1st Edition
Bolivia at the Crossroads Politics, Economy, and Environment in a Time of Crisis
As Bolivia reels from the collapse of the government in November 2019, a wave of social protests, and now the impact of Covid-19, this book asks: where next for Bolivia?
After almost 14 years in power, the government of Bolivia’s first indigenous president collapsed in 2019 amidst widescale protest and allegations of electoral fraud. The contested transitional government that emerged was quickly struck by the impacts of the Covid-19 public health crisis. This book reflects on this critical moment in Bolivia’s development from the perspectives of politics, the economy, the judiciary and the environment. It asks what key issues emerged during Evo Morales’s administration and what are the main challenges awaiting the next government in order to steer the country through a new and uncertain road ahead.
As the world considers what the ultimate legacy of Morales’s left-wing social experiment will be, this book will be of great interest to researchers across the fields of Latin American studies, development, politics, and economics, as well as to professionals active in the promotion of development in the country and the region.
Introduction: continuity and change in the 2019–2020 Bolivian crisis
1. From democracy to an ochlocratic intermission: the 2009 Constitution in the Bolivian pendulum
Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé
2. Protest State and street politics: Bolivian social movements in the 2019–2020 crisis
Soledad Valdivia Rivera
3. Crisis time, class formation and the end of Evo Morales
Angus McNelly
4. Continuity and change in Bolivian land politics and policy
Bret Gustafson
5. Lithium and vivir bien: Sovereignty and transition
Fabio S. M. Castro, Sinclair M. G. Guerra, Paulo A. Lima Filho
Biography
Soledad Valdivia Rivera is Assistant Professor, Institute of History, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
"In the 21st century Bolivia became a nation in which many of Latin America’s woes and challenges came together. This came to a head in the political crisis in 2019-20. The end of the long government of Evo Morales after contested elections in October 2019, the ill-fated interim government of Jeanine Áñez and the return to power of the MAS, occurred in the space of one year. Offering a careful analysis of the crucial elements of this critical conjuncture, this book provides a multi-disciplinary analysis of this eventful period. It is a must-read for everyone interested in Bolivian and Latin American politics." -- Michiel Baud, professor Latin American Studies at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
