chosen president by Congress; Congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ
DE LOZADA Bustamante 84, Evo MORALES 43; note - following the
resignation of the elected president on 17 October 2003, Vice
President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert assumed the presidency
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of
Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are
elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve
five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130
seats; 68 are directly elected from their districts and 62 are
elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve
five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held
30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007)
election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party -
NA; seats by party - MNR 11, MAS 8, MIR 5, NFR 2, other 1; Chamber
of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MNR
36, MAS 27, MIR 26, NFR 25, others 16
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms
by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department);
provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)
Political parties and leaders:
Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA]; Civic Solidarity
Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz
BARRIOS]; Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA [Freddy
ZABALA]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ
Zamora]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Evo MORALES]; Movement
Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; Nationalist Democratic
Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist
Revolutionary Movement or MNR [leader NA]; New Republican Force or
NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP
[Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole
Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman
LOAYZA]
International organization participation:
CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU,
LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS,
ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime APARICIO Otero
consulate(s): Washington, DC
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 328–3712
telephone: [1] (202) 483–4410
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David N. GREENLEE embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 2430120, 2430251 FAX: [591] (2) 2433900
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with
the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of
Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the
yellow band
Economy Bolivia
Economy - overview:
Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American
countries, made considerable progress in the 1990s toward the
development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President
SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993–97) included the signing of a free trade
agreement with Mexico and becoming an associate member of the
Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization
of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power
company, and oil company. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to
tight government budget policies, which limited needed
appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the
Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances held down
growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the
global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth picked up
slightly in 2002, but the first quarter of 2003 saw extensive civil
riots and looting and loss of confidence in the government. Bolivia
will remain highly dependent on foreign aid unless and until it can
develop its substantial natural resources.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $21.01 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.5% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 15% industry: 33.2% services: 51.9% (2003 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
12.4% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line:
70% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.3% highest 10%: 32% (1999)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
44.7 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.3% (2003 est.)
Labor force:
4.1 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Unemployment rate:
11.7%
note: widespread underemployment (2003)
Budget:
revenues: $2.346 billion
expenditures: $2.957 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2003)
Agriculture - products:
soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes;