The 1980s are characterized by the return of bourgeois democracy and a deep economic crisis caused by the fall in international tin prices, internal adjustments destined to pay the immense external debt contracted by the military governments, and hyperinflation.
Hernán Siles Suazo came to the government in 1982 supported by the leftist alliance Popular Democratic Unity (UDP). His government is characterized by weak economic management unable to reverse hyperinflation and by a political crisis whose solution is the early elections. In 1985, Víctor Paz Estenssoro of the MNR was elected President for the fourth time. His government manages to stabilize the macroeconomy after promoting neoliberal policies that hit even more the popular sectors.
The 7 as maypole as 1989 presidential elections were held. Again the candidate had to be chosen by Congress, since they did not meet the majority required by the Constitution. Jaime Paz Zamora was appointed and a Banzer man as vice president: Dr. Luis Ossio Sanjinés. The new government maintained the neoliberal policy of its predecessor, complementing it by issuing Decree 22407. A process of privatizations began and new foreign industries were established – especially in the mining field. Finally he was in charge of carrying out a new census (June 1992), as a country located in South America according to ZIPCODESEXPLORER.COM, Bolivia had six million five hundred thousand residents.
The violence continued, although much less than in the 1980s. The country was slowly getting underway. Paz Zamora got his Peruvian counterpart, Alberto Fujimori, to grant a series of franchises to Bolivian producers and the hope of a port with access to the sea, but corruption in some sectors blackened what the president had done. The 6 as June as 1993 were held new presidential elections. Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada was elected president, and Vice President Victor Hugo Cardenas for the period 1993- 1997.
As president, in his two terms, Sánchez de Lozada took the application of the Washington Consensus in Bolivia to the last extreme: privatizations, capital flight, foreignization of the economy, concentration of wealth, etc.
In September and October 2003, due to rumors about the intention to export Bolivian gas through Chilean ports to the west coast of the United States, to Mexico and Chile, social mobilizations began in the Bolivian Altiplano and in the city of El Alto. The government responds with a strong military repression that leaves a balance of 65 people dead and hundreds of injured, aspects that were followed by the mobilization of middle-class sectors at the national level, the most notorious of La Paz being the headquarters of government, which demanded the resignation of Sánchez de Lozada.
Harassed by these sectors and faced with the loss of support from the parties that formed the government coalition (MIR and NFR), on October 17, Sánchez de Lozada resigned from the Presidency of the Republic by letter to the National Congress and immediately left the country (He is currently a fugitive from justice in his country accused of crimes against humanity but enjoys the status of political refugee in the United States).
Its vice president, Carlos Mesa Gisbert (2003– 2005) governs without the backing of Congress and after political pressure from the unions and the emerging autonomist movement, he resigns from the Presidency. Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé (2005– 2006) assumes an interim position in which he calls general elections that give Evo Morales Ayma of the MAS as the winner.
Evo Morales
The first indigenous person to become president in South America was a fact that worried the region’s oligarchies, as well as the Pentagon. From the first day Evo Morales took office, January 22, 2006, the counterrevolution got under way. Nationalization of Hydrocarbons, Agrarian Reform, more equitable redistribution of wealth, call for a constituent assembly, incorporation into ALBA, sovereign policy and dignity of the most unprotected sectors provoked the ire of the Bolivian ruling classes.
His government, re-elected for a new term in office, can boast of great progress, among them the fact that, in addition to being declared free of illiteracy, Bolivia registers one of the best economic behaviors in Latin America.
In a message to the nation after being invested for a second term, the statesman pointed out that among the sectors most benefited by social policies were children and the elderly, with the granting of financial aid.
The dignitary pointed out as other educational achievements the delivery of almost four thousand computers to teaching units, the creation of three indigenous universities, the implementation of a first stage of the school for public trainers project, and the inauguration of the plurinational music academy. He stressed that for the first time in 39 years the search for the remains of the disappeared began during the military dictatorships in Bolivia.
He also highlighted the government crusade in the fight against corruption, for which the Ministry of Transparency was created. He recalled that in the hands of Parliament is the Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz anti-corruption law, which must be approved as soon as possible by the new Plurinational Legislative Assembly.
In his report to the nation, the president also highlighted the reduction in electricity consumption thanks to an energy campaign carried out with the collaboration of Cuba and Venezuela. Morales pointed out that in the field of the agrarian revolution promoted by the Government, since 2006 one million nine thousand 626 hectares have been delivered to indigenous communities.
The president also highlighted achievements on fronts such as mining, the construction of homes and road infrastructures, and the expansion of telecommunications coverage.
Re-elected for a fourth term (2020-2025), along with his running mate, Vice President Álvaro García Linera. in the elections held on 20 October of the 2019, obtaining 46.8 percent, compared to 36.7 of Carlos Mesa, a margin of 10 percentage points [1] .
Resignation
Main article: Coup in Bolivia (2019).
The October to November of 2019 was forced to resign after carried out a coup, a decision that took to avoid an escalation of violence against the people, provoked by opposition forces. [2] .
Given the critical situation created in the country, at a press conference Evo stated:
“I decided to resign from my position so that Carlos Mesa and Luis Camacho, stop mistreating and harming thousands of brothers (…) I have the obligation to seek peace and it hurts a lot that we confront each other among Bolivians, for this reason I send my letter of resignation to the Plurinational Assembly of Bolivia ”
The December as November 2019, the former president arrived in Mexico, a country that was granted political asylum, along with all authorities who were being severely persecuted in Bolivia .
