Capital Of Bolivia

Trouble began again in September 2003 when a group of tourists became trapped in the town of Sorata. After days of unfruitful negotiations, the Government of Bolivia security forces launched a rescue operation, but on the way out, were ambushed by armed peasants and a number of persons were killed on both sides. The incident ignited passions throughout highlands and united a loose coalition of protestors to pressure the Government of Bolivia into halting the proposed project to export liquefied natural gas, most likely through Chile. Anti-Chile sentiment and memories of three major cycles of non-renewable commodity exports (silver through the 19th century, guano and rubber later in that century and tin in the 20th century) touched a nerve with many citizens. Events slowly built as La Paz became trapped by the protester's blockades. Violent confrontations ensued, and most of the 60-80 deaths occurred when security forces tried to bring supplies into the surrounded city. In the end, many ... [Read More]

Travel Warning - Bolivia - Panama

Since May 16, various groups within Bolivia have conducted protests, demonstrations and blockades to protest the Bolivian government’s hydrocarbons (gas) policy and demand a variety of political reforms as well as the resignation of the President and the dismissal of Congress. The focus of the protests is the capital city of La Paz and the surrounding Altiplano. The La Paz airport remains open, but some flights have been cancelled and others diverted. Travel from the airport to La Paz is subject to sporadic blockades. Roads running north and south from La Paz, to Lake Titicaca and Oruro, are blockaded and closed to travel. ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]

Dirección de Asuntos del Hemisferio Occidental: Información general--Bolivia

Sánchez de Lozada procuró seguir una dinámica agenda económica y de reforma social. Confió ampliamente en exitosos empresarios convertidos en políticos, como era su caso, y en otros veteranos compañeros del gobierno de Paz Estenssoro (durante el cual Sánchez de Lozada fue Ministro de Planeamiento). El cambio más sorprendente que emprendió el gobierno de Sánchez de Lozada fue el programa de "capitalización", en virtud del cual los inversionistas, normalmente extranjeros, adquirieron una participación del 50% y el control administrativo de las empresas públicas, como por ejemplo la empresa petrolera estatal, el sistema de telecomunicaciones, las aerolíneas, los ferrocarriles y los servicios de energía eléctrica, a cambio de las inversiones de capital convenidas. Varios segmentos de la sociedad se opusieron a las reformas y a la reestructuración económica e instigaron protestas masivas frecuentes que a veces fueron violentas, especialmente en La Paz y la región cocalera del Chapare, entre ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

Despite the solid economic growth since 1987, Bolivia remains South America’s poorest country. The economic recovery of the last half of the 1980s only offset the decline of the first half. Bolivia still has a GDP of only $1,076 a person, far lower than most neighboring countries. Bolivia has an illiteracy rate of at least 20%, and a December 1999 UNICEF report on infant mortality indicated that 85 of every 1,000 children die before they reach 5 years of age. Thus, the Government of Bolivia remains heavily dependent on foreign assistance to finance development projects. At the end of 1998, the Government owed $4.3 billion to its foreign creditors, with $1.6 billion of this amount owed to other governments and most of the balance owed to multilateral development banks. Most payments to other governments have been rescheduled on several occasions since 1987 through the Paris Club mechanism. Some countries have forgiven substantial amounts of Bolivia’s bilateral debt. The U.S. Government ... [Read More]

Independent States in the World

of the CongoCGKinshasaCosta Rica *+Republic of Costa RicaCSSan JoséCôte d'Ivoire *+Republic of Côte d'IvoireIVYamoussoukroCroatia *+Republic of CroatiaHRZagrebCuba +Republic of CubaCUHavanaCyprus *+Republic of CyprusCYNicosiaCzech Republic *+Czech RepublicEZPragueDenmark *+Kingdom of DenmarkDACopenhagenDjibouti *+Republic of DjiboutiDJDjiboutiDominica *+Commonwealth of DominicaDORoseauDominican Republic *+Dominican RepublicDRSanto DomingoEast Timor *+Democratic Republic of Timor-LesteTT ... [Read More]

Judicial Assistance - Foreign Attorneys

U.S. Department of State [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: U.S. Agency to Support Microenterprise Overseas

OPIC will provide the loan to BlueOrchard Microfinance Securities I; Developing World Markets, Inc., of Darien, CT, and BlueOrchard Finance s.a. will be the structuring partners. The OPIC loan, plus the proceeds from the issuance of subordinated notes on the U.S. capital markets and sponsor equity will be used to lend to MFIs in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. The MFIs will use the funds to expand their microfinance business, and make investments in staff, branches and other infrastructure. Project sponsors predict that 63,000 new microenterpreneurs will receive financing due to the facility. ... [Read More]

Docs 147-180

It is proposed to expand up to [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] already approved on 5 February 1965, and [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] more to be used upon exhaustion of the original sum) for propaganda and political action in support of the ruling Bolivian military junta’s plans to pacify the country and eventually hold elections to establish a constitutional government. This support would be designed (a) to promote an eventual transfer of power to a government more stable than the present provisional military regime and potentially capable of meeting the country’s pressing problems; (b) to bolster the junta’s unity and stability through discreet aid to political groups and key individuals who will support continuation of the regime and of the required power balance within it for as long as may be necessary or desirable, as instruments for the achievement of U.S. policy objectives in Bolivia, and (c) to provide levers with which the ... [Read More]