About Bolivia

Bolivia's rich natural resources include the second-largest natural gas reserves in South America. Bolivia is one of the world's largest producers of coca, the raw material for cocaine. For Bolivia's poorest farmers, coca is often the only source of income. Control over natural resources, greater or lesser autonomy for local governments and indigenous communities, access to health care, and the government´s role in the economy are all issues addressed by reforms in the new Bolivian constitution, passed in January 2009. Over the coming months, the Bolivian Congress will debate and vote on implementing legislation to bring the new constitution to life. In December 2009 voters will again go to the ballot box, this time to elect a President, a vote that will surely be a referendum on the success or failure of the Morales reforms.

Of all countries in South America, Bolivia has the largest proportion of indigenous people. Of its 9 million residents, 30% are Quechua, 25% are Aymara, 30% are mestizo, and 15% are white. The historic abuse, neglect, and marginalization suffered by the Aymara and Quechua peoples form the heart of the problems Evo Morales, Bolivia´s first indigenous president, seeks to address. His reforms are strongly supported in the Western Highlands, the region dominated by the indigenous majority whose poverty qualifies this country as the poorest in South America.

The Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Boliviana- IELB), a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), is a vibrant expression of Lutheranism that has 22,000 members. Founded in 1938 by the World Mission Prayer League (WMPL) among Aymara Indians in the community of Mocomoco, the church celebrated its 70th anniversary on September 9, 2008. Approximately 80 percent of IELB members are in rural and 20 percent in urban areas of Bolivia. Members are scattered mostly in the chilly Andean highlands in and around La Paz and Lake Titicaca, as well as in the hot valleys encountered as the geography descends from over 4,000 meters (over 12,000 feet) down to the jungle at sea level. It is primarily indigenous lay men and women who lead and minister to these congregations in Spanish, Aymara and Quechua.