| People who reside in Bolivia are faced with having to | | | | relatively easy. Many experts suggest that the |
| overcome the fact that they live in the poorest area | | | | problems first began when the price of silver took a |
| of South America. | | | | dip in the 1980s. With silver being one of the largest |
| This is surprising to some economists who suggest | | | | industries in Bolivia, the hit was hard and deeply felt. |
| that Bolivia is sitting on a whole host of natural | | | | Many people lost their jobs during this time, and many |
| resources that aren't being mined. In fact, Bolivia is | | | | companies who mined silver lost a great deal of |
| home to one of the largest natural gas resources in all | | | | money. The country never fully recovered from this |
| of South America. Add to that the gold, iron and | | | | setback. |
| magnesium reserves and it's astounding that Bolivia is | | | | Another instance that has shaped the unfortunate |
| such a poor country. | | | | economy of Bolivia was when the Cold War ended in |
| Bolivia relies heavily on the financial assistance of other | | | | the early 1990s. The reason that this impacted Bolivia |
| countries. The debt of this country is in the billions and | | | | so strongly was that all foreign aid came to an end. |
| with the strict government control that is present in | | | | The government of Bolivia had become reliant on this |
| Bolivia it seems unlikely that this situation will change | | | | money and suddenly faced a shortfall. Again, the |
| anytime soon. | | | | country struggled to regain their financial footing but |
| The United States is clearly the major trading partner | | | | unfortunately that never happened. |
| with Bolivia. Exports to the United States include gold | | | | When the ending of Bolivia's cocoa crops was |
| and jewelry. Bolivia also imports many products from | | | | instituted this became another devastating blow for an |
| the United States. In fact, the imports far outweigh the | | | | already floundering nation. The United States |
| exports. | | | | spearheaded this effort because the cocoa plants that |
| The fact that Bolivia has such a poor economy has | | | | were grown in Bolivia were the source of a large |
| led to increasingly high prices on many essentials. For | | | | portion of the world's cocaine. The effects of this |
| instance in one of the largest cities in Bolivia, the water | | | | change was the last straw and it now seems as |
| supply has been privatized. The government viewed | | | | though Bolivia will never recover. |
| this as a method of earning more profit while it has | | | | Today, Bolivia is still a struggling nation. In order to keep |
| substantially hurt the private citizen. Because the price | | | | the economy moving at all, the prices on many items |
| of the water is set by one company, the cost can be | | | | have had to be increased. This makes it virtually |
| high. For the average person living in this area of Bolivia | | | | impossible for the average person in Bolivia to afford |
| this can mean having to make a choice between two | | | | anything. Understandably this has led to a very high |
| essential items such as food and water. | | | | poverty rate. |
| Tracing the economic difficulties back to their source is | | | | |