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Vice President García Linera Extensive telecoms strategy combines national The sky’s the limit for Bolivia’s Unique cultural identity spurs discusses the “Golden Decade” furthers national goals integration with development national airline BoA tourism sector development Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 3 Page 4

See this report at www.haddockassociates.co.uk Bolivia The country of surprises the world Tuesday, October 28, 2014

hen Evo Morales was a pre- was a radical move that thrilled Bolivians teen, he went on a school and horrified international investors. trip to Lake Titicaca. On In a complete reversal of their former Wtheir return, his teacher agreements, foreign companies in the decided to make an unplanned stop at hydrocarbon sector were ordered to pay the presidential palace in La Paz. The 82% of their profits to the Bolivian gov- students were made to wait days in ernment, retaining 18% for themselves. the capital’s Murillo Square until then Bolivia has South America’s second larg- president and military dictator Hugo est gas reserves; nationalization meant Banzer agreed to see them. The young that government revenues topped $1.3 Morales was not impressed. billion that same year (in 2002, Bolivia “When I am president,” he declared to had received just $173 million). That year all of his classmates within earshot, “I was the first in time in 30 years that the will be much more accessible.” Bolivian government had a fiscal surplus, Widely regarded as “the people’s presi- which it has since maintained. dent” in Bolivia, Evo Morales has been “I was very radical at first. I used to true to his word. The first indigenous say that all the foreign companies had to president in the country, he has champi- go. But I was told that this was not going oned the cause of the poor and marginal- to happen, and that even in Cuba, there ized, though his supporters today include were investors. So we had to decide what Bolivians from across the social strata. percentage the companies should have. I Indeed, his popularity after nine years of commissioned a study to see if the com- presidency continues to rise. panies would be profitable with just 18%. Mr. Morales was first elected with It concluded that yes, the companies 53.7% of the vote in 2005, the widest would still be profitable with 18%, so that election margin since democracy was re- was what we decided,” says the presi- stored in 1982. In 2009, he won again in dent. “We didn’t initially expect national- a landslide victory, landing 64.2% of the ization to free us economically so quickly. vote (he also managed to get a new con- Nobody foresaw that.” stitution passed in a referendum vote that year). In October 2014, thanks to a recent The new Bolivia ruling by the Constitutional Court, he ran Evo Morales’ leftist rhetoric abroad has of- again and won with over 60% of Bolivians ten bordered on the radical, an impression voting him in for a third term. that his nationalization policies and state- A lifelong activist and union leader, Mr. centered economic approach at home Morales has been jailed, beaten and been have deepened. Yet in economic affairs, the victim of numerous instances of politi- Mr. Morales has proven himself to be very cal violence and racial discrimination. The fiscally conservative, baffling international future leader was particularly marked analysts struggling to label his model. by an event in 1981 in which a Bolivian Bolivia under the Morales admin- farmer and coca grower was accused of istration has experienced a period of cocaine trafficking by soldiers, then sub- prosperity and calm. The nation’s GDP sequently beaten and burned alive. has doubled, public debt is well below “It was at the time of García Meza’s regional averages and