ABSTRACT

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.

chapter |12 pages

Introduction

Continuity and change in the 2019–2020 Bolivian crisis

chapter 1|19 pages

From democracy to an ochlocratic intermission

The 2009 Constitution in the Bolivian pendulum

chapter 2|25 pages

Protest State and street politics

Bolivian social movements in the 2019–2020 crisis

chapter 5|26 pages

Lithium and vivir bien

Sovereignty and transition