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Changes And Continuity Of Contemporary Bolivia

Decent Essays

Change and Continuity in Contemporary Bolivia
Diversity of Capitalism and Economy, Emergence of Plurinational
Self-Government, Patterns of Cultural Change and Continuity, and Consensual Community Organization
The events that took place before and after Western involvement have led to modern-day Bolivia and help explain the implications for how Bolivia has changed and stayed the same under the Morales administration, which implemented the new constitution in 2009. After the constitution was ratified, some legislation quickly followed suit, including the electoral system, a law of autonomies, and a law establishing the parameters of communitarian justice in indigenous areas (Crabtree and Chaplin 2013:25).
Regarding the economical standpoint, while the average income has soared, the Morales administration has not been able to radically change the economy; rather it has followed a neo-extractivist model due to the lingering reliance on gas and other resources. Although this means a larger role for the state, it also means that Bolivia is even more dependent on its natural resources (Farthing and Kohl 2014:79). With so much of the country’s earnings coming from natural resources, this puts a strain on a left-wing country that is trying to move away from such capitalist influences. An example of how this distribution of money manifests is that urban problems, such as the building of new roads and schools, are often given more attention than rural issues (Crabtree and Chaplin

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