Approximately 47 IIRSA projects, including a number of trans-border projects, are slated for implementation in Bolivia. Together these projects require an estimated investment of $7.8 billion. Nearly all of them fall within 3 integration hubs: Andean, Central Interoceanic, and Peru-Brazil-Bolivia. The majority of projects correspond to the road transport, border crossings, and energy sectors (where there is a split between the natural gas and hydroelectric sub-sectors).
Once a supporter of IIRSA, and especially of the set of projects envisaged for the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway hub, the Bolivian Government’s position toward the Initiative is now best described as being in flux. Bolivia is in the middle of a monumental shake-up in its political system, marked by the transition from a generally pro-foreign investment, pro-U.S. series of administrations to one headed by the first indigenous president in the country’s history (the Aymara Evo Morales). Given that Morales was swept into the top office by a groundswell of public discontent with the liberalizing, extractivist economic policies of his predecessors, it is by no means clear that his Administration will choose to continue Bolivia’s participation in IIRSA. On the other hand, as a landlocked and historically isolated country, Bolivia has much to gain from a more symmetrical engagement with its neighbors. Readers are advised to check back on this site periodically for clues as to how Bolivia will position itself with respect to the Initiative.