoprics. In 1623, the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

established the Royal and Pontifical Higher University of San Francisco Xavier of Chuquisaca, Upper Peru's first university. The official

Inca religion The Inca religion was a group of beliefs and rites that were related to a mythological system evolving from pre-Inca times to Inca Empire. Faith in the ''Tawantinsuyu'' was manifested in every aspect of his life, work, festivities, ceremonies, ...

disappeared rapidly and Native Americans continued their local worship under the protection of local Native American rulers. As Christianity's influence grew, a new folk Catholicism developed, incorporating symbols of the indigenous religion. Whereas early Native American rebellions were anti-Christian, the revolts at the end of the 16th century were based in messianic Christian symbolism that was Roman Catholic and anti-Spanish. The church was tolerant of local Native American religions. In 1582 the bishop of La Plata permitted the building of a sanctuary for the dark

Virgen de Copacabana The Virgen de Copacabana (literal translation: Virgin of Copacabana; figurative translation: Our Lady of Copacabana; variant: Blessed Virgin of the Candelaria, Our Lady of Copacabana) is the patron saint of Bolivia. She is venerated in Bolivia du ...

on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

Rebellions of native peoples

While many Native Americans adapted to Spanish ways by breaking with their traditions and actively attempting to enter the market economy, they also used the courts to protect their interests, especially against tribute assessments. Others clung to their customs as much as possible, and some rebelled against the white rulers. Local, mostly uncoordinated, rebellions occurred throughout colonial rule. More than 100 revolts occurred in the 18th century in Bolivia and Peru. Native American resentment to colonial rule increased in the 18th century when Spain demanded higher tribute payments and increased mita obligations in an attempt to improve the mining output. It sparked the great rebellion of

.. Born José Gabriel Condorcanqui, this educated, Spanish-speaking Native American took the name of his ancestor, Túpac Amaru. Although Túpac Amaru II insisted that his movement was reformist and did not seek to overthrow Spanish rule, his demands included an autonomous region. The uprising quickly became a full-scale revolt. Approximately 60,000 Native American in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes rallied to the cause. After scoring some initial victories, including defeating a Spanish army of 1,200 men, Túpac Amaru II was captured and executed in May 1781; nonetheless, the revolt continued, primarily in Upper Peru. There, a supporter of Túpac Amaru II, the Native American chief Tomás Catari, had led an uprising in Potosí during the early months of 1780. Catari was killed by the Spaniards a month before Túpac Amaru II. Another major revolt was led by Julián Apaza, a sexton who took the names of the two rebel martyrs by calling himself Túpac Catari (also spelled Katari). He besieged La Paz for more than 100 days in 1781. During the siege, 20,000 people died. In 1782 an Aymara woman, Bartolina Sisa, was executed for raising yet another revolt. Spain did not succeed in putting down all of the revolts until 1783 and then proceeded to execute thousands of Native Americans.

Struggle for independence

In the late 18th century, a growing discontent with Spanish rule developed among the ''

criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...

'' who began to assume active roles in the economy, especially in mining and agricultural production, and thus resented the trade barriers established by the mercantalist policies of the Spanish crown. In addition, ''criollos'' were incensed that Spain reserved all higher administrative positions for ''peninsulares'' (Spanish-born persons).

The Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a European intellectual and philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained through rationalism and empirici ...

, with its emphasis on reason, questioning of authority and tradition, and individualistic tendencies, also contributed to ''criollo'' discontent. The

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

had not kept the writings of

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian who lived during the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise '' The Prince'' (), writte ...

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In ...