Bolivia’s interna- dictatorship. I could not understand it The New system of governance and resource management that tional reserves have grown sevenfold to because I thought that the president was more than $15 billion, or 50% of GDP. the father of all Bolivians. How could a Evo Morales has introduced to Bolivia has won him growing support among The economy grew by 6.8% in 2013, and father throw fuel on a son and burn him? voters and international observers alike growth of 6% is expected this year. From then on, I started to participate in Mr. Morales’ economic policies, some- the union and protest movements,” he times referred to as Evonomics, have fo- says. “And little by little we progressed. ians are of indigenous descent). dition, he launched the 2008 Renta Dig- gap between Bolivia’s top 10% richest cused on creating a mixed economy, one We consolidated our position as a union The new president introduced referen- nidad initiative that gave $344 per month and 10% poorest citizens had been re- in which foreign companies and foreign leader, and we gained a lot of credibility dums and citizen-led legislative initiatives to low-income citizens over 60 years old, duced by 60 times. His second cabinet investment are welcome. Heavy public in- from the national growth of our social in an effort to make Bolivia’s represen- as well as the 2009 Bono Juana Azurduy was 50% female. vestment in transport and telecommuni- movements. We reached congress, and tative democracy more direct. Over half program to provide health care for unin- “When I became president, I thought cations is expected to bring new economic from there it was a natural progression to of his deputies were comprised of rep- sured mothers of children under age one. first of the fact that I was the first union rewards in the near future as the country the presidency.” resentatives from social organizations, He also doubled the minimum wage. leader to be elected. Then I thought that pushes forward with its industrialization indigenous communities, blue-collar The president launched a campaign I had to run the country well. If I did badly program. Most importantly, Bolivia, which Policy of inclusion workers, farmers, neighborhood groups that had eradicated illiteracy in the coun- as a leader, Bolivians would never elect was the second-poorest nation in Latin Not surprisingly, the fight against and labor. By 2010, Bolivians had the right try by 2009. He carried out agrarian re- another union leader again. America after Haiti before 2006, is now one both poverty and racism were central to choose their Supreme Court judges. form, distributing land to communities of the region’s fastest-growing. themes of President Morales’ first term. Mr. Morales expanded social welfare, rather than individuals. And then he gave Supreme Decree 2870 “What have we done? It’s simple,” He passed a law against racism and dis- introducing the 2006 Bono Juancito Pinto them free tractors. Much of President Morales’ social concludes the president. “Politically, the crimination. He required all civil servants program, which provided a monthly sti- As a result, since 2006, more than 2.5 achievements were possible as a result of re-founding of Bolivia; economically, na- to learn one of Bolivia’s three indigenous pend for each child in poorer families million Bolivians have escaped from one of his first acts as president, the na- tionalization; and socially, the redistribu- languages – Quechua, Aymara, or Guar- who attended school (since then, school extreme and moderate poverty. By tionalization of Bolivia’s hydrocarbon sec- tion of wealth. That is the summary of our aní – within two years (over 60% of Boliv- attendance has increased fivefold). In ad- 2009, heading into his second term, the tor. Passed on May 1, 2006, Decree 2870 country’s model.”

