BOLIVIA

officially Republic of Bolivia, Spanish Repblica de Bolivia, country of west-central South America, with an area of 424,164 square miles (1,098,581 square kilometres). The country has been landlocked since it lost its Pacific coast territory to Chile in the War of the Pacific (187984), but an agreement with Peru in 1993 granted Bolivia access to the Pacific Ocean. Extending 950 miles (1,503 kilometres) northsouth and 800 miles eastwest, Bolivia is bordered to the north and east by Brazil, to the southeast by Paraguay, to the south by Argentina, and to the southwest and west by Chile and Peru. Lake Titicaca, the second largest lake in South America and the world's highest commercially navigable lake, is shared with Peru. The constitutional capital is the city of Sucre, where the Supreme Court is established, but the de facto capital is La Paz, where the executive and legislative branches of government function. Although only about one-third of Bolivia lies in the Andes Mountains, it is widely regarded as a highland country because the most developed and densely populated part of its territory is situated in or near the Andean system. The country itself has a rich history: it was once a part of the ancient Inca Empire and later became part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, providing the mother country with immense wealth in silver. Spanish and the Indian languages Aymara and Quechua are official languages, and the majority of the people are Roman Catholic. Bolivia, although rich in mineral resources, remains an underdeveloped country whose economic life is based principally upon agriculture and the production of raw materials, notably natural gas and tin. J. Valerie Fifer Victor Andrade U officially Republic of Bolivia, Spanish Repblica de Bolivia landlocked country of west-central South America, covering an area of 424,164 square miles (1,098,581 square km). Its administrative capital is La Paz; its constitutional (or judicial) capital is Sucre. Bolivia lies wholly within the tropics and is bordered on the north and east by Brazil, on the southeast by Paraguay, on the south by Argentina, on the southwest by Chile, and on the west by Peru. The population was estimated at 6,993,000 in 1988. Additional reading Thomas E. Weil et al., Area Handbook for Bolivia, 2nd ed. (1974); and Harold Osborne, Bolivia: A Land Divided, 3rd ed. (1964, reprinted 1985), are still useful, well-written reviews of the country's geography, people, politics, and economy. Further bibliographic information may be found in Gertrude M. Yeager (comp.), Bolivia (1988).Bolivia, in Preston E. James, C.W. Minkel, and Eileen W. James, Latin America, 5th ed. (1986), pp. 358376, is a clear, comprehensive survey of Bolivia's geography. See also Ismael Montes de Oca, Geografa y recursos naturales de Bolivia (1983); and Federico E. Ahlfeld, Geografa de Bolivia: geografa fsica, 3rd ed. (1973). Detailed studies of changing land-tenure systems since the Agrarian Reform Act of 1953 include Dwight B. Heath, Charles J. Erasmus, and Hans C. Buechler, Land Reform and Social Revolution in Bolivia (1969); and William J. McEwen, Changing Rural Society: A Study of Communities in Bolivia (1975). E. Boyd Wennergren and Morris D. Whitaker, The Status of Bolivian Agriculture (1975), analyzes production since 1952. Introductions to the lives of the people include Margaret J. Anstee, Gate of the Sun: A Prospect of Bolivia (1970); and William Carter, Bolivia: A Profile (1971). Hans C. Buechler and Judith-Maria Buechler, The Bolivian Aymara (1971), is an anthropological study of a community living by Lake Titicaca; while William M. Denevan, The Aboriginal Cultural Geography of the Llanos de Mojos of Bolivia (1966), traces early land use, earthworks, and reclamation projects by Indian communities in the Beni. J. Valerie Fifer, Bolivia's Pioneer Fringe, Geographical Review, 57(1):123 (Jan. 1967), and The Search for a Series of Small Successes: Frontiers of Settlement in Eastern Bolivia, Journal of Latin American Studies, 14(2):407432 (Nov. 1982), examine problems and progress since the 1950s in the new colonization zones.An economic geography is Jorge Pando Gutirrez, Bolivia y el mundo: geografa econmica, 2nd ed., 2 vol. (1957). Mahmood Ali Ayub and Hideo Hashimoto, The Economics of Tin Mining in Bolivia (1985), is a report published by the World Bank. June Nash, We Eat the Mines and the Mines Eat Us (1979), combines ethnographic, economic, and political aspects.Studies of Bolivian art, architecture, and literature include Jos de Mesa and Teresa Gisbert, Bolivia: monumentos histricos y arqueolgicos (1970), and Holgun y la pintura virreinal en Bolivia, 2nd ed. (1977); and Enrique Finot, Historia de la literatura boliviana, 5th ed. (1981). J. Valerie Fifer Administration and social conditions Government Bolivia was declared independent in 1825 and adopted its first constitution in 1826. Despite revisions and numerous coups d'tat, the state has retained a unitary system of government, whether elected or under military dictatorship, the latter having held sway for much of Bolivia's history. Under the conditions of the 1947 constitution, executive power is vested in a president, who is directly elected by popular vote for a term of four years. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of votes, the National Congress must select the president from among the three leading contenders. The president cannot be immediately reelected. The bicameral legislature consists of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies, whose members are directly elected for four-year terms. The judicial system is headed by a Supreme Court of 12 members, who are appointed by Congress for 10-year terms. The country is divided into nine departments, each of which is headed by a prefect appointed by the Bolivian president. Departments are subdivided into provinces administered by subprefects, and provinces are subdivided into cantons administered by corregidors. Following the National Revolution of 1952, universal suffrage was introduced for the first time in Bolivia's history. Previously, though open to both sexes, the franchise had literacy and property requirements and was thus restricted to a tiny proportion of the population. The nation's political system is highly fractionalized by numerous political parties that range from far-right conservatism to left-wing radicalism. Education, health, and welfare Primary education from six to 14 years of age is free and officially compulsory, although the latter is difficult to enforce in some areas. Secondary education, lasting up to four years, is not compulsory. In the late 20th century about four-fifths of the primary-age children were attending school, but only about one-fourth of those of secondary age did so. Most education is state-supported, but private institutions are permitted. Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish organizations are active in primary and secondary education. Adult literacy rates have improved dramatically since the 1950s. In the 1960s about three-fourths of the population was illiterate or semiliterate, but by the 1980s the figure had dropped to about one-third. Higher education takes place in the nation's eight state universities (located in each of the departmental capitals except Pando). There are also technical universities and a Roman Catholic university. The largest university is the University of San Andrs, located in La Paz. The university's library and the National Library of Congress house significant collections. There are three kinds of health servicesthose supported by the state through the Ministry of Public Health and Social Security, those provided by the social security system for its affiliates, and private clinics. In general, the medical services and the hospitals in the cities are adequate. This is not so in rural areas, however, where doctors and nurses are in short supply. Traveling health workers provide primary health care and give advice on hygiene and nutrition in colonization zones. Some major problems persist, however. Communicable diseases such as malaria and the deadly Chagas' disease are still prevalent in the Oriente, and respiratory diseases are widespread. Malnutrition is a problem in some areas. Cultural life Traditional culture Bolivian culture consists of a mixture of Indian culture with the Mediterranean culture brought by the Spaniards. On religious feast days, for example, pagan pre-Columbian rites are still practiced, and the Indians express themselves through dances and songs that blend the two cultures. In such festivities, some symbolic dress presents the Indian interpretation of European attitudes: the dance of the palla-palla or loco palla-palla caricatures the European invaders, the dance of the waka-tokoris satirizes bullfights, and the morenada mocks white men, who are represented leading imported African slaves. Indian musical instruments are used to accompany these dances. In the music itself, the mixture of cultures is also evident, since many of the tunes are based on Spanish dances. The more commonly used instruments are the sicu or zampoa (panpipes) and the kena, tarka, and pinkillo (vertical flutes). Percussion instruments of various sizes are used, including skin drums, bronze gongs, and copper bells. The costumes, highly embroidered and colourful, imitate the dress of the pre-Columbian Indian or the dress of 16th-century Spaniards. Spain's influence is clearly seen in the charango, a stringed instrument peculiar to Bolivia. It has five double strings and is similar in shape to the guitar, although much smaller. Its sound box is made from the shell of an armadillo. The daily dress of highland Indian women in both the urban and rural regions remains traditional: very full skirts (polleras) and colourful shawls. The latter are usually stuffed with goods being taken to market for sale, as well as with fresh purchases, extra clothing, and a baby, all in a carefully balanced bundle on the back, leaving both hands free. Hats always complete the outfit, their shapes varying with the different regions of Bolivia. Since the 1940s, Indian culture has blossomed. Previously, Indians had attempted to imitate Europeans, in custom as well as in dress. By the early 1970s, however, Indian values had been reestablished; Indian music rose to a higher standard, painters abandoned the imitation of European fashions, and some of the characteristics of Indian culture reemerged in the general life-style. The Academy of the Aymara Language in La Paz is dedicated to the preservation of the purity of the Aymara language. The arts The National Academy of Fine Arts in La Paz offers courses in music, painting, sculpture, and ceramics. There are two galleries of pictorial arts and permanent collections in the National Museum of Art and the National Museum of Archaeology (Museo Tiahuanaco). Jewelry in silver and gold, with pre-Columbian decorations and styles, has been made since colonial times. The local markets offer a profusion of colourful handicrafts and fine wood carvings. In the city of Potos the impressive Royal Mint (Casa Real de Moneda), founded in the 16th century and rebuilt in the 18th century, has been restored, and its great halls are used to house a collection of fine colonial paintings. Various old temples have also been restored. In La Paz is the National Symphony Orchestra, and at the University of San Andrs a choral group specializes in Indian musical themes.