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

, and others out of Spanish America; their ideas were often discussed by ''criollos'', especially those educated at the university in Chuquisaca. Although Upper Peru was fundamentally loyal to Spain, the ideas of the Enlightenment and independence from Spain continued to be discussed by scattered groups of radicals. As Spanish royal authority weakened during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, sentiment against colonial rule grew. Independence was proclaimed in 1809, but 16 years of struggle followed before the establishment of a republic named for

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

. The invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 1807–1808 by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's forces proved critical to the independence struggle in South America.. The overthrow of the

Bourbon Dynasty The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

and the placement of

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

on the Spanish throne tested the loyalty of the local elites in Upper Peru, who were suddenly confronted with several conflicting authorities. Most remained loyal to the Spanish Bourbons. Taking a wait-and-see attitude, they supported the Supreme Central Junta in Spain, a government which claimed to rule in the name of the abdicated

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

. Some liberals eagerly welcomed the possible reforms to colonial rule promised by Joseph Bonaparte. A few officials supported the claims to a type of

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of the Spanish realms by Ferdinand's sister, Carlota, who at the moment governed from

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

with her husband, Prince Regent John of Portugal. Finally, a small number of radical

Criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...

wanted independence for Upper Peru. This conflict of authority resulted in a local power struggle in Upper Peru between 1808 and 1810, which constituted the first phase of the efforts to achieve independence. In 1808, the president of the Audiencia, Ramón García León de Pizarro, leaned towards affiliation with Carlotta. But the '' oidores'' of the Audiencia favored the Supreme Central Junta. On 25 May 1809, the ''oidores'' deposed President García León and established a junta to govern in the name of Ferdinand VII. On 16 July 1809, Pedro Domingo Murillo led another revolt by Criollos and

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

s in La Paz and proclaimed an independent junta of Upper Peru, which would govern in the name of Ferdinand VII.. By November 1809,

, Oruro, and

had joined the La Paz junta. Both revolts were put down by forces sent to La Paz by the viceroys of Peru and the Río de La Plata. During the following seven years, Upper Peru became the battleground for forces of the United Provinces of the River Plate and

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

troops from Peru. Although the royalists repulsed three Argentine invasions, guerrillas controlled parts of the countryside, where they formed six major ''republiquetas'', or zones of insurrection. In these zones, local patriotism would eventually develop into a full fight for independence. By 1817, Upper Peru was relatively quiet and under the control of the Viceroyalty of Peru. After 1820, conservative Criollos supported General Pedro Antonio de Olañeta, a Charcas native, who refused to accept the restoration of the liberal

Spanish Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution ...

. Olañeta, convinced that these measures threatened royal authority, refused to join either the liberal royalist forces or the rebel armies under the command of Bolívar and

Antonio José de Sucre Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (), was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate ...

. Olañeta did not relinquish his command even after the Peruvian royalists included him and his forces in their capitulation agreement following their defeat in the

Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho (, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of belligerent South American states. In Peru it is conside ...

in 1824. Olañeta was killed by his own men on 1 April 1825. A constitutional congress declared Bolivia an independent republic on 6 August and named the new republic in honor of Bolívar, because it wanted to gain his support for Bolivian independence from Peru.

19th century

During the presidency of Marshal

Andrés de Santa Cruz Andrés de Santa Cruz y Calahumana (; 30 November 1792 – 25 September 1865) was a Bolivian general and politician who served as interim president of Peru in 1827, the interim president of Peru from 1836 to 1838 and the sixth president of ...

, Bolivia enjoyed the most successful period of their history with great social and economic advancement. Santa Cruz got involved in internal Peruvian political problems and succeeded in unifying Peru and Bolivia into a confederation, the

Peru–Bolivian Confederation The Peru–Bolivian Confederation () was a short-lived state that existed in South America between 1836 and 1839. The country was a loose confederation made up of three states: North Peru and South Peru—states that arose from the division of th ...

. As Santa Cruz openly declared the

as a predecessor of his state, this move was perceived as a threat to regional power balance and a menace to countries on former Inca territory. The

War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation () was a military confrontation waged by the United Restoration Army, the alliance of the land and naval forces of Chile and the Restoration Army of Peru, formed in 1836 by Peruvian soldiers opposed to the conf ...

broke out and different wars against almost all its neighbors were fought during this period with many sound victories against its enemies. Arguably, the turning point took place on the fields of Paucarpata, where the Confederation Peru-Bolivia, led by Santa Cruz, forced the Chilean and Peruvian rebel armies to sign the peace treaty known as the ''Paucarpata Treaty,'' which included their unconditional surrender; later this treaty was discarded by the Chilean parliament. The rebel Peruvians and the Chilean army set off to a new war against Santa Cruz, defeating the Confederation at the

Battle of Yungay The Battle of Yungay (or Yungai) was the final battle of the War of the Confederation, fought on January 20, 1839, near Santo Domingo de Yungay, Yungay, Peru. The United Restoration Army, led by Chilean General Manuel Bulnes, consisting mainly ...