Cultural uniqueness used constructively to regenerate Bolivian-U.S. ties Bolivia reaches back into its rich indigenous culture in formulating and applying concepts of harmony to its international relationships

The driving philosophy behind the it remains a major aim of the govern- cation and exchanges between different Since then, the U.S. had been repre- external relations policy of Bolivia is ment today. Within the Andean indig- groups of people sharing this common sented in La Paz by a chargé d’affaires. deeply rooted within the country’s in- enous philosophy there are no words philosophy. Bolivia has always wished to rebuild ternal history, particularly in the expe- for “rich” and “poor”, and instead there Bolivia is therefore returning to its relations with the U.S. but on a differ- rience of its indigenous peoples over is the concept of qamiri, a person who ancient indigenous roots in seeking ent and balanced basis, one of mutual the last five centuries. lives well, a full life, a person who is now to replace the disharmony of five respect. An agreement was reached in This is not the paradox that it might at independent and who is free to live the centuries by a different way of relating 2011 to re-open full diplomatic rela- first appear to be. After being colonized life he or she chooses. to others, both among Bolivians and tions, which was followed by a specific by Spain for three centuries, the coun- Mr. Choquehuanca points out that this in its external relations. An essential mutual respect agreement, the only try’s Aymara people then remained concept does not oppose material de- element in the country’s international one Bolivia has felt the need to sign politically, institutionally and economi- velopment or democratic government, relations is the expectation of mutual with any country. cally disadvantaged for two centuries but instead expresses a complementa- respect for, and non-interference in, So far, ambassadors have not been more until Evo Morales was elected as ry, different way of looking at the world. each country’s people, political and eco- exchanged, although President Morales the nation’s first indigenous president He stresses that for the Aymara people, nomic systems and physical integrity. has emphasized that Bolivia continues in 2006. During all that time, as Bo- their relationship with Pachamama, or Mr. Choquehuanca feels that it’s to seek cooperation in many areas with livia’s foreign minister, David Choque- Mother Earth, means that all people “The United Nations, with the United States that Bolivia has the U.S., including opportunities for in- huanca Céspedes, points out, “Our way and peoples are brothers and sisters, thanks to a Bolivian found most difficulty in establishing a vestment in Bolivia, a traditional mar- of life had been interrupted; we were meant to live together in harmony. initiative, has held new relationship of mutual respect. He ket for American companies but where losing the sense of what it meant to be This concept of a natural spirituality mentions that the U.S. had in the past Chinese businesses have recently been ourselves, prohibited from speaking harmonious with our world and its in- its first World interfered in Bolivia’s internal affairs. making inroads. our language and from organizing our habitants does, of course, assume mu- Conference on From the beginning, the U.S. had been The president adds that he “senses lives and our society in the way we al- tuality and reciprocity, as would be so Indigenous Peoples opposed to the candidacy of Mr. Mo- there is the goodwill in both govern- ways had; we were losing our culture.” among people of similar cultures. The rales for the presidency and, in 2008, ments to improve relations between the Recovering this indigenous iden- road linking together the Andean coun- in September” it became necessary to expel the U.S. two countries” on the basis of the mu- tity was one of the principal objectives tries, the Qhapaq Ñam, which UNESCO ambassador, Philip S. Goldberg, who tual self-respect inherent in the Ayma- of the growing Aymara political con- granted World Heritage status in 2014, is Céspedes, was consequently declared persona ra concepts of society and culture, and sciousness from the 1980s onward, and the ancient expression of the communi- Minister of Foreign Affairs non grata. with full regard for the Bolivian identity.

Project Team: Belén Huerta, Project Director; Iara Mantiñán, Coordinator; Hugo Asch and Matteo Gramaglia, Journalists ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Bolivia / P2 “We are Extensive telecoms in what I call our strategy furthers Golden Decade” national goals

IntERVIEW with the Vice , TELECOMMUNICATIONS Ongoing investment in services and Álvaro Marcelo García Linera infrastructure are key to continued socioeconomic development

