runoff. The next presidential elections, held in June 1993, were won by mining entrepreneur Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.
People
The population of Bolivia(1989 est.) was 7,193,000. Population density was any about 7 per sq. km (about 17per sq. mi), one
of the lowest in South America. Roughly 55% of all the people are Native American, and about 30% are mestizo, or mixed
blood. The remaining inhabitants are white, mainly of Spanish descent. About 51% of the people live in rural areas.
The official languages of Bolivia are Spanish and two Native South American languages: Quechua and Aymara; about 40% of
the Native American population speaks no Spanish. Roman Catholicism is the religion of the great majority of the population
Education
Primary education is nominally free and compulsory for children between the ages of six and 14, but the public schools, though
increasing in number, do not meet the needs of Bolivia, which has an illiteracy rate of nearly 35%.
In the late 1980’s about 888,200 pupils attended primary schools, some 211,500 attended secondary schools, and about
97,200 were enrolled in institutions of higher education. Bolivia has ten universities: at Sucre, La Paz (two), Cochabamba,
Llallagua, Oruro, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija, and Trinidad. Saint Francis Xavier University (1624), in Sucre, is one of the oldest
in the Americas. The University of San Andr?s (1830), in La Paz, is the largest university in Bolivia with a student enrollment of
about 37,000.
Culture
In dress, language, architecture, and life-style, the large Native American population follows the ways of its ancestors with an
admixture of modified Spanish traditions. Clothing is colorful and suited to life in high altitudes. Holidays and religious festivals
are celebrated by dancing and festivities. The Spanish-speaking population, which is largely European in ancestry, and is
educated and better off economically, has adopted some of the Native American customs but generally follows Western
traditions.
Transportation and Communication
The total Bolivian railroad tracks span about 3640km (about 2260 mi). Railroads connect the landlocked country to ports on
both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The principal line connects La Paz with the free port of Antofagasta, Chile.
About 40,990 km (about 25,470 mi) of roads exist in Bolivia; only a few are hard-surfaced, and many are passable only in the
dry season. The national airline, Lloyd A?reo Boliviano, provides regular air service to the major Bolivian cities, with other Latin
American countries, and with the U.S. About 14,000km (about 8,700 mi) of rivers are navigable by small boats.
About 3,939,100 radio sets, 447,500 television receivers, and 182,400 telephones were in use by the late l980’s. Bolivia has
about 13 daily newspapers.
Labor
Bolivia’s labor force exceeded 1.7 million in the late l980’s. Nearly the entire non-farm labor force is organized, most of it in
unions belonging to the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), the central labor federation. Peasant unions were established after the
1952 revolution.
Important People
In May 1951, the exiled MNR leader Victor Paz Estenssoro won nearly half the presidential election vote. Because no
candidate had a clear majority of the vote, election of a president from among the three leading candidates fell to Congress. In
order to prevent the election of Paz, the incumbent president, Harrique Urriolagoitia, placed the government under the control
of a military junta and resigned. General Hugo Ballivi?n was appointed president, but in April 1952 his government was
overthrown by the MNR, and Paz returned from exile to assume the presidency. The Bolivian government embarked on a
pro-labor, anti-Communist program, the key features of which were the nationalization of tin mines, the redistribution of land
from seized estates, and the diversification Of the economy. Throughout the 1950’s and into the 1960’s, the Bolivian economy
suffered from a steady drop in world tin prices and from inflation. The tin mines proved consistently non-profitable; government
efforts to reduce the size of the force employed in the mines and to restrain wage increases met with resistance from on that
extended the economic authority of the government and permitted the reelection of an incumbent president. Paz was reelected
in 1964, but many of his earlier supporters left him, charging that the MNR was less reformist, and more oppressive than it
purported to be. Also, the government policies proved generally ineffective in meeting the existing economic problems. Paz was
overthrown in November in the aftermath of an uprising by miners, and the leftist unions. The Bolivian constitution prevented the
reelection of Paz in 1956, but Vice President Hern?n Siles Zuazo won the election as the MNR candidate; the result of this
election was a continuity of policy. Paz was reelected in 1960 and in the following year pressed for the adoption of a new
constitution and his government was succeeded by a military junta headed by his former vice president, Lieutenant General
Ren? Barrientos Ortu?o. There are not many other well known people to speak of.
Holidays
The people who are in Bolivia are 95% Roman Catholic. Because of this, they have the same religious holidays as American
Christians. As far as national holidays are concerned, they have they?re independence day on the 6th of August, 1825 from
Spain.
Sports
One of Bolivia’s favorite pastimes is soccer. They have competed in many international championships. Although the most
exciting chapter of Bolivia?s history was written on summer 1994, soccer in Bolivia did not begin the day the national team took
to the field in the first World Cup qualifying game in July 1993. Soccer has much deeper roots in Bolivia where it is nothing less
then a national passion.
Sharing borders with the two-time World Cup champion Argentina, and four-time World Cup champion Brazil, Bolivia’s
passion for soccer and its style has resulted in numerous victories in international competition dating back to the South
American Championship in 1962. Victories came in the 1957,1979 and 1993 Paz del Chaco Cups, but the proudest moment
came in 1963 in the America’s Cup, the continents most important soccer tournament. Bolivia won the Cup by beating Brazil in
the final game. Over the years, Argentina. Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay have won this prestigious tournament.
Bolivia had the privilege of being among the thirteen nations who participated in the very first world Cup tournament in Uruguay
in 1930. Bolivia returned to the World Cup action by invitation in 1950 and during World Cup victories in the Eliminatorias of
1994, marked Bolivia?s first ever qualification for the World Cup Finals.
Many teams founded in the early days continue the tradition of Bolivian soccer today. The Strongest, founded in 1908, is
regarded as a national treasure and has won many Bolivian national championships.
The most successful team today is Bolivar, founded in 1925. Other clubs of note include Wilstermann (1947), Oriente
Petrolero (1955), Blooming(1946), and San Jose (1942). Each club has won the national championship at least once and has
participated in the “Copa Libertadores de America.”
Bolivian soccer has had more than its share of heroes. In The late 1920’s And 1930’s, Mario Alborta was remarkable wing
who competed in the first World Cup. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, the greatest Bolivian player was midfielder Victor Agustin
Ugarte. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Bolivian team was anchored by the likes of Wilfredo Camancho, who symbolized
Bolivia?s clutch performances on the way to victory in 1963 in Americas Cup, and Ramiro Blacutt, who played for Bayern of
Munich. During the 1980’s, outstanding players included Erwin Romero, Carlos Arngones, Carlos Borja, and Milton Melgar.
Today, young Bolivians idolize the heroes of the 1994 World Cup qualifying round: Marco Antonio Etcheverry (El Diablo) and
Erwin Platini.
Bolivia is an up and coming force in soccer, whose future rests with a very talented bunch of young players.
Bibliography
1. “Bolivia” Encarta 95 c.1995
Internet
www.country-info/Bolivia/sports/soccer2081.html
3. My aunt and uncle Carol and Donald
As well as my newly adopted 2 yr. old cousin from Bolivia, Jamie