Line #24 UsefulNotes/Bolivia


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Bolivia-map_7961.gif]]
2
3	->''"If from Romulus, Rome; from Bolívar, it is Bolivia"''
4	-->-- '''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Jose_de_Sucre Antonio José de Sucre]]''', suggesting the name of Bolivia, as a replacement to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Peru Upper Peru]].
5
6	Officially the '''Plurinational State of Bolivia''' (Spanish: ''Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia''; Quechua: ''Puliwya Mamallaqta''; Guarani: ''Tetã Hetãvoregua Mborivia''; Aymara: ''Wuliwya Suyu''), Bolivia is a country is UsefulNotes/SouthAmerica, the only one besides UsefulNotes/{{Paraguay}} to be landlocked. It was one of the former South American colonies that threw off Spanish rule in the 1810s. As a nod by Bolivians to Venezuelan leader UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar's efforts to help gain the country independence, they named the country for him.
7
8	Despite being a landlocked nation, Bolivia has a naval branch as part of its armed forces. The reasons for this date back to events more than a century ago. In the 19th century, the country had a small strip of land that connected it to the Pacific Ocean. However, it was poorly settled by the Bolivians themselves and was mostly inhabited by Chilean immigrants. In 1879, large deposits of nitrates and saltpeter was discovered in the area, prompting the Bolivian government to raise taxes on the Chileans mining these resources. This act, along with subsequent actions against a Chilean mining company, was in direct violation of a treaty Bolivia had with UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}. The Chilean government attempted to find a diplomatic solution, but when the Bolivian government refused to back down, Chile invaded the region, thus beginning the UsefulNotes/WarOfThePacific. Neighboring UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} would end up joining the war on the side of Bolivia because both nations had signed a secret mutual defense pact. The war ultimately ended in a Chilean victory, after which Chile annexed Bolivia's entire coast, in addition to annexing some territory from Peru. Bolivia has never accepted the loss of its coastline and continues to maintain a Navy as part of its hope of someday regaining it. As of now, the Bolivian Navy is a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-water_navy Brown-water Navy]]", primarily operating along the many rivers and lakes of the country. The most notable being Lake Titicaca, which is divided between Bolivia and Peru. Bolivia also lost land to UsefulNotes/{{Brazil}} and Paraguay in the 1930s [[UsefulNotes/TheChacoWar Chaco War]].
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10	Bolivia had the luck of having huge tin deposits, but that mainly benefited the Tin Barons who controlled the tin mines. The poorer classes did not take that well and forced a revolution in 1953. Since then, the government has switched between left and right extremes. In 2006, Evo Morales, an ethnic Aymara, was elected President. He nationalized the natural gas industry but angered the eastern part of the country with a large mestizo and white population [Bolivia is mostly Amerindian]. Morales was seen by people as their own version of UsefulNotes/HugoChavez of UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}; in fact, Morales was on good terms with the Venezuelan before Chávez' death in 2013 and has a similar relationship with his successor Nicolás Maduro.
11
12	In 2019, Morales resigned from the presidency after mass protests over alleged election fraud after seeking a fourth term as president, something his sympathizers have claimed was a coup (needless to say, this is a touchy subject). In the wake of these events, and the multiple resignations that followed, Senate second-Vice President Jeanine Añez took over as interim President, with another round of elections set for the following year. After a tumultuous 11 months marked by the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, violent crackdowns on political dissidents, and Añez's controversial campaign for a full term as President, which ultimately ended with her withdrawal from the race a month before Election Day, October 2020 saw Luis Arce, Morales's former Minister of Economy and Public Finance, win the Presidency in a clean race.
13
14	Its landlocked position has made Bolivia one of the poorest [[UsefulNotes/LatinAmerica Latin American]] countries, but its natural gas and lithium reserves could be useful in jumpstarting the economy. The government has plans to do this to benefit the majority of the country.
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16	By the way, the capital according to the constitution is Sucre, where the Supreme Court is located, but the government is seated in La Paz, which makes it de facto capital. That makes La Paz the highest capital in the world, at almost 12,000 feet above sea level.
17
18	!!Culture
19
20	The Bolivians are also actively encouraging indigenous cultures [Aymara, Quechua, etc]. As of 2009 they renamed their country the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
21
22	While most Bolivians watch Mexican, Argentine, Brazilian, and Colombian soap operas, they had a SoapOpera industry of their own, though it was mainly by independent producers.
