Bolivia+(Shaianne)

__** Bolivia **__

__**General Information**__  Capital Cities: La Paz, Sucre   Date of Independence: August 6, 1825   Population: 8.9 Million   Demographics: Amerindian 55% (Quechua 30% & Aymara 25%), mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white ancestry) 30%, white 15%, other race 1% of African and Asian racial origins. Official Languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara  Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant   Government: Republic   Currency: Boliviano   National Motto: Unity is Strength   National Flower: Kantuta and Patuju   National Bird: Andean Condor   National Animal: Andean llama   Main Exports: Soy, Natural Gas, Zinc, Wood, Gold, Tin, Silver, Iron, Lead, Timber, and Hydropower

__**History**__ After conquering the Inca empire, the conquistadors moved toward the Andes in the upper part of Peru. In 1538, they created a Spanish administrative center at Characas, which would later become Chuquisaca. Seven years later they found silver deposits in Potosi. In 1548 the town of La Paz was established between Lima and the trade routes of the silver mines. This greatly increased the population of Potosi. In 1776 the Spanish empire was removed from Lima and moved to Buenos Aries. After a series of battles from 1812-1814 San Martin, an officer serving in the spanish army, knows the only way to overcome the Spanish empire and gain independence is by going west of the Andes and into upper peru.

In April of 1825, Sucre moved into the region of upper Peru and defeated the Spanish at Tumusla. The surrounding cities of Lima and Buenos Aries wanted to incorporate the new territory as soon as possible because the various mines in included, but the people had their own ideas. A spirit of independence triumphed. After Sucre convenes a congress in July to consider what will happen to the newly acquired region, the vote comes out to be that the people want the region to become a separate state. On August 6th, 1825, the new region is proclaimed to be the Republica Bolivia, named after the person who liberated them, Bolivar. The city that the congress had med in would then be known as Sucre for the leader who defeated the Spanish. After being adopted in 1826, the new country would soon be known as what is now called Bolivia.

__**Geography**__ Bolivia is a landlocked piece of land located in the middle of Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. Some parts of the North-East experience flooding in March and April. The Andes Mountains border Bolivia and Chile. In parts of this mountainous terrain Bolivia has various active volcanos. The last time a volcano erupted in this area was in 1995. Bolivia shares control of Lago Titicaca, the world’s highest Navigable lake, with Peru. The climate of Bolivia varies with altitude from humid and tropical to cold and semiarid. It has a lot of rugged mountains with highland plateaus, hills, and lowland plains as parts of the Amazon Basin. Because of the Mountains in the west and the tropical rainforests in the east, it is expensive to build roads connecting cities in bolivia, making trade more expensive because fewer means of transportation. Also, because the wide array of temperature in Bolivia, it makes farming harder. These things cause bolivia to have a low population density throughout the counrty.

__**Government**__ The government in Bolivia is republic. The current president is Juan "Evo" Morales Ayma and the vice president is Alvaro Garcia Linera. Bolivia has a 3-branch government which includes the executive, judicial, and legislative branch. The legal system is modeled after Spanish law and the Napoleonic Code. To vote in Bolivia you must be 21 years of age if single, 18 years of age if you are married. Sucre is the constitutional capital and is also where the judiciary branch of the government is based. La Paz is the de facto capital and is where the executive and legislative branches of the government are located. La Paz is called the de facto capital because in 1899, Bolivia’s liberal party overthrew the conservative party and immediately put in a bid to move the seat of the government, which at this time was located solely in Sucre, to La Paz. An agreement was made to move the executive and legislative branches of government to La Paz and keep the judicial branch in Sucre.

__**Culture**__ Most Bolivians are born into Roman Catholicism. Family is the social life and structure of the Bolivian culture. Many generations often live together in one house. In Bolivia, they have many festivals in which music is played and many people will come to dance. Many people will wear colorful costumes during these festivals as part of the native heritage. In Bolivia, wearing a pollera or a Bowler hat can indicate a woman’s marital status. Football is also a big part of the Bolivian culture as is many other sports. The food in Bolivia consists of mostly Spanish cuisine with traditional Bolivian ingredients.

__**Tourism**__ There are many beautiful places to visit in Bolivia. Starting in La Paz where you will see extraordinary colonial architecture and museums. Next Lago Titicaca is a wonderful place to visit for a vacation. It is the largest lake in South America. In Salar de Uguni, during the rainy season, the salt washes up and gives you opportunities to take magnificent pictures or you can have lunch at a restaurant made out of salt. If you like thrills, many people like to bike trek the Death Road. This is a windy, down-hill course. Before the new road was built in this area, over 200 people would die there ach year. You can also visit the city of Potosi, an old mining town full of history. This used to be one of the wealthiest cities in the Americas. Here you will see nice colonial architecture and you can also take some mining tours. Bolivia gained over $179 million US dollars from tourism in 1999. An increase from 254,000 to 309,000 visits a year from tourists alone was shown from 1990-2000.

__**Current In Bolivia Today**__ Evo Wants a New, Larger Government Palace [] Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, wants to construct a larger palace for the government because he says the current one is too small. He claims he wanted to improve the Palacio Quemado when initally arriving, though it seemed large then, it seemed to get smaller and smaller with time. Although the previous president said this was unnecessary because there are other more urgent needs of the country, he asked architects to begin drafting new designs for the future palace.

Tarija Strike Over Gas Fields Continue [] 26 people in Tarija are on hunger strike because the Chuquisaca department of the government want to bring in U.S. surveyors for gas fields to determine how royalities would be shared between the two bordering departments of the field. After ten hours of negociating, the delegation of Tarija walked out and refused to share the revenues from the gas fields.

__**Resources**__ [|www.wanderingtrader.com] [|www.cia.gov] [|www.historyworld.net] [|www.boliviabelle.com] American Encyclopedia 2000 Edition World Book Encyclopedia