Landlocked Bolivia

The NYT has a great story on Bolivia’s quest to regain access to the ocean, which it has been denied since it lost territory as a result of the War of the Pacific (1879-1884). President Morales has urged the Organization of American States to help broker a solution (such as Chile granting a small strip of land) but hasn’t received much response, and although his relationship with President Bachelet seems to be positive, there isn’t much appetite in Chile to give anything back.

Before reading this story, I had not known that there is a formal organization called the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries, which has 31 members and which Bolivia is currently leading. Morales has made the issue a prominent part of his speeches.

The picture accompanying the story is poignant: the sad and lonely looking Vice Admiral of the Bolivian Navy, which is relegated to patrolling rivers and Lake Titicaca.