long-sighted approach to far-reaching, A. We have generated political and social stabil- olivia has, over the past eight years, through communication goes beyond roads.” inclusive socioeconomic development is ity together with a climate for growth, something transformed itself economically, em- He sees clear economic benefits from the avail- producing great returns for Bolivia. Vice that is very attractive to investors: the fastest eco- phasizing investment and using the ability of better communications, mentioning in APresident of Bolivia Álvaro Marcelo García nomic growth on the continent, almost 2 million Bdividends from its progress and its particular enhanced product knowledge and in- Linera discusses his nation’s recent achievements new middle-class consumers, political stability, a development to satisfy long-neglected basic formation on product pricing, as well as greater and future aims. successful economic model, promising long-term needs of large swathes of the population. The social interaction. For the nation, therefore, perspectives. Everything is there for the private country’s multi-faceted development program the telecom sector fulfills a wide role, one em- Q. Bolivia has achieved rapid and consistent sector to invest successfully in Bolivia. aims to use the benefits from the extraction bracing economic development, the growth of economic growth over the last few years, in a of its natural resources to lay a solid base for knowledge, and the release of human potential, period when many countries have been in crisis. Q. What are some of the key elements in Boliv- long-term growth. This has involved bringing along with social development and national in- Why is that? ia’s future growth perspectives? all of Bolivia’s citizens into the economic and tegration. A. We are in what I call our A. We aim to invest by add- social mainstream through investments in so- In Bolivia, the telecommunications sector is “Golden Decade,” a result of ing value to Bolivia’s natural cial betterment programs, in areas such as ed- a competitive market with several operators our comprehensive and holistic resources and to thus retain ucation and literacy development. The program present in the country. Substantial investments plan to ensure that the benefits within the country a greater also widens their life horizons and interests – a in 3G and 4G services have overcome topo- from the development of na- part of their true economic process in which telecommunications is a ma- graphical barriers and helped Bolivia leapfrog tional resources are invested value. jor contributor. straight into 21st century technology. The recent with lasting social purposes. We have also been investing The general manager of Entel S.A., Oscar launch of the first national satellite is trans- We brought into the con- in social development, such as Coca Antezana, highlights that the extensive in- forming the scope of services available, besides ventional economic equa- in healthcare provision and ed- vestments made in the country’s road network bringing television to the whole country, there- tion the addressing of human ucation. We need to continue mean that products can now be more easily fore playing a key role in the continuing trans- needs, as well as the produc- to invest heavily in developing brought to market, but adds that “integration formation of Bolivia and its society. tive release of our present and the potential and the knowl- future human potential. edge assets of our human natural resources. Q. What role has the state played in this process? Q. How has Bolivia’s in- A. Our initial economic analysis showed that vestment in social development contributed to Telecom technology drive there was insufficient investment in key industries economic growth? that had previously been state-owned but had then A. We want to give all our people the opportunity been privatized, this underinvestment represent- to make the best they can of their lives and to con- aims to transform lives and ing a severe risk for our national development. We tribute productively to society. therefore renationalized the oil and gas, electrical There is wide social representation within the expand prospects energy and telecommunications sectors. government and in its decision-making, this be- Important internal areas of the economy were ing essential to societal choices and to economic also dynamized, in sectors such as construction, stability. Entel combines commercial dynamism agriculture and irrigation, generating important Access to telecommunications in rural areas has with social responsibility sources of internally financed growth, creating jobs released dormant human potential, with obvious and developing infrastructure. The exchange rate economic impact. was also stabilized with the introduction of a long- term variation mechanism. Q. How do you see Bolivia a decade from now? All this removed instability factors that had held A. By 2025 we aim to be an industrialized coun- back the economy, therefore encouraging private- try, fully or partially, depending on the sector. Boliv- sector growth. ia will combine fast growth with equal opportunity for all its people and ethnicities, where social de- Q. How do you now see the role of the private velopment allows people to achieve life ambitions sector in Bolivia’s future growth? in a country of democracy and justice.

The launch of Bolivia’s first national satellite will dramatically widen access to telecoms

