Bolivian Exports 2012

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Many are asking how is Bolivia's economy responding to the different political events developing in the country. Well, there are plenty of analyses regularly coming out, not only from governmental agencies such as the Central Bank, the Statistical Institute and the government itself, but also from other non-governmental institutions such as the (literally translated) Bolivian Institute for Outer Commerce (Instituto Boliviano de Comercio Exterior, IBCE) - in English it might be most properly translated as the Bolivian Institute of Trade.

The IBCE recently released some numbers which are, for Bolivia, pretty current. Normally, the numbers have a lag of around 2 years.

Be that as it may, according to these numbers, it looks as though the country's source of financial resources is still up for interpretation. If you look at the evolution over time of Bolivian exports (a graph that I don't include here because it didn't seem important for this post), you'll notice a steep increase in the last five or six years. Having said that, if you take a critical look at the numbers you'll find the following.

The Census 2012

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On November 21, 2012, Bolivia carried out its 10-year population census after 11 years. The reports about how did the proces went are mainly positive, but, as already usual in Bolivia, with a few caveats. I analyze here the preliminary results, some problems about the census process and its significance for Bolivia.

Paz Zamora Interview in Semanario Uno

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Here is an interview with former president Jaime Paz Zamora. He criticises the tendency of some presidents to want to stay in power for longer than it is allowed.

Jaime Paz Zamora: “Evo Morales es una turbulencia pasajera”

by Semanario Uno on Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 6:07pm ·

“Gracias a Dios no se me pegó el virus de la presidencialitis, que en el país es un virus muy frecuente y parece no tener remedio. Paz Estenssoro tuvo presidencialitis, porque no quería irse con la imagen del 52. Banzer tenía presidencialitis, porque no quería irse con la imagen de su anterior gobierno. Goni tenía presidencialitis, porque creía ser un superdotado que tenía que terminar lo que él consideraba su obra. Y ahora está Evo con un virus que no sé si es del Chapare o de dónde, pero también es presidencialitis.”

“Yo les decía a los gringos, que me invitaron a dar una charla en una universidad, que la democracia no era fácil, que más bien nosotros estábamos yendo muy rápido. La democracia norteamericana ha demorado siglos, con muchas luchas contra el racismo, para lograr llevar a un Obama a la Presidencia… la democracia boliviana demoró 25 años en poner a un Evo Morales en la Presidencia; o sea, vamos mejor que los gringos desde el punto de vista de perspectiva de construir una democracia.”

“Yo creo que el gobierno de Evo Morales tiene una misión, para eso fue elegido. Era sencillamente una misión. Bolivia tenía que tener en algún momento un Evo Morales o podía haber sido otro igual que él, solo que a Evo Morales se le pusieron los astros en fila: estuvo en el lugar preciso, en el momento preciso, con los recursos precisos. Era lo que Bolivia necesitaba como democracia, una especie de democratización más profunda en su sociedad.”

“Es preocupante que el Presidente sea también la cabeza de ese extraño partido que es el MAS. Porque es un extraño partido político, no de los movimientos sociales, sino de las directivas de los movimientos sociales… comencemos a decir la verdad, los movimientos sociales no tienen nada que ver con el Ejecutivo, al Ejecutivo se llega porque se es de confianza del Presidente. Suena extraño también cuando hablan de pueblos indígenas, porque yo más bien veo que es un gobierno de disfrazados…”

Bolivia's Demand Against Chile Presented at the IC

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Here is the link to the document presented by the Bolivian government at the International Court of Justice in the Hague. Bolivia's claim to access to sea has been one of the main issues dominating the country's diplomatic relations with Chile.

The document

The link was placed by the newspaper Pagina Siete on the web and I hope they keep the document there.

After Chavez's Death, What Happens to Bolivia or Evo?

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And what now?

That is the question many people are asking all over Latin America now that the peculiar Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, has passed away.

That is a valid question, because, aside from becoming the principal ideological reference and the leadership force of the so called Socialism of the XXI century, which has been very influential especially in Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, as well as in lesser degree in countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Brasil, Chavez had at his disposal large sums of financial resources to back up this ideology around the world and specially in the Latin American region.

The current Bolivian government and its President, Evo Morales, have benefited with a special friendship Chavez, and so, Bolivia too is asking herself the same question: and what now?

The Law on Autonomy: Unconstitutional Law?