. This was the turning point in Bolivian history; after this moment, coups and short-lived constitutions dominated Bolivian politics for nearly 40 years. Bolivia's military weakness was demonstrated during the

(1879–83), when it lost its Pacific seacoast and the adjoining

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . salt (chemistry), Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are solubility, soluble in wa ...

rich fields to

. An increase in the world price of silver brought Bolivia a measure of relative prosperity and political stability in the late 1800s. During the early part of the 20th century, tin replaced silver as the country's most important source of wealth. A succession of Liberal governments applied

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

policies through the first third of the century.

20th century

Early 20th century

Living conditions of the indigenous peoples, who constituted most of the population, remained deplorable. Forced to work under primitive conditions in the mines and in nearly feudal status on large estates, they were denied access to education, economic opportunity, or political participation. Bolivia's defeat by

in the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, Great loss of life and territory discredited the traditional ruling classes, while service in the army produced stirrings of political awareness among the indigenous people. In 1936, the

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

was nationalized and the state-owned firm '' Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos'' (YPFB) was created. From the end of the Chaco War until the 1952 revolution, the emergence of contending ideologies and the demands of new groups convulsed Bolivian politics.

Bolivian National Revolution

Standing alongside the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, the Bolivian National Revolution is one of the most significant sociopolitical events to occur in Latin America during the 20th century. The

Revolutionary Nationalist Movement The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( , MNR) is a centre-right, conservative political party in Bolivia. It was the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution from 1952 to 1964. It influenced much of the country's history since 19 ...

(MNR) emerged from the ashes of the Chaco War in 1941 as a middle-class political coalition eschewing Marxism for nationalism. The MNR participated in the military-civilian regime of

Gualberto Villarroel Gualberto Villarroel López (15 December 1908 – 21 July 1946) was a Bolivians, Bolivian military officer who served as the 39th president of Bolivia from 1943 to 1946. A reformist, sometimes compared with Argentina's Juan Perón, he is non ...

(1943–46), and were elected to the 1944–1946 Bolivian National Convention but members were forced to resign in 1946 following the 1946 La Paz riots. The party initiated a brief but bloody civil war in October 1949, but was defeated. The MNR emerged victorious in the 1951 elections, but the results were called fraudulent by the opposition, and its right to the presidency was denied. On 9 April 1952, the MNR led a successful revolt and set into motion the Bolivian National Revolution. Under President

Víctor Paz Estenssoro Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro (2 October 1907 – 7 June 2001) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 45th president of Bolivia for three nonconsecutive and four total terms from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964 and 1985 to 1989. He ran for pr ...

, the MNR introduced universal adult suffrage, nationalized the country's largest

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

mines, carried out a sweeping land reform, and promoted rural education. Notably, the state attempted to incorporate Aymara and Quechua peasants (that together constituted no less than 65 percent of the total population) into national life for the first time in Republican history. Although the policies pursued by the MNR were largely corporatist and assimilationist, it marked a significant turning point in Bolivia's contested history of indigenous-state relations. Following the 1952 revolution, the Bolivian state sought to strengthen its role in rural areas, implementing an extensive public health campaign that specifically included indigenous Bolivians.

Military rule

Twelve more tumultuous years of national reform left the MNR divided, and in a November 1964 coup d'état, a military junta led by vice-president

René Barrientos René Emilio Barrientos Ortuño (30 May 1919 – 27 April 1969) was a Bolivian military officer and politician who served as the 47th president of Bolivia from 1964 to 1966 and 1966 to 1969. During his first term, he shared power with Alfred ...

