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