Entel S.A. is Bolivia’s legacy gies and the launch of a nation- developed country not blessed telecommunications operator, al satellite TV service. with one of world’s easiest to- offering conventional phone The national operator is now pographies, has enabled Entel services, ADSL broadband ac- providing a service that is bet- to turn disadvantages into op- cess, 3G and 4G technologies, ter, faster and cheaper, while portunities. One example is the and satellite television. Its sub- simultaneously building up jump straight into cell phone sidiary, Entel Movil, is Bolivia’s local technology knowledge communications, in which Bo- largest cell phone operator. and capability. “Today, Entel is livia has the second-fastest While being state-owned, Entel providing telephone, Internet rate of growth in Latin America. competes with several other and television to even the most Another is the use of solar pan- operators, particularly in mo- remote parts of the country; els in remote locations lacking bile telephony, the area with by the benefit of our approach is electricity. As Mr. Coca points far the greatest national pene- palpable, it is seen in people’s out, “We often get there before tration: Entel has a 44% market everyday lives,” says Mr. Coca. there’s any prospect of electric- share. The company’s general ity; often before there are any manager, Oscar Coca Ante- Entel is providing roads we get our antennae up.” zana, is proud of his company’s The company is very proud of Moody’s AAA credit rating and a better, faster its achievements over the past of having doubled its rate of re- and cheaper six years and is pushing ahead turn on investment in the last to ensure that by 2025 all of Bo- six years. He highlights that al- service, while livia’s citizens will be connect- though state-owned, “Entel has simultaneously ed. However, it is also highly no special status or treatment building up conscious of the challenges and must compete like any oth- ahead and of its continuing er company, earning profits and local technology social contribution. As an ex- remunerating its owners.” knowledge and ample, Mr. Coca mentions the Mr. Coca is nonetheless very capability satellite television service and conscious of the key role Entel its free provision of national has to play in fostering national channels, while simultaneously economic and social develop- An emphasis on in-house re- offering a pay-TV package of ment, emphasizing how invest- search and development means 60 international and special- ment in network expansion and the major part of the company’s ized channels. He says, “With in new technologies has expe- software is now created lo- the satellite, we will reach ev- rienced a sea change since the cally, while skills learned and ery last square meter of the company was renationalized in technologies transferred dur- country with telephone, TV and 2008. He further mentions that ing the first satellite program Internet.” He relishes the chal- all investments are made from are now allowing Bolivians full lenge of expanding coverage, the company’s own resources, operational control. The growth saying, “We need to innovate rather than through credit fi- of knowledge assets within the permanently, every year.” nancing. Entel’s efforts have country and the development of Entel is clearly an important resulted in a transformational basic research capabilities are engine of change for Bolivia and extension of the national optic- seen by Entel as key spin-offs for its people, a company per- fiber network and a sextupling from its investments. ceptive to its wider social obli- of the number of base stations, An innovative and pragmatic gations, while still competing as well as substantial invest- approach to finding operational and acting agilely in a dynamic ments in 3G and 4G technolo- solutions, in a relatively poorly market environment. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Bolivia / P3 Bolivia pours investment into priority areas

public works The government is combining economic and social development with national integration and rural poverty alleviation

olivia is the poor- and television to 1,000 com- est country in munities. He adds that “this South America, is in line with the govern- Bwith its geogra- ment’s aim of bridging the phy and topography repre- technology divide between senting unique challenges. the rural areas and the cit- Prolonged chronic underin- ies” and will open greater vestment has handicapped opportunities for people the full development of the living in remote areas. The country’s rich natural re- satellite will also bring sources, held back indus- economic benefits to busi- trial growth based on adding nesses, in activities such value to those commodities as remote monitoring of oil and made it more difficult to and gas pipelines. A second export. This situation is now satellite is planned specifi- being challenged vigorously cally for natural resources through much higher invest- Vladimir Sánchez Escobar, Minister of prospection. ment in public works and Public Works, Services and Housing Meanwhile, the gradual ex- infrastructure in order to lay tension of the road network is the foundation for sustained and balanced long- facilitating the marketing and export of agricultural term economic and social development. produce, and substantial investments are also be- Over the last few years, Bolivia has been increas- ing made in developing the previously neglected ing its investment in infrastructure, which last year rail network, which aims to take cargo off the roads reached 4.5% of GDP – the highest in South Amer- and open up new opportunities to extract and export ica. This was accompanied by macroeconomic sta- natural resources. One example is the study of a new bility, including moderate inflation, trade and fiscal line to connect the iron ore deposits of Mutún with surpluses, controlled public debt, a solvent finan- Puerto Busch on the border with Brazil. cial system and high levels of reserves. Bolivia is The interconnection of existing rail lines to pro- now investing prudently to accelerate investment vide an east-west link across the whole country is in infrastructure in order to achieve objectives that another ongoing study. Substantial investments are concurrently economic, social and political – have already been made to provide each of Boliv- all in a plan to release the value within untapped ia’s provinces with better air links, with the building resources and to grow the nation’s people skills and improving of regional airports, the extension of and knowledge assets, while simultaneously fa- route networks and investment in new planes for cilitating true national integration. both short and long-haul routes. Deficient national infrastructure has been es- Housing is another priority area. Mr. Sánchez timated to reduce Bolivian productivity by around recognizes that until recently this had been ne- 35%. Electricity, transport and telecoms are the glected and that massive investments need to be key areas for investment and in each one Bolivia made to regenerate Bolivia’s housing stock. He is advancing. Rural areas are being transformed emphasizes that the government prefers to cre- through the growing use of solar power for elec- ate integrated communities with facilities and tricity production and ICT technology. services, thereby bringing to urban areas a sense Vladimir Sánchez Escobar, the minister of pub- of social community that still exists in rural areas. lic works, services and housing, emphasizes that There is substantial ongoing investment in bring- the investment in the first Bolivian satellite, Túpac ing electricity, water and sewerage connections to Katari, has already brought Internet, telephone existing dwellings.