overthrew President Paz Estenssoro at the outset of his third term. Many assert this change brought an end to the National Revolution and marked the beginning of nearly 20 years of military rule in Bolivia. Many scholars have looked to the CIA in explaining the November 1964 coup, but an increasing number of declassified US documents refute the claim. Towards the end of Paz's second term, Barrientos—a popular, Quechua-speaking general—had succeeded in co-opting the peasant unions formed in the wake of the 1953 agrarian reform, establishing the so-called Military-Peasant Pact (''Pacto Militar-Campesino''). Throughout the 1960s Barrientos leveled the peasant unions against labor unrest in the mines. The 1969 death of Barrientos led to a succession of weak governments. A coup was led by the military, only to see a countercoup led by leftist

Juan José Torres Juan José Torres González (5 March 1920 – 2 June 1976) was a Bolivian socialism, socialist politician and military leader who served as the 50th president of Bolivia from 1970 to 1971, when he was ousted in a coup that resulted in the ...

in October 1970. His government was quickly subjected to external pressure. US Ambassador Ernest Siracusa (who participated in the coup d'état against Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954, then was expelled from Peru in 1968, accused of being a CIA man) ordered Torres to change his policies, threatening him with financial blockage. The

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

refuse to grant the Torres government the loans necessary to pursue industrial development work. Torres' power was also unstable because he was supported only by a minority of the army and the country's middle class. The wealthy classes, part of the army, the right wing of the MNR and the Phalangist party plotted against him. After less than a year in power, Torres was overthrown in August 1971 in a bloody coup d'état led by the colonel Hugo Banzer, supported by the Brazilian military regime and the United States. Despite massive resistance – both civilian and military – the conservative forces had learned the lessons of the failed October, 1970 uprising, and applied brutality without compunction. Banzer ruled with MNR support from 1971 to 1974, when, impatient with schisms in the coalition, he replaced civilians with members of the armed forces and suspended political activities. In the basement of the Ministry of the Interior or "the horror chambers" around 2,000 political prisoners were held and tortured during the 1971-1974 military rule. The economy grew impressively during Banzer's presidency, but demands for greater political freedom undercut his support. He called for elections in 1978 but voting irregularities plunged Bolivia into turmoil once again. Elections in 1978, 1979, and 1980 were inconclusive and marked by fraud. There were coups, counter-coups, and caretaker governments. In 1980, General Luis García Meza carried out a ruthless and violent coup. His government was notorious for human rights abuses, narcotics trafficking, and economic mismanagement. This led to a breakdown in relations with the US, which under both the

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

administrations refused to recognize García's government due to its drug ties. Later convicted in absentia for crimes, including murder, García Meza was extradited from Brazil and began serving a 30-year sentence in 1995.

Transition to democracy

After a military rebellion forced out García Meza in 1981, three other military governments within 14 months struggled with Bolivia's growing problems. Unrest forced the military to convoke the Congress elected in 1980 and allowed it to choose a new chief executive.

1982 to present

In October 1982, 22 years after the end of his first term of office (1956–60),

Hernán Siles Zuazo Hernán Siles Zuazo (21 March 1914 – 6 August 1996) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 46th president of Bolivia twice nonconsecutively from 1956 to 1960 and from 1982 to 1985. He also briefly served as interim president in April 1952 ...

again became president. Severe social tension, exacerbated by economic mismanagement and weak leadership, forced him to call early elections and relinquish power a year before the end of his constitutional term. In the 1985 elections, the Nationalist Democratic Action Party (ADN) of Gen. Banzer won a plurality of the popular vote, followed by former President Paz Estenssoro's MNR and former Vice President Jaime Paz Zamora's Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR). In the congressional run-off, the MIR sided with MNR, and Paz Estenssoro was chosen for a fourth term as president. When he took office in 1985, he faced a staggering economic crisis. Economic output and exports had been declining for several years.

Hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...

had reached an annual rate of 24,000%. Social unrest, chronic strikes, and unchecked drug trafficking were widespread. In 4 years, Paz Estenssoro's administration achieved economic and social stability. The military stayed out of politics, and all major political parties publicly and institutionally committed themselves to democracy. Human rights violations, which badly tainted some governments earlier in the decade, were no longer a problem. However, his remarkable accomplishments were not won without sacrifice. The collapse of tin prices in October 1985, coming just as the government was moving to reassert its control of the mismanaged state mining enterprise, forced the government to lay off over 20,000 miners. Although the MNR list headed by

Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada Gonzalo Daniel Sánchez de Lozada Sánchez Bustamante (born 1 July 1930), often referred to as Goni, is a Bolivian-American businessman and politician who served as the 61st president of Bolivia from 1993 to 1997 and from 2002 to 2003. A membe ...

finished first in the 1989 elections, no candidate received a majority of popular votes and so in accordance with the constitution, a congressional vote determined who would be president. The Patriotic Accord (AP) coalition between General Banzer's ADN and Jaime Paz Zamora's MIR, the second- and third-place finishers, respectively, won out. Paz Zamora assumed the presidency, and the MIR took half the ministries. Banzer's center-right ADN took control of the National Political Council (CONAP) and the other ministries. Paz Zamora was a moderate, center-left President whose political pragmatism in office outweighed his Marxist origins. Having seen the destructive hyperinflation of the Siles Zuazo administration, he continued the neoliberal economic reforms begun by Paz Estenssoro. Paz Zamora took a fairly hard line against domestic terrorism, personally ordering the December 1990 attack on terrorists of the Néstor Paz Zamora Committee. Paz Zamora's regime was less decisive against

narcotics trafficking The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, exce ...

. The government broke up a number of trafficking networks but issued a 1991 surrender decree giving lenient sentences to the biggest narcotics kingpins. Also, his administration was extremely reluctant to pursue coca eradication. It did not agree to an updated extradition treaty with the US, although two traffickers have been extradited to the US since 1992. Beginning in early 1994, the Bolivian Congress investigated Paz Zamora's personal ties to accused major trafficker Isaac Chavarria, who subsequently died in prison while awaiting trial. MIR deputy chief Oscar Eid was jailed in connection with similar ties in 1994; he was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years in prison in November 1996. Technically still under investigation, Paz Zamora became an active presidential candidate in 1996. The 1993 elections continued the tradition of open, honest elections and peaceful democratic transitions of power. The MNR defeated the ADN/MIR coalition by a 33% to 20% margin, and the MNR's Sánchez de Lozada was selected as president by an MNR/MBL/UCS coalition in the Congress. Sánchez de Lozada pursued an aggressive economic and social reform agenda. The most dramatic change undertaken by the Sanchez de Lozada government was the capitalization program, under which investors acquired 50% ownership and management control of public enterprises, such as the ''Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos'' (YPFB) oil-corporation, telecommunications system, electric utilities, and others. The reforms and economic restructuring were strongly opposed by certain segments of society, which instigated frequent social disturbances, particularly in La Paz and the Chapare coca-growing region, from 1994 through 1996. In the 1997 elections, General Hugo Banzer, leader of the ADN, won 22% of the vote, while the MNR candidate won 18%. General Banzer formed a coalition of the ADN, MIR, UCS, and CONDEPA parties which hold a majority of seats in the Bolivian Congress. The Congress elected him as president and he was inaugurated on 6 August 1997.

2000 Cochabamba protests

Between January and April 2000, a series of anti-privatization protests took place in

against the

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

of the municipal water supply that was being pushed through on the recommendation of the

and the International Monetary Fund. The Bolivian government declared

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

, killing several people, arresting protest leaders and shutting down radio stations. After continued disturbances and civic pressure, the government finally rolled back the privatization on 10 April 2000. In 2001, Bechtel filed

suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...

against the Bolivian government, citing damages of more for $25 million. Bechtel argues that its contract was only to administer the water system, which suffered from terrible internal corruption and poor service, and that the local government raised water prices. The continuing legal battle attracted attention from

anti-globalization The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist ...

and

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism ...

groups. This topic is explored in the 2003 documentary film '' The Corporation'' and on Bechtel's website. In January 2006, Bechtel and the other international partners settled the lawsuit against the Bolivian government for a reported $0.30 (thirty cents) after intense protests and a ruling on jurisdiction favorable to Bechtel by the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.

2002 presidential election

President Hugo Banzer resigned in August 2001, due to being diagnosed with lung cancer. He was succeeded by his vice-president,

Jorge Quiroga Jorge Fernando "Tuto" Quiroga Ramírez (born 5 May 1960) is a Bolivian politician and industrial engineer who served as the 62nd president of Bolivia from 2001 to 2002. A former member of Nationalist Democratic Action, he previously served as ...

