Bolivia
Outline Bolivia
Introduction:
I. The History of Bolivia
A. Independence
1. Revolution
B. Political Instability
1. The Regime of Paz Estenssoro
2. Rule by the Army
II. The Economy
A. Resources
1. Mining, Manufacture, and Trade
2. Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry
B. Strengths and Weaknesses
1. Currency and Banking
2. Labor
III. The Culture
A. Location
1. Terrain
2. Climate
B. Cocaine
1. Effects
2. War on Drugs
Bolivia
In this report I will give a brief overview of the history, economy and culture of Bolivia. Bolivia was one of the first countries in the Spanish Empire to attempt a break from Spain, but it was one of the last to succeed. The Spanish suppressed the first critical rebellion in May 1809. Bolivia declared its independence from Spain on August 6, 1825, and took the name Bolivia in honor of South American independence leader Simón Bolívar. In 1826 a congress adopted a constitution drafted by Bolívar. It vested supreme authority in a president, who was chosen for a life term.
In May 1951 Paz Estenssoro won nearly half the presidential election vote while in exile. In order to prevent the election of Paz Estenssoro, the incumbent president, placed the government under the control of the military and resigned. General Hugo Ballivián was appointed president. General René Barrientos Ortuno, a member of the government by the army, was elected president in July 1966. In July 1980 General Luís García Meza seized power, suspended the constitution, and instituted a repressive regime. Many politicians, labor leaders, and military men who opposed García Meza were arrested and killed, and many more fled abroad.
Jaime Paz Zamora became presi...
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...native Indians. The native people have used the coca leafs as a medicinal drug up until the present day. Until the early 1950’s the coca leaf was readily used in soft drinks and was considered socially excitable in the United States. In the early 1960’s the United States made cocaine illegal and created a large underworld in most Latin America countries. By the mid 1960’s over sixty five percent of Bolivia’s workers made their livelihood off the coca plant. The Bolivian government had no reason to try to stop the drug trade in their country; cartel leaders were paying huge payments to government officials. During the 1980’s Ronald Regan attempted to curve the in flux of cocaine in to the United States with no real results. During 1990’s the United States started to send large amounts of funding and training for Latin America’s military to combat the cartels.
Where is Honduras located? What are some main landforms? What food do Hondurans eat? What language do Hondurans speak? How did Honduras become Honduras? These are all questions you might have, and in this paper all will be answered. You will learn more about the geography, society, people, their lifestyles, and the history of Honduras.
Guatemala’s culture is a unique product of Native American ways and a strong Spanish colonial heritage. About half of Guatemala’s population is mestizo (known in Guatemala as ladino), people of mixed European and indigenous ancestry. Ladino culture is dominant in urban areas, and is heavily influenced by European and North American trends. Unlike many Latin American countries, Guatemala still has a large indigenous population, the Maya, which has retained a distinct identity. Deeply rooted in the rural highlands of Guatemala, many indigenous people speak a Mayan language, follow traditional religious and village customs, and continue a rich tradition in textiles and other crafts. The two cultures have made Guatemala a complex society that is deeply divided between rich and poor. This division has produced much of the tension and violence that have marked Guatemala’s history (Guatemalan Culture and History).
Grinspoon L, Bakalar JB (1981). Coca and cocaine as medicines: an historical review. J Ethnopharmacol. 1981 Mar-May; 3(2-3):149-59.
In the northeast the sierra slopes downward to a vast, flat tropical jungle, the selvas, extending to the Brazilian border and forming part of the Amazon Basin. The mountain attains a maximum width of about 965 km (about 600 mi) in the north and constitutes some 60 percent of the Peruvian land area; it is covered with thick tropical forests in the west and with dense tropical vegetation in the center and east.
Since the 1970s, Venezuela has gone from being South America’s richest nation into a nouveau-poor society in search of an identity. Once known as the Saudis of the West, Venezuelans have seen their economic fortunes decline in exact proportion to the general fall in world oil prices. Even so, Venezuela’s many problems were hidden from view until relatively recently, when severity measures heralded the sort of economic crises so painfully familiar to other Latin American countries. Runaway inflation, currency devaluations and even food riots have marked this new phase in Venezuelan history, to which the country is still trying to adjust.
Gootenberg, Paul. Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2008.
Rebellions began when the Marines left, and the American force returned in 1926. An election was held under American supervision in 1928, and General José Mara Moncada, a Liberal, was chosen president. One Liberal leader, however, Augusto César Sandino, engaged in a guerrilla war against U.S. forces for several years. The marines were withdrawn in 1933, leaving Anastasio Somoza commander of the National Guard. Somoza had Sandino killed and was elected president in 1937.
Uruguay republic, in east central South America, is the second smallest country on the continent. This country is bounded on the north by Brazil, on the east by Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and the Río de la Plata, and on the west by Argentina. The Uruguay River forms Uruguay's western boundary in full. Uruguay's land mass in whole is a small 176,215 sq km. Uruguay's capital city is Montevideo which is the main port, and economic center of the country. The currency of Uruguay is the peso uruguayos (7.97 peso uruguayos equal U.S.$1). This country's main sport entertainment is soccer.
Velasquez-Donaldson, C. (2007). Coca Production and Alternative Development in Bolivia: A Study Case. Graduate Student Journal, 2007, 58–70. doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2010.09.010
“Mexicans smugglers have long trafficked homegrown heroin and marijuana to the U.S. But in the 1980’s, mexico also became the primary route for colombian cocaine bound for the U.S” (Bates). According to Bates, when Guadalajara’s leader was arrested in 1989, the groups remaining capos, including a young Guzman divided up its trafficking routes, creating the Sinaloa, Juarez, and Tijuana Cartels.
Venezuela was one of the richest countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Ecuador). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Current concerns include: a polarized political environment, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.
Potter, George Ann. “Is the War on Drugs Bringing "Dignity" to Bolivia?”TheWashington Report on the Hemisphere. Vol. 19.11. July 30, 1999.
In Jeanette Schmidt’s article, Transporting Cocaine states, “Colombian cartels would pay the Mexican groups as much as $1,000/kilo to smuggle cocaine into the United States” (Schmidt, 2). The Colombian cartels would then pick up the drugs and resume distribution and sales efforts, making personal profits that are unrecorded. In order to seize these individuals who are growing in power and numbers, the U.S. must control the connections between Mexico and Columbia. Mexico is the biggest transporter amongst Columbia and the U.S. because it shares a border with the U.S. This increasingly poisonous drug trafficking leads to drug dealers...