Positive and profitable Just seven years after its creation, BoA has achieved a good level of “democratization” of Bolivia’s air industry

When Boliviana de Aviación, or BoA, the country’s ing dominance in the domestic market. It had also national flag carrier was formed in 2007, it had no transported more than 18,000 tons of cargo with- We are committed to providing airplanes and was comprised of a two-man team out having any cargo planes, a sign of its growing headed by current Managing Director Ronald presence in that market as well. telecommunications with the widest Casso. They were tasked with coming up with the Mr. Casso credits BoA’s surprising success to coverage possible, the latest technology, final design for a company that would replace the its team. “The best asset this company has is troubled Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB) airline, which, a team of very committed people, whom I have and top-flight service quality after 75 years as the national airline, had nosedived the privilege of leading. We had a dream that we into bankruptcy, leaving hundreds unemployed. have managed to share with what is now just over for Bolivia and the world President Evo Morales had promised to “de- 1,000 employees, and they meet that challenge mocratize” the country’s air industry. He was bet- day after day,” he says. ting on BoA to do that, and Today, BoA, which is not to do so without subsidies only Bolivia’s youngest state- and within normal com- owned enterprise, but now mercial conditions. The also its largest, flies to seven airline was formed by de- Bolivian cities, as well as cree on October 24, 2007, various international des- despite its lack of airliners tinations, including Madrid and a miniscule $15 mil- and Miami. Soon it is plan- lion budget. By the end of ning to add Caracas, Ha- 2008, the company had vana and Lima to its routes. managed to get its first It boasts a fleet of 10 Boe- plane but had $4 million ing 737s that make 70 daily in losses. A second plane flights, 90% of which are arrived in early 2009, and domestic, and it is the only by March, the airline was IOSA-certified airline in the up and running, flying do- country, where its competi- mestic routes to La Paz, tive pricing (some 10% lower Cochabamba and Santa than its main competitor, Cruz de la Sierra. Presi- AeroSur) has earned it a 50% dent Morales himself flew share of the market. on BoA’s inaugural flight. Moving forward, BoA will “BoA’s creation, as quite continue to base its strategy often occurs in projects, “BoA’s creation, as around what Bolivians need, stemmed from a crisis, says Mr. Casso. The airline from a need,” says Mr. quite often occurs in received a very clear man- Casso. “The main problem projects, stemmed date from President Mo- facing President Morales’s from a crisis, from a rales: it must be profitable government was the insol- and it must be sustainable, vency of the national air- need” but it must also base its ex- line, LAB, which had been pansion on where Bolivians a symbol of Bolivia for a Ronald Casso, want to go. Its first interna- very long time.” Managing Director of BoA tional destinations were not BoA managed to get a a coincidence: the largest third plane later in 2009, and another in 2010, Bolivian expat communities are in Buenos Aires, when it added international flights to Buenos Ai- Madrid, São Paulo and Washington D.C. res and São Paulo. By that year, it was making a Now, with the help of a Chinese loan, the air- profit, and since then, it has never looked back. line is looking to connect isolated communities “All the years since have been positive,” adds at home with a regional network, using 50-seater the airline chief. “In 2012, revenues reached $12 planes that will connect nine Bolivian cities that, million. By 2013, we had assets valued at $55 until now, have gone without air transport. million, so we had tripled our capital in five years “Democratizing air transport for us means that of operation.” Bolivians do not feel restricted by or left out from By mid-year 2014, the airline had transported air transport,” concludes BoA’s director. “There more than 6 million passengers, 4.6 million of was a social barrier with air transport in Bolivia, which were Bolivians, testimony to BoA’s grow- and our goal is to break that barrier down.” ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Bolivia / P4 Bolivia is investing to develop rich potential for visitors TOURISM The Andean nation’s attractive cultural heritage becomes accessible to tourists as infrastructure improves