. In the 2002 presidential elections, Sánchez de Lozada ran again, and narrowly beat NFR's

Manfred Reyes Villa Manfred Armando Antonio Reyes Villa Bacigalupi is a Bolivian politician, businessman, and former military officer. He was the mayor of the city of Cochabamba from 1994 to 2000, and became the elected Prefect of the Department of Cochabamba fr ...

and the '' cocalero'' and indigenous leader

of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party. Several days before Bolivians went to the voting booths, the US ambassador, Manuel Rocha, warned the Bolivian electorate that, if they voted for Morales, the US would cut off foreign aid and close its markets to the country. Morales nonetheless received nearly 21% of the vote, putting him only a couple points behind Sánchez de Lozada.

Black October

In the early 2000s, an increasingly divisive conflict has been the

Bolivian Gas War The Bolivian Gas War (Spanish: ''Guerra del Gas'') or Bolivian gas conflict was a social confrontation in Bolivia reaching its peak in 2003, centering on the exploitation of the country's vast natural gas reserves. The expression can be extend ...

; a dispute over the exploitation of Bolivia's large

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

reserves in the south of the country. Strikes and blockades first erupted in September 2003, with several deaths and dozens of injuries in confrontations with the armed forces. President

resigned under pressure from protesters, formally handing over the presidency to his vice-president,

Carlos Mesa Carlos Diego de Mesa Gisbert (; born 12 August 1953) is a Bolivian historian, journalist, and politician who served as the 63rd president of Bolivia from 2003 to 2005. As an independent politician, he had previously served as the 37th vice pr ...

, in order to preserve the сonstitutional order. Lozada fled the country to the United States. Mesa was inaugurated and promised to address the demands of the protesting majority. In the face of mounting protests, he resigned on 7 March 2005, claiming he was unable to continue governing the country. With promises of support, he withdrew his resignation. In May–June 2005, Mesa again tendered his resignation and in a hastily convened session of the Parliament in

, the then Supreme Court president Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé became president on the night of 9 June 2005. Political agreements were reached to modify the Constitution, and allow the full renewal of Parliament, simultaneously with a Presidential Election, on 4 December 2005.

Evo Morales administration

The deterioration of the political system contributed towards the rise of a loose confederation of indigenous social movements, the MAS and other parties, with the head of the MAS,

, a former '' cocalero'', as leader. In the elections of December 2005, Morales and MAS obtained a comfortable victory reaching 54% of the electorate's votes, becoming the first Indigenous Bolivian president in history. On 1 May 2006, Morales delivered on his promises to nationalize most of Bolivia's natural gas fields, which many indigenous Bolivians had demanded for years. Troops were sent in to occupy the gas fields and take back control from foreign companies that same day. Many were operated by

Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...

, Brazil's largest energy company, and this political development was expected to strain relations between Morales and Brazilian president

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...

. On 29 October 2006, the Morales government signed agreements with eight foreign gas firms including Petrobras, to give the Bolivian national gas company a majority stake in the gas fields, bringing the nationalization to completion. In August 2007, a conflict which came to be known as The Calancha Case arose in

. Local citizens demanded that an official discussion of the seat of government be included in the agenda of the full body of the Bolivian Constituent Assembly. The people of Sucre wanted to make Sucre the full capital of the country, including returning the executive and legislative branches to the city, but the government rejected the demand as impractical. Three people died in the conflict and as many as 500 were wounded. The result of the conflict was to include text in the constitution stating that the capital of Bolivia is officially Sucre, while leaving the executive and legislative branches in La Paz. In May 2008, Morales was a signatory to the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the

Union of South American Nations The Union of South American Nations (USAN), sometimes also referred to as the South American Union, abbreviated in Spanish as UNASUR and in Portuguese as UNASUL, is an intergovernmental regional organization. It was set up by Hugo Chavez to ...

