San Pedro prison or El penal de San Pedro is the largest prison in La Paz, Bolivia and is renowned for being a society within itself. Significantly different from most correctional facilities, inmates at San Pedro have jobs inside the community, buy or rent their accommodation, and often live with their families. The sale of cocaine base to visiting tourists gives those inside a significant income and an unusual amount of freedom within the prison walls. Elected leaders enforce the laws of the community, commonly through stabbing. The prison is home to nearly 3,000 inmates, with additional guests staying in the prison hotel.
The Ministry of Cultures, Decolonization, and Depatriarchalization is the ministry of the government of Bolivia that provides for the preservation and protection of the cultures and artistic expressions of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia as well as promotes the country's tourism sector and process of decolonization and depatriarchalization.
Luis Alberto Arce Catacora, often referred to as Lucho, is a Bolivian banker, economist, and politician serving as the 67th president of Bolivia since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, he previously served as minister of finance—later minister of economy and public finance—from 2006 to 2017, and in 2019.
The Social Democratic Movement, often shortened to just the Democrats, is a centre-right political party in Bolivia founded in 2013 for the movement for greater autonomy for the eastern departments of the Media Luna.
Adriana Salvatierra Arriaza is a Bolivian political scientist and politician who served as president of the Senate in 2019. A member of the Movement for Socialism, she served as senator for Santa Cruz from 2015 to 2020 and was a substitute senator for Santa Cruz under Carlos Romero in 2015. At age twenty-nine, Salvatierra was the youngest legislator and third woman to hold the presidency of the Senate and was the youngest individual to ever exert presidential authority, albeit briefly in an acting capacity.
A political crisis occurred in Bolivia on 10 November 2019, after 21 days of civil protests following the disputed 2019 Bolivian general election in which incumbent President Evo Morales was initially declared the winner. The elections took place after a referendum to amend the Bolivian constitution, which limits the number of terms to two, was rejected in 2016. In 2017 under political pressure and a legal demand from the Morales government, the Constitutional Tribunal (TCP) ruled that all public offices would have no term limits despite what was established in the constitution and allowing Evo Morales to run for a fourth term.
Jeanine Áñez Chávez is a Bolivian lawyer, politician, and television presenter who served as the 66th president of Bolivia from 2019 to 2020. A former member of the Social Democratic Movement, she previously served two terms as senator for Beni from 2015 to 2019 on behalf of the Democratic Unity coalition and from 2010 to 2014 on behalf of the National Convergence alliance. During this time, she served as second vice president of the Senate from 2015 to 2016 and in 2019 and, briefly, was president of the Senate, also in 2019. Before that, she served as a uninominal member of the Constituent Assembly from Beni, representing circumscription 61 from 2006 to 2007 on behalf of the Social Democratic Power alliance.
Mónica Eva Copa Murga is a Bolivian politician, social worker, and former student leader serving as mayor of El Alto since 2021. As a member of the Movement for Socialism, she previously served as senator for La Paz from 2015 to 2020, during which time she was president of the Senate from 2019 to 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Bolivia on 10 March 2020, when its first two cases were confirmed in the departments of Oruro and Santa Cruz.
Yerko Martín Núñez Negrette is a Bolivian agronomist and politician who served as minister of the presidency from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Social Democratic Movement, he previously served as minister of public works from November to December 2019. Throughout his ministerial tenure, Núñez was noted as a key person of influence in the transitional government and a "right-hand" to President Jeanine Áñez, a fellow Beni native. Prior to his appointment, he served as senator from Beni from 2015 to 2019 on behalf of the Democratic Unity coalition. As a member of Beni First, Núñez served as mayor of Rurrenabaque from 2010 to 2014; he previously held the position for two terms from 2000 to 2003 and 2005 to 2010 as part of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement. Núñez's mayoral tenure saw strides made for Rurrenabaque's ecotourism industry, which generated increased economic growth for the city.
Víctor Hugo Zamora Castedo, often referred to as Ojorico, is a Bolivian forestry engineer, politician, and former student leader who served as minister of hydrocarbons from 2019 to 2020. As a member of United to Renew, of which he was president, he previously served as senator for Tarija from 2015 to 2019 in alliance with the Christian Democratic Party. Before that, he served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from Tarija, representing circumscription 45 from 2010 to 2014 on behalf of the National Convergence alliance. Prior to entering politics, Zamora was active in student unionism and was the chair of the Bolivian University Confederation as well as his Local University Federation. Though unsuccessful in his first electoral bid, Zamora was later given the opportunity to work in the Tarija Prefecture, and in 2004, he was invited by the Revolutionary Left Movement to contest a seat on the Tarija Municipal Council, where he served from 2005 to 2009.
