Bolivia: Burying the oligarchic state

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In the 16th Century, the largest silver lode in history was found in Bolivia, in a place called Potosí. A city was built there that, at the height of production, was one of the most important cities in the world.

Spain exploited the lode for two centuries, and Bolivian silver flowed like a river toward the Crown's coffers. In the 18th Century, the lode was exhausted and all that was left from the extracted riches were the big mansions, the holes in the ground and the word "potosí" as a synonym for opulence.

After independence, Bolivia, like other emerging countries, plunged into anarchy and a series of civil wars. In 1879, it was defeated in the War of the Pacific by a Chile controlled by England.

With that defeat, Bolivia lost its corridor to the sea and its saltpeter fields, and the country plunged into the worst possible misery. Later, the largest copper mine in the world was found in Chuquicamata, in the territory conquered by Chile; this, along with the saltpeter, gave Chile the resources to become the richest country in the region.

In 1900, Simón Patiño discovered deposits of tin. As in the case of silver centuries earlier, it was the largest field of tin ever found. Patiño, crafty and shrewd, declared himself the owner of the field and became The King of Tin. Again, the people of Bolivia reaped no benefits. History repeated itself.

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