Stories written by Franz Chávez
Franz Chávez has been an IPS Correspondent from Bolivia since November 2003. He covers Bolivian current affairs and the country’s dynamic transition from market-oriented government to government supported by indigenous people and low-income sectors of society. To provide adequate coverage of the complex Bolivian reality, especially for an international audience, Chávez tends to focus on those stories generally neglected by mainstream media, putting a special effort into contextualising events in what is currently one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Born in La Paz, Chávez worked for Radio Christal from 1985 to 1990, then joined the editorial team of the local television channels 2, 4, 7 and 11. He is also among the founders of the daily newspapers La Razón, where he worked from 1990 to 1995, La Prensa, where he worked from 1998 to 2001, and La Prensa-Oruro. Chávez studied sociology and communication at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés de La Paz.

BOLIVIA: Amazon Road Plan Has Native People on the March Again

By Franz Chávez
Indigenous people in the eastern lowlands of Bolivia are again preparing to make the long march to La Paz, 21 years after their first such protest. They have vowed to make the trek in defence of their lands, which they say are threatened by plans for a highway to be built with the backing of the Brazilian government.

BOLIVIA: New Food Policy to Boost Small-Scale Farms

By Franz Chávez
In the midst of heated debate with agribusiness, the Bolivian government has launched an agricultural production model aimed at boosting food sovereignty by supporting small farmers, in order to generate surpluses to cushion the swings in international food prices.
Lake Titicaca seen from Copacabana, Bolivia. Credit: Public domain

BOLIVIA-PERU: Major Efforts Still Needed to Clean Up Lake Titicaca

By Franz Chávez
Efforts to combat pollution in Lake Titicaca, which straddles the borders of Peru and Bolivia high up in the Andes mountains, have shown slightly better results in Puno Bay on the Peruvian side, but have barely made a difference in Cohana Bay on the Bolivian side, according to local fishers and specialists interviewed by Tierramérica.

From One Computer to Biggest Microfinance Bank in Bolivia

By Franz Chávez
A non-governmental organisation set up by five women 25 years ago in Bolivia gave birth to what is now the largest microcredit bank in the country, catering to those otherwise marginalised from the financial system.

BOLIVIA: Women Fight Superstition, Machismo in Mining Cooperatives

By Franz Chávez
Hundreds of women belonging to mining cooperatives in Bolivia are striving for the right to mine seams of tin and silver in the country's western highlands, where an age old superstition maintains that the presence of women "scares away" the minerals.

BOLIVIA: Deforestation Devours Rich Ecosystems

By Franz Chávez
Occupations of land for agriculture over the last four decades in Bolivia, whether by individuals or in organised collective initiatives, have led to severe ecological damages and low levels of productivity because of the intensive use of machinery and the failure to take into account the limitations of the soil, said environmentalist Marco Ribera.
Piped water does not reach areas of Cochabamba where families like this one live in houses of clay. Credit: Photostock/IPS

BOLIVIA: Cochabamba Still Thirsty

By Franz Chávez
There is still no apparent solution to the unsatisfied demand for drinking water in Cochabamba, 11 years after this central Bolivian city made international headlines with a popular uprising that halted the privatisation of water service.
Bolivia's Madidi National Park is home to spectacular fauna and flora. Credit: Public domain

BOLIVIA: Madidi National Park and the Curse of Petroleum

By Franz Chávez
Environmental organisations in Bolivia are waging a crusade to protect Madidi National Park against bids to tap into its petroleum reserves, build hydroelectric dams and promote human settlement in the country's largest nature preserve.

Brazil Keeps a Grip on Bolivia’s Natural Gas Industry

By Franz Chávez
Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobrás maintains a solid and vigorous presence in natural gas production within Bolivian territory, even with the nationalisation of petroleum and gas in 2006 led by Bolivia's left-wing President Evo Morales.
The Evo Morales government aims for more state-run enterprises. Credit: Movimiento al Socialismo

ECONOMY-BOLIVIA: Private Sector Gives Way Under Government’s Public Push

By Franz Chávez
The decline in foreign direct investment and the increase in efforts to reverse privatisation processes are feeding debate in Bolivia about President Evo Morales's economic policies, which include the creation of more government- run enterprises.

BOLIVIA: UN Calls for Broad Pact on Children’s Needs

By Franz Chávez
A national pact to focus on the rights of children was proposed by United Nations representative in Bolivia Yoriko Yasukawa on the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Zulema Lehm Credit: Franz Chávez /IPS

Q&A: Native Women in Bolivia’s Lowlands Build Leadership Skills

By Franz Chávez
In the northeastern Bolivian department (province) of Beni, a region of wetlands, savannah and jungle where three-quarters of the population lives in poverty, indigenous women are building a new kind of leadership to help develop their communities.
The Mamoré River. Credit: Franz R. Chávez/IPS

Bolivian Lowlands Get Life-Saving Flood Warning System

By Franz Chávez
An early warning system to alert people living in the lowlands of the northern Bolivian department of Beni about imminent flooding of the mighty Mamoré and Ibare rivers is saving lives, food and goods, and overcoming the uncertainty that led to enormous losses in the past.

BOLIVIA: 69-Year-Old Native Leader Heads 1,500-Km March

By Franz Chávez
Indigenous elder Ernesto Noé, 69, is once again leading his people on a long march from Bolivia's Amazon jungle, to protest environmental damages caused by the oil industry and demand respect for native land rights.

BOLIVIA-US: Drugs, USAID Complicate Relations

By Franz Chávez
Relations between Bolivia and the United States are still on a roller-coaster, two years after Bolivia expelled the U.S. ambassador, with Bolivian President Evo Morales now threatening to kick out the main U.S. government aid agency.
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