Bolivia: Map & History

History

The region had been occupied for over 2,500 years when the Aymara arrived; however, present-day Aymara associate themselves with the ancient civilization of the Tiwanaku polity, which had its capital at Tiwanaku in western Bolivia. Tiwanaku dates back as early as 1500 BC, when it was a small, agriculturally-based village.

The Aymara community grew to urban proportions between AD 600 and 800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes from La Paz. According to early estimates, the city covered approximately 6.5 square kilometers (2.5 square miles) at its peak and had between 15,000 and 30,000 inhabitants.

Government and politics

Bolivia has been governed by democratically elected governments since 1982; prior to that, it was governed by various dictatorships. Presidents Hernán Siles Zuazo (1982–1985) and Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1985–1989) began a tradition of ceding power peacefully which has continued, although three presidents have stepped down in the face of extraordinary circumstances: Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada in 2003, Carlos Mesa in 2005, and Evo Morales in 2019.

Bolivia's multiparty democracy has seen a wide variety of parties in the presidency and parliament, although the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, Nationalist Democratic Action, and the Revolutionary Left Movement predominated from 1985 to 2005.

Economy

Driven largely by its natural resources, Bolivia has become a regional leader in measures of economic growth, fiscal stability and foreign reserves, although it remains a historically poor country. The estimated 2012 gross domestic product (GDP) totaled $27.43 billion at official exchange rate and $56.14 billion at purchasing power parity. Despite a series of mostly political setbacks, between 2006 and 2009 the Morales administration spurred growth higher than at any point in the preceding 30 years. The growth was accompanied by a moderate decrease in inequality. Under Morales, per capita GDP doubled from US$1,182 in 2006 to US$2,238 in 2012. GDP growth under Morales averaged 5 percent per year, and in 2014 only Panama and the Dominican Republic performed better in all of Latin America.

Culture

Bolivian culture has been heavily influenced by the Spanish, the Aymara, and the Quechua, as well as the popular cultures of Latin America as a whole. The cultural development is divided into three distinct periods: precolumbian, colonial, and republican. Important archaeological ruins, gold and silver ornaments, stone monuments, ceramics, and weavings remain from several important pre-Columbian cultures. Major ruins include Tiwanaku, El Fuerte de Samaipata, Inkallaqta and Iskanwaya. The country abounds in other sites that are difficult to reach and have seen little archaeological exploration.