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1 [1] (October 21, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goverbc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congression I Resedrch info ing I legi I tive I tate ii 'o 191 Updated October 21, 2024 Bolivia: Country Overview and U.S. Relations Bolivia is a landlocked country of about 12.3 million people in the Andean region of South America. Bolivia's political system has been marked by instability for much of the country's history. Political turbulence and polarization have continued under current President Luis Arce, elected in October 2020 after the resignation of populist President Evo Morales (2006-2019). Ahead of a presidential election to be held by October 2025, Arce and Morales are competing to represent the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party against a weak political opposition. Although rich in natural resources, including natural gas and lithium, Bolivia is experiencing an economic downturn, which has spurred popular discontent. Some Members of Congress have expressed concerns about the Bolivian government's increasing ties with China, Russia, and Iran, among other challenges in U.S.-Bolivia relations. Bolivia at a Glance Capitals: La Paz (administrative capital), Sucre (constitutional capital) Area: 424,164 square miles Population: 12.3 million (2024 est.) Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $46.47 billion (2023) Per Capita GDP: $4,831 (2023) Key Trading Partners: Brazil (15.7%), China (15.6%), Argentina (9.3%) (2023, total trade) Notes/Sources: GDP in current prices; International Monetary Fund and Trade Data Monitor. ackground Chronic political instability, poverty, and deep ethnic and regional divides have stymied Bolivia's development. Bolivia declared independence from Spain in 1825 and has experienced multiple military coups and periods of authoritarian rule. The country reestablished democratic civilian rule in 1982 after a period of military dictatorships that started in 1964. Bolivia's population is among the most ethnically diverse in South America, with large highland Indigenous (Quechua and Aymara) populations. During three presidential terms from 2006 to 2019, former President Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous president, enacted far-reaching reforms, geared largely toward assisting and expanding political representation for poor and Indigenous populations. Morales increased state control over the economy, used growing natural gas revenue to expand social programs, and enacted a new constitution (2009) protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples. His government also pursued judicial proceedings against its political opponents, dismissed hundreds of judges, and restricted press freedom, which drew concerns from the U.S. government, among others. Current Political Context President Luis Arce, also of Morales's MAS party, took office in November 2020 after winning 55% of the vote in the first round of an October 2020 presidential election that observers assessed as generally free and fair. Arce is an economist who worked in Bolivia's central bank prior to serving as finance minister under former President Morales. Arce's election followed a period of political turmoil in Bolivia, which began when Morales resigned in the face of large-scale public protests following allegations of fraud in the October 2019 election. Three officials in line to succeed Morales resigned, and opposition Senator Jeanine Aifiez declared herself the interim president in November 2019. A report by experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asserted that grave violations of human rights occurred under Afiez, including two massacres in 2019. Tensions between MAS supporters and the interim government subsided somewhat following Arce's election. Arce Administration, Ongoing Tensions, and Recent Protests After taking office in November 2020, President Arce pledged to rebuild the country in unity. Division within the MAS party and economic stagnation have hindered his efforts, and his popularity has declined. One of Arce's central goals has been to restore economic growth, with a focus on lithium extraction (see Economic Context, below). Arce has faced criticism, including from the U.S. State Department, which in 2024 voiced concerns about anti-democratic actions and the politicization of the legal system. In 2021, Bolivian authorities arrested former interim President Afiez and ministers who served in her administration. Afiez was convicted of orchestrating a coup against Morales in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The MAS party has become divided between arcistas and evistas, the supporters of Arce and Morales, respectively. Both men have expressed their intention to run under the MAS banner in the 2025 Bolivian presidential election. In December 2023, the Bolivian constitutional court ruled that Morales cannot run for reelection in 2025, overruling precedent set by a prior court decision to allow Morales to run for a fourth term in 2019. In June 2024, a general serving as the head of the armed forces orchestrated what the Arce government portrayed as a failed coup attempt. The incident involved an attempted forced entry into Bolivia's government palace by soldiers. Morales has accused Arce of staging a self-coup to boost his low public approval rating (22% as of September 2024).

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