. In late August 2007, the MAS purged the Constitutional Tribunal of magistrates that voted earlier in the year against Morales' move to fill Supreme Court vacancies while Congress was in recess. The purge dismantled the outlet for arbitration between branches of government. On 4 May 2008, autonomy referendums were held in four eastern departments, in which they declared themselves autonomous from the central government. All four referendums passed. Morales deemed this referendum illegal in part due to the low turnout. In February 2009, a new constitution was enacted by Morales. This gave Bolivians of indigenous descent more economic and political rights. Between 2006 and 2014, GDP per capita doubled and the extreme poverty rate declined from 38 to 18%. Moreover, the

Gini coefficient In economics, the Gini coefficient ( ), also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio, is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution, income inequality, the wealth distribution, wealth inequality, or the ...

(a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income or wealth distribution of a nation's residents) declined from 0.60 to 0.47. Morales was re-elected in 2009. His second term witnessed the continuation of leftist policies and Bolivia's joining of the Bank of the South and

Community of Latin American and Caribbean States The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is a bloc of Latin American and Caribbean states, consisting of 33 countries, and has five official working languages. It is seen as an alternative to the Organization of American Stat ...

; he was again reelected in the 2014 general election. On 17 October 2015, Morales surpassed

's nine years, eight months, and twenty-four days in office and became Bolivia's longest serving president. During the 2019 elections, the transmission of the unofficial quick counting process was interrupted; at the time, Morales had a lead of 46.86 percent to Mesa's 36.72, after 95.63 percent of tally sheets were counted. The is a quick count process used in Latin America as a transparency measure in electoral processes that is meant to provide a preliminary results on election day, and its shutdown without further explanation raised consternation among opposition politicians and certain election monitors. Two days after the interruption, the official count showed Morales fractionally clearing the 10-point margin he needed to avoid a runoff election, with the final official tally counted as 47.08 percent to Mesa's 36.51 percent, starting a wave of protests and tension in the country. Amidst allegations of fraud perpetrated by the Morales government, widespread protests were organized to dispute the election. On 10 November, the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

(OAS) released a preliminary report concluding several irregularities in the election, though these findings were heavily disputed. The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) concluded that "it is very likely that Morales won the required 10 percentage point margin to win in the first round of the election on 20 October 2019." David Rosnick, an economist for CEPR, showed that "a basic coding error" was discovered in the OAS's data, which explained that the OAS had misused its own data when it ordered the time stamps on the tally sheets alphabetically rather than chronologically. However, the OAS stood by its findings arguing that the "researchers' work did not address many of the allegations mentioned in the OAS report, including the accusation that Bolivian officials maintained hidden servers that could have permitted the alteration of results". Additionally, observers from the European Union released a report with similar findings and conclusions as the OAS. The tech security company hired by the TSE (under the Morales administration) to audit the elections, also stated that there were multiple irregularities and violations of procedure and that "our function as an auditor security company is to declare everything that was found, and much of what was found supports the conclusion that the electoral process should be declared null and void". ''The New York Times'' reported on 7 June 2020 that the OAS analysis immediately after the 20 October election was flawed yet fuelled "a chain of events that changed the South American nation's history". Following the disputed 2019 general election and the ensuing unrest, in events characterized as a coup d'état by supporters of Morales, the president resigned, declaring that he did so to "protect the families of Movement for Socialism members". Morales flew to Mexico and was granted asylum there, along with his vice president and several other members of his government. Morales, his supporters, the Governments of Mexico and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, and other personalities argued the event was a coup d'état. However, local investigators and analysts pointed out that even after Morales' resignation and during all of Añez's term in office, the Chambers of Senators and Deputies were ruled by Morales' political party MAS, making it impossible to be a coup d'état, as such an event would not allow the original government to maintain legislative power.

Political crisis and Luis Arce administration

After the 2019 Bolivian political crisis that saw President

's resignation, Interim President Jeanine Áñez called new presidential elections. The elections took place on 18 October 2020 and

Luis Arce Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (; born 28 September 1963), often referred to as Lucho, is a Bolivian banker, economist, and politician serving as the 67th president of Bolivia since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism (Bolivia), Movement fo ...

