Bolivia's Mythical Sea Access

Bolivia is a land-locked country, but that hasn't always been the case. There was a time (which ended in 1883-84) when Bolivia enjoyed access to the Pacific Ocean. A time that most Bolivians would like to see return. Many of them think about this quite a bit, as I have come to discover. How did they lose their access to the sea? Like most countries that lose territory, it happened in a war, against Chile. (As a side note, Bolivia has sadly lost all of the wars it has fought. And since its independence in 1825 it lost over half of its territory to neighboring countries.) What I hadn't realized is that before Chile gained that territory, it was divided in two parts by Bolivia's territory - so there was Chile, Bolivia, then Chile again. I am sure the Chileans were very happy to see their country become one undivided territory. But back to Bolivia's sea access. The topic has come up several times in conversations I have had with the guides or locals we have met on some of our trips. The predominant view seems to be that had Bolivia not lost its sea access, the country would be more developed, richer, and better off than it is currently. One man kept talking about some "impressive" (according to him) mine in Chile that would have been on Bolivia's territory had they not lost it. Mostly, there is a sentiment of great loss and hope that what has been lost will be recovered one day. (This monument pays homage to this hope.) Bolivia still has its navy for example, stationed presently on Lake Titicaca.

The question of whether Bolivia would have been better off had it not lost its sea access is a contentious one. Of course, one can see how having cheaper channels for transportation of goods, especially for export and import would help. How not having to depend on the whims, policies, and sometimes the good will of neighboring countries would help. On the other hand, however, all of that matters little if these resources and advantages (and the rest of the economy) are not managed rationally and smartly, governed by the right policies and their thorough implementation. So, as much as some would like to believe that things could have been very different, I am afraid that they probably would not have been that different. (But, a counterfactual is hard to prove either way.)

However, I can relate to Bolivians' sense of loss. Bulgaria lost much of its territory to neighbors during wars to end up with the approximately 111,000 square kilometers its area covers currently. We can try to blame many things on history - if it wasn't for the Ottomans, then the Communists... and before them all, the Byzantines. But, at the end of the day, history only plays a role in teaching us (hopefully) not to repeat the mistakes of the past. It is what we do at the present moment that matters. And instead of wallowing in hopes that events of the past may be reversed we should take charge of what is happening right now. I think Bolivia has to stop yearning for the sea and focus its energies on the resources currently at its disposal. Its lithium reserves in the Salar de Uyuni for example, which apparently make up 50% or more of the lithium reserves in the world. And its amazing nature resources - there are so many opportunities for real eco-tourism, for carbon offsets, and much more. The sad thing for me to see is that among all this plenty, the majority of people here still live in poverty. But I guess this situation describes many developing countries. Noticing it is not hard; it's fixing it that's the tough part.