There are 36 recognized ethnic groups in Bolivia today La Paz is Bolivia’s capital and third most-populous city Monolito del Fraile. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism

Arbol de Piedra in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve One of the Radisson Plaza Hotel La Paz’s 153 rooms and suites The Radisson offers versatile meeting and banquet facilities

olivia is not a conventional tourist des- ing that much more needs to be done to open up tination. The country is relatively little- the whole country for tourism – even though, de- known and quite different from all its spite its difficulties, tourism is already the country’s BSouth American neighbors, not only in fourth-biggest revenue source. geography and cultures, but also in its range of The government has set up the Bolivian National Bolivia’s unique cultural ethnic identities. The country’s cultural diversity is Tourism Agency to channel development to areas perhaps partly a product of its diverse geography, that do not have adequate infrastructure, so as to which ranges from the mountains of the Andes and complement the work of private operators that are identity and heritage the high plateau of the capital, La Paz, to the tropi- currently creating jobs in areas already popular cal lowlands of Santa Cruz. It embraces both South with tourists. Pablo Groux Canedo, Minister of Culture and Tourism, speaks America’s largest lake and the upper basin of the The potential for business and conference tour- Amazon. Yet the country received only 1.2 million ism and for regional and international conventions candidly about Bolivia’s powerful tourism potential tourists last year, the overwhelming majority of is also now being tackled. Enrique Pacheco, owner whom were from other South American countries. of the Radisson Plaza Hotel La Paz, one of the coun- Q. You studied po- ple is the Dakar Rally However, that figure shows a 17% increase over the try’s few international-standard chain hotels, em- litical science but your which was, for the first previous year and is already four times the volume phasizes the need to invest in attracting business ministerial responsi- time, held in Bolivia in of tourists at the turn of the century. and professional conventions to the bilities seem to be in January 2014. We see So the great secret is at last being capital, perhaps by offering packag- a field that is quite dif- events such as this one discovered, surely and steadily. es combining a convention stay with ferent. What is the link as complementary to Much of the country is well off the a tourism element. between the two? our mission of helping beaten track and it is perhaps not Mr. Pacheco notes the success A. I have always been people to discover the surprising that the Dakar Rally 2014 of the G77 + China summit meet- concerned with the diverse wealth of this was held in Bolivia, a professional ing held in June in Santa Cruz as question of the Boliv- country. and breakneck version of the kind well as the recent opening of the ian identity in a country of adventure tourism that the coun- Convention Center at El Alto in the with at least three doz- Q. What has been try is increasingly attracting. People suburbs of La Paz, and hopes that en distinct ethnicities. the result of your plan who are looking for something very business of this kind will also be Political Science helps in terms of tourist different would almost certainly generated for La Paz. one to understand how, numbers? not be disappointed with hiking in Mr. Pacheco says that there has but also why a state A. In 2013, we had the Cordillera Real, with its several been strong growth in conventional functions as it does. I 1.2 million foreign peaks of over 20,000 feet (6,100 me- tourism, mostly from neighboring have always felt that tourists, an increase of ters). A real adventure holiday would www.boltur.gob.bo countries but also from Europe and understanding cultural 17% over the previous then combine that with mountain- Asia, although not, however, tour- identity is as important year and approximate- biking on the world’s most dangerous road, the Yun- ism which is more upmarket and able to support to a nation as other ly four times as many gas road from La Paz, almost 12,000 feet up, right the operation of international-class hotels. He adds areas of ministerial as at the turn of the down to the Amazonian rainforest. that he is actively promoting, through the Radisson responsibilities and, in a diverse “Tourism is the century. We expect to do even Very different but equally spectacular are Lake hotel group, the attraction of Bolivia as a destina- country like Bolivia, essential for better this year with events