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.

Juan de Dios Fernández Credit: Franz Chávez

Q&A: Bolivia Limits Size of Estates in Land Reform Struggle

By Franz Chávez
Voters in Bolivia, one of the countries with the highest concentration of land in the world, decided in Sunday’s referendum to limit the size of large landed estates, or "latifundia", to 5,000 hectares.

BOLIVIA: New Constitution Marks Break with the Past

By Franz Chávez
Bolivia’s voters approved a new constitution in Sunday’s referendum with around 60 percent support, ushering in further social changes under President Evo Morales, who will now be able to run for reelection in December, to a single consecutive term.

BOLIVIA: Christian Groups Stir Up Debate over New Constitution

By Franz Chávez
"Did you know they want to throw God out of Bolivia?" asks a television spot frequently broadcast by opponents of leftwing Bolivian President Evo Morales ahead of the Jan. 25 referendum on constitutional reform.

ECONOMY-BOLIVIA: Strong 2008 Performance, Uneasy Start to 2009

By Franz Chávez
The Bolivian government of Evo Morales enjoyed a third consecutive year of strong economic growth in 2008, but business leaders warn that the drop in commodity prices will hurt export revenues and lead to a rise in unemployment in the months to come.

BOLIVIA: Diplomatic Clashes with US Worry Business

By Franz Chávez
The United States’s decision to suspend tariff benefits for Bolivian imports as a result of the confrontation with the government of Evo Morales has generated widespread uncertainty among the business and working communities of the Bolivian capital’s satellite city of El Alto.
Aymara traders in El Alto, Bolivia. Credit: Franz Chávez/IPS.

BOLIVIA: Aymara Traders Mix Tradition and Modern-Day Savvy

By Franz Chávez
Quietly and inconspicuously, Aymara indigenous traders are combining pre-Columbian traditions and modern-day survival skills to find unique ways of creating wealth and sustenance beyond the confines of textbook economic theory.

LATIN AMERICA: Indigenous Journalists Plant a Seed

By Franz Chávez
Journalists from indigenous communities in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Guatemala and Bolivia came together in La Paz to take the first step towards creating a network to work together and support each other.

DRUGS-BOLIVIA: DEA Ousted – What Now?

By Franz Chávez
Relations between Bolivia and the United States have reached a new low over La Paz's recent decision to expel the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The fight against drug trafficking and resources to rehabilitate addicts are also in jeopardy, experts warn.

BOLIVIA: Congress Approves Date for Vote on New Constitution

By Franz Chávez
The Bolivian Congress ratified on Tuesday the new constitution drafted by a constituent assembly, as demanded by 100,000 government supporters who converged on the capital to demand that it be sent to a Jan. 25 referendum.

BOLIVIA: Morales Leads March for New Constitution

By Franz Chávez
Bolivian President Evo Morales was at the head of a march that set off Monday to the capital from Caracollo, a town 200 km to the south, to press Congress to schedule a referendum on the new constitution that has been drafted by a constituent assembly.

POLITICS-BOLIVIA: Back to the Trenches

By Franz Chávez
After failing to reach an agreement in talks with the rightwing opposition governors, Bolivian President Evo Morales is redoubling his efforts to secure a call for a referendum on the new constitution, which would introduce far-reaching social and economic changes to empower indigenous people and would make it possible for presidents to run for a second consecutive term.

BOLIVIA: Water, Energy Everywhere – But Not for Locals

By Franz Chávez
Peasant farmers in 42 villages along the Zongo valley in western Bolivia stand by and watch as the flourishing electricity industry harnesses the swift-flowing river while, paradoxically, their own farms are languishing from lack of water and energy.

BOLIVIA: Opposition Accepts Morales’s Call for Talks

By Franz Chávez
Opposition governors in Bolivia accepted President Evo Morales’s call for talks aimed at pulling the country out of the current crisis, in which at least 15 supporters of the leftwing government have been killed.

BOLIVIA: Governor Arrested for “Porvenir Massacre”

By Franz Chávez
The governor of the northern Bolivian province of Pando was detained by the military Tuesday and is being flown to the capital to face prosecution for allegedly instigating the killings of at least 15 local indigenous people.

BOLIVIA: Deaths in the Amazon

By Franz Chávez
The Bolivian government declared martial law in the northern province of Pando after as many as 15 indigenous supporters of President Evo Morales were killed by rightwing protesters near the town of Cobija.

BOLIVIA: U.S. Ambassador Expelled for Allegedly Supporting Violent Opposition

By Franz Chávez
Bolivian President Evo Morales has declared U.S. Ambassador to La Paz Philip Goldberg "persona non grata", after accusing him of aiding and abetting pro-autonomy opposition groups that are blocking highways and occupying government buildings, reducing the supply of natural gas to Brazil.

BOLIVIA: “Twenty Families Are Obstructing Governability” – Expert

By Franz Chávez
The Bolivian government's determination to hold a referendum, by presidential decree, on a new constitution that it hopes will "re-found" the nation as a "plurinational state," has ceded to pressure from the rightwing opposition. The vote has been postponed several weeks, and Congress will be setting the rules.

BOLIVIA: Divisions Emerge in Opposition Strategy

By Franz Chávez
Major discrepancies emerged among the rightwing authorities and landowning and business interests opposed to Bolivia’s leftist President Evo Morales in a 10-hour meeting held to coordinate a strategy aimed at the economic suffocation of the government.

BOLIVIA: Beef Producers’ Boycott – Latest Opposition Strategy

By Franz Chávez
A beef producers’ boycott declared by agribusiness interests in eastern Bolivia is the latest attempt by the pro-autonomy opposition movement to undermine the government of Bolivian President Evo Morales.

BOLIVIA: After Recall Vote, Opposition Rejects Morales’ Call for Unity

By Franz Chávez
The opposition in Bolivia plans to redouble its efforts against President Evo Morales, who won strong backing - 63 percent - in Sunday’s recall referendum, according to exit polls.

BOLIVIA: Summit Cancelled Due to Social Unrest

By Franz Chávez
A meeting between Presidents Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Cristina Fernández of Argentina and Evo Morales of Bolivia was called off because of violent protests by anti-government demonstrators in the southern city of Tarija, while clashes between miners and the police left two dead and 30 injured in the western province of Oruro.
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