, endorsed by Morales, a candidate from the Movement for Socialism who previously served as Minister of Economy and Public Finance in the Morales administration, won them. On 8 November 2020, Luis Arce was sworn in as President of Bolivia alongside his Vice President

David Choquehuanca David Choquehuanca Céspedes (born 7 May 1961) is a Bolivian diplomat, peasant leader, politician, and trade unionist serving as the 39th vice president of Bolivia since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, he previously served as min ...

. On 12 March 2021 the government ordered the arrest of Jeanine Áñez, the former Interim President, and five members of her government for terrorism,

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

, and conspiracy. According to the prosecutors, she and the ministers took part in a coup against Morales in 2019. According to the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade, Bolivia had the lowest accumulated inflation of Latin America by October 2021. As of July 2024, there was a deep internal division within the ruling party MAS-IPSP (the Movement towards Socialism – Instrument for the Sovereignty of the People) between the supporters of president Luis Arce and former president Morales. In February 2025, Evo Morales presented his formal resignation from the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). He was running for president in the Aug. 17

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

with the Front for Victory (FPV).

References

Bibliography

Surveys

* * Crabtree, John, and Laurence Whitehead, eds. ''Unresolved tensions: Bolivia past and present'' (2008
excerpt
* Heath, Dwight B. '' Historical dictionary of Bolivia'' (1972
online
* Klein, Herbert S. ''A Concise History of Bolivia'' (2nd ed. Cambridge UP, 2021
excerpt
als
2003 edition online
* Morales, Waltraud Q. ''A brief history of Bolivia'' (2nd ed. Infobase Publishing, 2010
online
* Thomson, Sinclair, et al., eds. ''The Bolivia Reader: History, Culture, Politics'' (Duke University Press, 2018). * Young, Kevin A. ''Blood of the earth: resource nationalism, revolution, and empire in Bolivia'' (University of Texas Press, 2017).

Specialty studies

* Alexander, Robert Jackson, and Eldon M. Parker. ''A history of organized labor in Bolivia'' (Greenwood, 2005). * Aspiazu, Agustín et al. ''A Collection of Pamphlets on the History of Bolivia in the Second Half of The Nineteenth Century'' (1900
online in Spanish
* Crabtree, John, et al. ''The Great Tin Crash: Bolivia and the World Tin Market'' (1987
excerpt
* Dangl, Benjamin. ''The Five Hundred Year Rebellion: Indigenous Movements and the Decolonization of History in Bolivia'' (AK Press, 2019). * Dorn, Glenn J. ''The Truman Administration and Bolivia: Making the World Safe for Liberal Constitutional Oligarchy'' (2011) https://doi.org/10.1515/9780271056869 * Dunkerley, James. ''Bolivia : revolution and the power of history in the present: essays'' (2007
online
* Fabricant, Nicole, and Nancy Postero. "Sacrificing indigenous bodies and lands: The political–economic history of lowland Bolivia in light of the recent TIPNIS debate." ''The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean anthropology'' 20.3 (2015): 452–474. * Farthing, Linda C., and Benjamin H. Kohl. ''Evo's Bolivia: Continuity and Change'' (2014
excerpt
* Field, Thomas C. ''From development to dictatorship: Bolivia and the alliance for progress in the Kennedy era'' (Cornell University Press, 2014). * Lehman, Kenneth D. "Completing the revolution? The United States and Bolivia’s long revolution." ''Bolivian Studies Journal'' 22 (2016): 4–3
online
* Lehman, Kenneth Duane. ''Bolivia and the United States: A limited partnership'' (University of Georgia Press, 1999). * Ribando, Clare, ed. "Bolivia: Political and economic developments and relations with the United States." (Congressional Research Service, 2006
online
* Storli, Espen. "The Birth of the World’s Largest Tin Merchant: Philipp Brothers, Bolivian Tin and American Stockpiles." in ''Tin and Global Capitalism, 1850–2000'' (Routledge, 2014) pp. 222–240. * Webber, Jeffery R. ''From Rebellion to Reform in Bolivia: Class Struggle, Indigenous Liberation, and the Politics of Evo Morales'' (2011) * Wolff, Jonas. "Re-engaging Latin America‘s Left?." in ''US Relations with Bolivia and Ecuador from Bush to Obama'' (PRIF Report 103, 2011)
online
{{DEFAULTSORT:History of Bolivia