23
24	There's also the whole coca leaf thing. The coca leaf has been historically a tradition of the Andean zone [[note]]Bolivia, mostly, but also Peru and northern Chile[[/note]], mainly because of its medicinal powers (the lack of air in the highlands provokes dizziness and other maladies, and chewing the coca leaf helps relieve them). As probably everyone knows, the coca leaves can be processed into cocaine, so the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and other countries have tried to cut back or eliminate the growing of the leaves, which is at odds with the local people. Before being elected, Morales earned fame for his opposition to the pressure the US imposed on the Bolivian government to forcefully reduce cultivation of coca.
25
26	Bolivia is well known for its AndeanMusic, alongside Peru and UsefulNotes/{{Ecuador}}, with popular folk bands such as Music/LosKjarkas.
27
28	The second half of the Franchise/JamesBond film ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' is set here, and ''VideoGame/GhostReconWildlands'' takes place entirely here.
29
30	!!Notable Bolivians/people of Bolivian descent:
31	* Creator/RaquelWelch, birth name Jo Raquel Tejada, was born to a Bolivian father. After she broke through as an actress, she kept her first husband's last name as her stage name, even though she eventually divorced him (and went on to marry and divorce three more men after that). Her cousin, Lidia Gueiler, became Bolivia's first female president, ruling from 1979 to 1980.
32	* Creator/BenMikaelsen is a Bolivian-American writer of Danish descent.
33	* American actress Creator/StephanieBeatriz was born in Argentina to a Colombian father and a Bolivian mother.
34	----
35	[[AC:The Bolivian flag]]
36	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_bolivia.png]]
37	->The red, yellow and green stripes symbolize the blood of Bolivia's freedom fighters, mineral wealth, and natural bounty, respectively. The state flag (pictured) adds at the center, the national coat-of-arms.
38	----
39	[[AC:Coat of arms of Bolivia]]
40	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/coat_of_arms_of_bolivia_8.png]]
41	->The coat-of-arms shows an oval cartouche depicting an allegorical Andean landscape, featuring an alpaca, a palm tree and a bundle of wheat in front of Mount Potosí, once one of the largest silver mines in the world. Behind the shield are a pair of crossed cannons (struggle for independence), Phrygian cap (liberty), fasces (law), and six Bolivian flags. The shield is topped by an Andean condor superimposed on a pair of crossed olive branches.
42	----
43	[[AC:The Bolivian national anthem]]
44
45	->Bolivianos: el hado propicio
46	->coronó nuestros votos y anhelos.
47	->Es ya libre, ya libre este suelo,
48	->ya cesó su servil condición.
49	->Al estruendo marcial que ayer fuera
50	->y al clamor de la guerra horroroso,
51	->siguen hoy, en contraste armonioso,
52	->dulces himnos de paz y de unión.
53	->Siguen hoy, en contraste armonioso,
54	->dulces himnos de paz y de unión.
55
56	->De la Patria, el alto nombre,
57	->en glorioso esplendor conservemos.
58	->Y en sus aras de nuevo juremos:
59	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
60	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
61	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
62
63	->Loor eterno a los bravos guerreros,
64	->cuyo heroico valor y firmeza,
65	->conquistaron las glorias que empieza
66	->hoy Bolivia feliz a gozar.
67	->Que sus nombres, en mármol y en bronce,
68	->a remotas edades transmitan,
69	->y en sonoros cantares repitan:
70	->¡Libertad, Libertad, Libertad!
71	->Y en sonoros cantares repitan:
72	->¡Libertad, Libertad, Libertad!
73
74	->De la Patria, el alto nombre,
75	->en glorioso esplendor conservemos.
76	->Y en sus aras de nuevo juremos:
77	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
78	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
79	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
80
81	->Aquí alzó la justicia su trono
82	->que la vil opresión desconoce,
83	->y en su timbre glorioso legose
84	->libertad, libertad, libertad.
85	->Esta tierra innocente y hermosa
86	->que ha debido a Bolívar su nombre
87	->es la patria feliz donde el hombre
88	->goza el bien de la dicha y la paz.
89	->Es la patria feliz donde el hombre
90	->goza el bien de la dicha y la paz.