Titicaca, also the area from which the ancestors of tion for international conferences and conventions. our self-discovery. natural operating such as the Dakar Rally 2014 the Inca people originated and the site of impressive He emphasizes that there exists a real opportunity When our first indigenous- arm of Bolivia’s and the G77 meeting. pre-Incan ruins, and the almost surreal celestial for Bolivia to develop several different kinds of tour- race president, Evo Morales, heritage, of its Many of our tourists come blue of the 4,000 square mile (10,360 square meter) ism and that none ought to be neglected. was elected in 2007, I was given from Europe, particularly from salt flats of the Salar de Uyuni. Few countries would It is clear that Bolivia has much to offer all po- the portfolio of development of rich diversity France and Germany, and from possess even one natural wonder to rival these, but tential tourism markets, in many ways the country cultures (in the plural), with this of peoples and Asia, especially from Japan. Bolivia has tourist marvels in abundance. has an abundance of riches waiting to be devel- inter-cultural concept, within cultures” Many people also come from It is only in the last few years that Bolivia has oped. Investments in infrastructure for all kinds of our national identity as Boliv- Israel. Tourism from the U.S. is started to invest the proceeds from the develop- tourism are now being made and the rewards are ians, being recognized as part of Pablo Groux Canedo, starting up again, after the po- ment of its natural resources wealth into develop- being seen in the higher number of tourists now the essence of the state. Minister of Culture and litical differences our countries ment across the whole of the country, with particu- discovering the country, besides in the higher pro- Tourism have experienced, with many lar emphasis on building a modern road network file resulting from staging prestigious international Q. What was the reason for Americans coming to see a and on bringing telecommunications connections events and gatherings. The potential is there, just bringing together culture with country that perhaps intrigues to more remote areas. It is therefore not surpris- waiting to be developed. tourism in one ministry? Q. Was the creation of the Bo- them politically, often just to see A. When some of the livian National Tourism Agency for themselves how things really country’s natural resourc- part of the same plan? are in this small country. es industries were re- A. In a sense, certainly. Bo- nationalized, we all felt that we livia has a number of tourist Q. Minister, please tell us were recovering part of our- destinations that are fairly well what are your hopes and ambi- selves, part of our own rich- known, such as Lake Titicaca, tions for the future of culture ness as a people. The benef,its the upper Amazon basin, ruins in Bolivia. were plain for everyone to see, from the Inca era and so on, A. There are many, many in economic terms. With tour- and these destinations are fairly things still to do. I would love to ism, yes, we saw the economic well covered by private opera- see everywhere in the country a benefits but there was a kind of tors who are successfully gen- greater awareness of the value void, something was missing in erating business and jobs, and of the richness of our culture the essence, the raw material the agency will take nothing and diversity in a world ever of this economic activity. We away from them. more homogeneous. I would felt that tourism was the natu- However, there are many des- love the media everywhere to ral operating arm of Bolivia’s tinations where private opera- do more to help preserve and heritage, of its rich diversity of tors are not present but which value different cultures and peoples and cultures. also have great potential and identities rather than telling We identified heritage, nature the agency will be thus aiming us every last detail of the latest and identity as being where Bo- to widen the range of options for scandal or crime. livia would be able to provide a tourism in the country. While we One thing I do know is that distinct experience for tourists are concentrating on heritage, people coming to visit Bolivia and our national tourism slogan, nature and identity to attract will discover and enjoy an expe- “Bolivia te espera” or “Bolivia tourists from other countries, rience which is still unknown by awaits you,” reflects this confi- we are also very open to new many, in a country different from dence that our country is truly opportunities and the agency is others where culture and tour- different from others. part of this approach. An exam- ism mingle uniquely.