USAID/Bolivia provides about $85 million annually in development assistance through bilateral agreements with the Bolivian Government and unilateral agreements with other organizations. USAID latindate.org/central-american-women/bolivian-women/ programs are implemented by non-governmental organizations , the private sector, and the Bolivian Government. USAID’s programs support Bolivia’s National Development Plan and are designed to address key issues, such as poverty and the social exclusion of historically disadvantaged populations, focusing efforts on Bolivia’s peri-urban and rural populations. The United States established diplomatic relations with Bolivia in 1849 following its independence from Spain. Beginning in 2008, the prior Bolivian government’s decisions to expel the U.S. ambassador, U.S. law enforcement, and development cooperation agencies has strained the bilateral relationship between the United States and Bolivia. Despite these challenges, the United States maintains a strong and respectful relationship with the Bolivian people, with whom we work to advance human rights, entrepreneurship, and cultural and educational initiatives.
- Beginning in 2008, the prior Bolivian government’s decisions to expel the U.S. ambassador, U.S. law enforcement, and development cooperation agencies has strained the bilateral relationship between the United States and Bolivia.
- The United States also heavily supports parallel efforts to interdict the smuggling of coca leaves, cocaine, and precursor chemicals.
- Bolivia has become more active in the Organization of American States , the Rio Group, and in MERCOSUR, with which it signed an association agreement in 1996.
- However, the ICJ did state that cooperation was desirable if workable solutions are to be found.
- As the Chapare region was being settled, the US reinstituted the aid that had been cut during the military coup of 1980.
- A State Department spokesman denied the accusation, and USAID officials said they provided support to all Bolivian governors, not just those in the opposition.
Along with Paraguay, Bolivia is a landlocked nation that must rely on the goodwill of neighboring countries for access to ports. Bolivia’s highly dependent economy has exacerbated the nation’s already weak negotiating position in the international arena.
Of course, the two governments’ interests and agendas will not always coincide, real differences will persist and new disputes will arise; but the perpetuation of suspicions and antagonism that led to a breakdown in bilateral relations during the Bush administration is neither desirable nor inevitable. It would make little sense to prolong or let fester inherited problems that can be resolved for the better. Indeed, the new Obama administration and Congress could help repair some of the damage done to the U.S. reputation in Latin America in recent years by taking a flexible, respectful approach toward Bolivia, in cooperation with Bolivia’s neighbor democracies and the international community. The State Department claimed that there was a 14 percent increase in the area of coca under cultivation, and an increase in potential cocaine production from 115 to 120 metric tons, figures that the USTR echoed in its decision by alluding to a vague, “marked” increase in cocaine production. The cited 14 percent increase is nearly triple the 5 percent increase reported by UNODC for 2007.
Bolivia Should End Revenge Justice
In a decree issued by Bolivia’s supreme court in October 2007, one article states that Bolivia will not accept money with political or ideological strings attached. After the general election of October 2020 and the victory of socialist candidate Luis Arce, relations worsened despite an attempt by Arce to improve ties with the United States. When Jeanine Áñez and several of her cabinet ministers were arrested in March 2021 and charged with criminal offences related to massacres that took place during the first days of her presidency, relations hit a new low, after remarks by U.S. In response, the Arce administration stated the United https://citralandgamacity.com/belarus-women-your-utmost-guide/ States was interfering in Bolivia’s internal affairs. BrazilBrazil and Bolivia have been working on expanding and diversifying trade between the two countries in the last quarter of 2008. The 6th Meeting of the Commission for Monitoring Brazil-Bolivia trade was used to this end.
The U.S. goods trade surplus with Bolivia was $97 million in 2019, a 31.2% increase ($23 million) over 2018. Bolivia is currently our 98th largest goods trading partner with $1.0 billion in total goods trade during 2019. The Pandemic Is Eroding Bolivians’ Trust in Democracy Interim President Jeanine Áñez’s decision to postpone Bolivia’s election twice has sparked protests, revealing the threat COVID-19 poses to democratic governance worldwide. In the midst of the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, Morales accused the United States government of xenophobia due to it not recognizing Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate President of Venezuela. President Donald Trump determined to waive a restriction on United States assistance to Bolivia, following the resignation of Evo Morales and his government in November 2019.
Country Office Contacts
Data and research help us understand these challenges and set priorities, share knowledge of what works, and measure progress. Please complete this reCAPTCHA to demonstrate that it’s you making the requests and not a robot. If you are having trouble seeing or completing this challenge, this page may help.
Readers may still remain curious about why the US took such a low-key approach to what Secretary of State John Foster Dulles initially viewed as a Communist threat in Bolivia. Lehman reviews accepted versions of why the Americans reacted so mildly –physical distance, strong American tin stockpiles, and the relatively junior status of State Department officials who directed Washington’s Bolivia policies. Lehman notes that “it certainly helped that there was no United Fruit Company in Bolivia to plaster news of radical MNR reforms across the pages of U.S. newspapers” (p.107). He also stresses the lack of a reasonable alternative to the MNR once the military was broken and traditional political parties marginalized. Lehman presents some interesting documentation to support this line of thinking in the State Department but, in the end, does not explain how such calm prevailed in Washington at a tense moment in Cold War conflict. Boric ratified that Chile did not negotiate its sovereignty and remarked the need to gradually let the diplomatic relationship between both nations be restablished gradually.
This is an important contribution because for the first time it puts together the whole history of U.S.-Bolivian relations. Understanding Bolivia’s Election Exit polls indicate socialist candidate Luis Arce will become Bolivia’s next president. The peaceful vote signaled an end to a year of electoral uncertainty, but the victor will now confront social upheaval and economic hardship intensified by the coronavirus pandemic. The swift development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 was an unprecedented scientific achievement.
History
He has campaigned against coca eradication on behalf of the growers, citing the legitimate uses of coca leaves in traditional Aymara and Quechua culture. His policies directly conflict with the eradiction policy of the United States. In 2008 the Bolivian government suspended the operations of the US Drug Enforcement Administration accusing the organisation of being a front for violating the country’s sovereignty and supporting an unsuccessful coup d’état.
According to the 2008 INCSR, more resources were destined for the Yungas and assistance in the Chapare would continue to decline. As a result, https://ahmedalsaif.com/dominican-brides-how-to-find-a-wife-in-the-dominican-republic/ the number and scope of projects affected by the decision to not sign agreements was minimal. The decision to sign no further agreements with USAID in the Chapare resulted primarily from local frustration with alternative development aid conditioned on prior coca eradication.