91
92	->De la Patria, el alto nombre,
93	->en glorioso esplendor conservemos.
94	->Y en sus aras de nuevo juremos:
95	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
96	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
97	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
98
99	->Si extranjero poder algún día
100	->sojuzgar a Bolivia intentare,
101	->al destino fatal se prepare
102	->que amenaza a soberbio agresor.
103	->Que los hijos del grande Bolívar
104	->hayan mil y mil veces jurado:
105	->morir antes que ver humillado
106	->de la Patria el augusto pendón.
107	->Morir antes que ver humillado
108	->de la Patria el augusto pendón.
109
110	->De la Patria, el alto nombre,
111	->en glorioso esplendor conservemos.
112	->Y en sus aras de nuevo juremos:
113	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
114	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
115	->¡Morir antes que esclavos vivir!
116
117	--
118
119	->Bolivians, a propitious fate
120	->has at long last crowned our vows and longings;
121	->This land is free, free at last.
122	->Its servile state has now finally ceased.
123	->The martial turmoil of yesterday,
124	->and the horrible clamor of war,
125	->are followed today, in harmonious contrast,
126	->by sweet hymns of peace and unity.
127	->Are followed today, in harmonious contrast,
128	->by sweet hymns of peace and unity.
129
130	->Let us keep the lofty name of our Fatherland
131	->in glorious splendor.
132	->And, on its altars, once more we must swear:
133	->to die before we would live as slaves!
134	->To die before we would live as slaves!
135	->To die before we would live as slaves!
136
137	->Eternal praise to the brave warriors
138	->whose heroic valor and firmness
139	->conquered the freedom and glories that now
140	->a happy Bolivia justly begins to enjoy!
141	->Let their names, preserved forever in marble and bronze,
142	->transmit their glory to remote future ages.
143	->And in resounding song let them repeat their simple call:
144	->Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!
145	->And in resounding song let them repeat their simple call:
146	->Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!
147
148	->Let us keep the lofty name of our Fatherland
149	->in glorious splendor.
150	->And, on its altars, once more we must swear:
151	->to die before we would live as slaves!
152	->To die before we would live as slaves!
153	->To die before we would live as slaves!
154
155	->Here has Justice erected its Throne
156	->which vile oppression ignores
157	->and, on its glorious stamp let us rejoice
158	->Freedom, freedom, freedom
159	->This innocent and beautiful land,
160	->which owes its name to Bolívar,
161	->is the happy homeland where mankind
162	->enjoys the benefits of bliss and peace.
163	->Is the happy homeland where mankind
164	->enjoys the benefits of bliss and peace.
165
166	->Let us keep the lofty name of our Fatherland
167	->in glorious splendor.
168	->And, on its altars, once more we must swear:
169	->to die before we would live as slaves!
170	->To die before we would live as slaves!
171	->To die before we would live as slaves!
172
173	->If a foreigner may, any given day
174	->even attempt to subjugate Bolivia,
175	->let him prepare for a fatal destiny,
176	->which menaces such brave aggressor.
177	->For the sons of the mighty Bolívar
178	->have sworn, thousands upon thousands of times:
179	->to die rather than see the country's
180	->majestic banner humiliated.
181	->To die rather than see the country's
182	->majestic banner humiliated.
183
184	->Let us keep the lofty name of our Fatherland
185	->in glorious splendor.
186	->And, on its altars, once more we must swear:
187	->to die before we would live as slaves!
188	->To die before we would live as slaves!
189	->To die before we would live as slaves!
190	----
191	[[AC:Government]]
192	* Unitary presidential constitutional republic
193	** President: Luis Arce
194	** Vice President: David Choquehuanca
195	----
196	[[AC:Miscellaneous]]
197	* '''Capitals:''' Sucre (constitutional and judicial), La Paz (executive and legislative)
198	* '''Largest city:''' Santa Cruz de la Sierra
199	* '''Population:''' 11,428,245
200	* '''Area:''' 1,098,581 km
201	(424,164 sq mi) (27th)
202	* '''Currency:''' Bolivian boliviano (Bs) (BOB)
203	* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' BO
204	* '''Country calling code:''' 591
205	* '''Highest point:''' Sajama (6542 m/21,463 ft) (12th)

Context UsefulNotes / Bolivia