Fernando Iván Vásquez Arnez is a Bolivian geotechnical and mining engineer and politician who served as minister of mining and metallurgy from 8 May to 30 May 2020. He previously served as vice minister of productive development and metallurgical mining from 2019 to 2020 and as director of the environment and public consultation from 2006 to 2011. Shortly into his ministerial term, Vásquez stated that his white complexion made him incapable of being a member of the Movement for Socialism, causing broad condemnation and his removal from office less than a month after being appointed.
Bolivia-Venezuela Relations are the existing bilateral relations between the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Both nations established their diplomatic relations on 14 September 1883, during the government of the President of Bolivia Narciso Campero Leyes and the government of the President of Venezuela Antonio Guzmán Blanco.
Events from the year 2022 in Bolivia.
Carolina Ribera Áñez is a Bolivian dentist who served as the presidential representative in the Social Support and Management Unit of the Ministry of the Presidency from 2019 to 2020 under Jeanine Áñez. Ribera is the eldest daughter of former president Jeanine Áñez and former Trinidad mayor Tadeo Ribera. Ribera protests Áñez's incarceration on various criminal charges in 2021, denouncing alleged violations of her mother's human and legal rights.
María Isabel Fernández Suárez is a Bolivian journalist and politician who served as minister of communication from January to June 2020. Fernández was the final official to serve in that post, with the Ministry of Communication being abolished during her term. She subsequently served as vice minister of communication from June 2020 until the conclusion of the transitional government of Jeanine Áñez in November 2020.
Martha Yujra Apaza is a Bolivian politician and trade unionist who served as minister of cultures and tourism from 2019 to 2020. A prominent trade union leader in El Alto, Yujra was the only indigenous member of the Jeanine Áñez Cabinet and was the final official to head the Ministry of Cultures and Tourism; the institution was abolished during her term. During her tenure, Yujra's office primarily dealt with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cultural sector, devising means of alleviating the economic ramifications of quarantine measures on artisans and entertainers. She subsequently served as a counselor at the Embassy of Bolivia in Quito from July to November 2020. Prior to serving as minister, Yujra gained notoriety for her fierce opposition to the government of Evo Morales. In 2017, she led a breakaway faction of the pro-government El Alto Regional Workers' Center. As its executive secretary, Yujra aligned the union with the Bolivia Says No alliance, running unsuccessfully to represent La Paz in the Chamber of Deputies in the annulled 2019 general elections.
Miraflores is a neighborhood of La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia. It is located in the east of the city center. Miraflores has as its main attractions the Botanical Garden, Busch Avenue, Villarroel Square to the north, the Hernando Siles Stadium next to the Archaeological Plaza, among others. Miraflores is a residential neighborhood and is completely urbanized.
María Elva Pinckert Vaca is a Bolivian businesswoman, lawyer, and politician who served as minister of environment and water from 2019 to 2020. Pinckert developed her career in Santa Cruz's agro-industrial heartland, during which time she rose to key positions of regional economic and political influence, including presiding over the Montero Civic Committee and serving as vice president of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Elected to the Montero Municipal Council as a member of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement in 1999, Pinckert later switched to the New Republican Force, with which she won reelection. In 2009, the party promoted her to the Senate as a substitute senator under Germán Antelo. Amid the disunity brought about by the fragmentation of her parliamentary caucus, Pinckert aligned with the Social Democratic Movement, which nominated her for a full Senate seat. Elected in 2014, Pinckert held office until 2019, when she joined the Áñez administration as head of environmental and water policy. As with many former Áñez ministers, Pinckert faced judicial consequences for her collaboration with the transitional government, leading her to seek refuge in Brazil less than a year after leaving office.
Lidia Patty Mullisaca is a Bolivian politician and trade unionist. A member of the Movement for Socialism, Patty represented La Paz in the Chamber of Deputies, first as a substitute alongside Manuel Canelas from 2015 to 2018 and later as a voting member until 2020. She later served as consul of Bolivia to Puno, Peru, in June 2023 and has been vice consul of Bolivia in La Plata, Argentina, since September 2023.