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Some legal incompatibilities (some might call them carelessness) are coming back to hunt the new Bolivian political system, the government and the legislative branch. It has to do with four articles in the Law of Autonomies and Decentralization that were, in the last two days, declared unconstitutional by the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (i.e. Constitutional Court). Articles 144, 145, 146 and 147 allow for the removal of Mayors and Governors in case these public officials have been accused by the Public Attorney of some crime. Based on accusations and resting on the legality of the Autonomy Law, elected Governors Ernesto Suarez from Beni and Mario Cossio of Tarija, were removed from office. In addition, since the passing of the law in 2011, eleven Mayors and the two mentioned Governors were removed. Curiously enough, the vast majority are from the opposition.

The sentence of the Constitutional Tribunal opens the doors for uncertainty in the administration of such territorial units and their political power balance. While the complain by the opposition had been the use of this legal instrument by government forces to favor the government's party, MAS, the possibility of those removed to be able to come back to office has deep consequences for the government, its party and its agenda.

15 Literary Works of Bolivia

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The Bolivian government, namely the Ministry of Culture, produced a list with 15 of the most significant literary works (in the last 100 years?) of Bolivia.

1. Historia de la Villa Imperial de Potosí, from Bartolomé Arzáns de Orsúa y Vela;
2. Juan de la Rosa, from Nataniel Aguirre; 
3. Íntimas, from Adela Zamudio; 
4. Raza de bronce, from Alcides Arguedas; 
5. Aluvión de fuego, from Óscar Cerruto; 
6. La Virgen de las Siete Calles, from Alfredo Flores; 
7. La Chaskañawi, from Carlos Medinaceli; 
8. Los deshabitados, from Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz; 
9. El Loco, from Arturo Borda; 
10. Tirinea, from Jesús Urzagasti; 
11. Matías, el apóstol suplente, from Julio de la Vega; 
12. Felipe Delgado, from Jaime Saenz; 
13. El otro gallo, from Jorge Suárez; 
14. El run run de la calavera, from Ramón Rocha Monroy; 
15. Jonás y la ballena rosada, from Wolfango Montes Vannuci.

From those, I only read two, Raza de Bronce and Chaskanawi, which were obligatory in my primary education.

Latin America and the US

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Below you'll find two very interesting articles about the near future relationship between the Obama administration and the Latin American region.

The first one is about the source of American foreign policy towards Latin America. It lays out the changes to the various foreign policy committees that deal with the region. For those interested on detailed information about american politics and its implications on Latin America.

By leaving the political landscape in Washington largely unaltered, the 2012 U.S. election will not imply significant changes for U.S. policy towards Latin America. Yet even as the Republicans retain the House of Representatives and the Democrats keep a narrow majority in the Senate, the results of several individual races will impact the “who’s who” of voices on Latin America in the U.S. Congress.

The next article talks about what the Obama administratin should concentrate on in the next four years.

Assuming that the world does not end, according to the Mayan calendar in December, 2013 will be an important year south of the U.S. border. There are a number of issues to watch in determining the hemisphere's direction, although most depend less on the Nov. 6 election results and more on factors that are out of White House control. Savvy observers of the region will watch the 10 "C's" as the real policy drivers.

I personally find the first article more interesting, however, the second is also useful in raising some ovbious yet neglected issues.

I would say, Bolivia must not expect too much in the next four years from the US. Presumably, the Obama administration will keep its course, but more astonishingly will keep pretty much ignoring the importance of Latin America and thus of Bolivia for its own gains.

Video About the Festivities Celebrating 30 Years of Democracy in Bolivia

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This video shows in 8 minutes 30 years of democracy in Bolivia (October 10, 1982 - 2012). Thanks to the people of the magazine La Mala Palabra.

Bolivia's Economic Development in Regional Context

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The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) has released its 2012 economic report on the region. In it, ECLAC argues that Latin America has been able to navigate the current and former crises since 2008 and that despite (or perhaps in spite of) it all, the region has been able to grow economically at decent rates.

So, I ask myself, how has Bolivia been developing in comparison to its neighbors?

First of all, the global context has not been very promising, that is, following the conventional wisdom that if the world is doing well economically, by extension, Latin America must do well too. The reverse applies in the same manner. But, reality contradicts this assumption.

For instance, at the global level, the major market in the world, the European Union, is not doing that well. You all know the Euro Zone is going through a serious debt crisis, which in the end is also affecting the growth of the US, China and India. However, as I just wrote above, the Latin America region is doing surprisingly well.

What does that say? Perhaps that Latin America is not that dependent on the European Union.