Cultural Analysis Of Bolivia

Before it was deposed, the MNR introduced far-reaching economic and social change. .
             The following three decades were characterized by an endless list of Military regimes that came and went with monotonous regularity until the election of the leftist civilian Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR) in 1982. Bolivia has kept a democratic tradition ever since, which is considered one of the most stable democracies in South America.
             On August 6, 2002, Gonzalo "Goni" Sanchez de Lozada was sworn in as Bolivia's new president, succeeding Jorge Quiroga, who himself became president a year earlier when Hugo Banzer resigned due to ill health (cancer). Sanchez de Lozada, who also served as president from 1993 to 1997, was elected with only 22.5% of the June 2002 vote, and was selected by Congress over the second-place finisher, Evo Morales, leader of Bolivia's coca growers. Sanchez de Lozada quickly announced emergency economic measures to pull Bolivia out of its economic problems, which include high unemployment and low economic growth. Bolivia's options remain limited, however, due to a high debt load, spending constraints due to tight fiscal spending restrictions imposed by International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan requirements. President Sanchez de Lozada generally is considered to be in favor of free-market reforms. .
             Geographical Setting.
             Structurally and climatically, Bolivia consists of two main regions, the highlands and the eastern lowlands, divided between the Amazon and Parana. The highlands of Bolivia consist of three distinct parts, the Cordillera Occidental; the Altiplano; and the Cordillera Oriental. The Cordillera Occidental is part of the Andean range that extends along the western fringe of South America. It features many active volcanoes, part of a line of volcanoes that runs from southwest Peru to Chile. .
             There is a distinct climatic difference between the northern and southern parts of the Cordillera Occidental; the southern region is dry and almost inhabited.