1.1 - Bolivia

Question 1

How is Bolivia governed?

Answer 1

• Presidential Republic

Question 2

What is the ethnic makeup of Bolivia?

Answer 2

• 68% Mestizo (culturally mainstream Latin Americans, regardless of actual ancestry, most are mixed European-Indigenous)
• 20% Indigenous

Question 3

What is Bolivia’s economy based on?

Answer 3

• Mainly primary sector
  
  • refined metals, petroleum, tin
• Some secondary:
  
  • manufacturing of textiles, clothing

Question 4

What is the physical geography of Bolivia?

Answer 4

• Andes in west
• Amazon Basin in east

Question 5

Who is Evo Moralez

Answer 5

• Elected President 2006, 2009, 2014
• Native Aymara Indian (reflecting ancestry of 68% Bolivians)
• Leader of ‘Movement for Socialism’

Question 6

What did Evo Moralez aim to do?

Answer 6

• Exploit gas and mineral resources
• share the wealth generated amongst population

Question 7

How large are Bolivia’s shale reserves?

Answer 7

• 48 trillion cubic feet

Question 8

What happened as a result of Evo Moralez’s strategies?

Answer 8

• 500,000 Bolivians lifted out of poverty
• However, 20% still lack clean water
• 40% dont have sanitation

Question 9

What are the reasons for global differences in HHR?

Answer 9

• Geographic location (proximity to trade routes and countries willing to trade)
• Colonial legacies (can leave divisions)
• Ongoing debt (development is difficult when stuck in debt trap)
• Lack of natural resources
• Population structure (top heavy structure increases strain on those of working age)
• Prevalence of disease (Working potential of population will not be met)
• Government style (autocratic vs. democratic)
• Political Instability (can breed corruption and mismanagement of funds)
• Quality of infrastructure

Question 10

What threat does climate change pose Bolivia?

Answer 10

• 4ºC increase in projected temperatures
• Lakes will dry up (Lake Poopó)
• Glaciers will melt (Chacaltaya)
  
  • Will have an impact on water supply and water security

Question 11

What should Bolivia spend on in order to secure the future of the country?

Answer 11

• renewable energy
• ecological/organic farming
• measures to create food sovereignty

Question 12

What is food sovereignty?

Answer 12

• system where people who distribute, produce, consume food control policies of food production and distribution
• different from now as corporation and market institutions control these now

Question 13

What is the “Law for the Rights of Mother Earth” ?

Answer 13

• Passed in 2010
• Guarantees “Mother Earth’s regeneration”
• Contains 7 rights
• Guarantees:
  
  • protection of water from contamination
  • protection of air from contamination
  • protection of Earth from contamination from hazardous materials
  • protection of natural process that sustain life
  • preservation of diverse life forms (does not allow genetic modification)
  • Entitlement of Earth to restore life systems affected by human and non human activity
  • preserves right of Earth to maintain equilibrium of systems

Question 14

What is the problem with Evo Moralez’s plan?

Answer 14

• If Bolivia does exploit its shale reserves, 242 billion litres of water will be contaminated forever
• 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide will be released
• this is the complete opposite of what the ‘Law for the Rights of Mother Earth” states
• depending on natural gas for its income will leave Bolivia vulnerable to oil and gas price fluctuations due to a variety of factors such as OPEC production caps
  
  • not a reliable form of income