The White Gold Politics
Why President Overthrown? Why Politics of Environmentalism? Why Bolivia?
A Glance in Tranquility Wins...!
The Large Deposit
Lithium batteries are the most energetic ever created and have inspired hopes that electric vehicles can help reverse climate change, as well as expectations of a boom in “white petroleum” or “white gold,” as boosters refer to lithium. Its goal with lithium was to produce raw materials and battery components as part of a plan to foster domestic industrialization. Bolivia has at least a quarter of the world’s lithium, including the single largest deposit in the Salar de Uyuni, a salt pan so large it can be seen from space.
Bolivian political crisis
The 2019 Bolivian political crisis occurred on 10 November 2019, after 21 days of civil protests following the disputed 2019 Bolivian general election. The elections took place after a referendum to amend the Bolivian constitution, which limits the number of terms to two, was rejected in 2016, but the Supreme Court of Justice ruled that all public offices would have no term limits despite what was established in the constitution and allowing Morales to run for a fourth term.
The Political Turn
Lithium-rich Bolivia has been thrown into political turmoil after its longstanding president, socialist Evo Morales, was exiled to Argentina amid vote-rigging accusations. Due to the expected exponential growth in demand for battery technology in recent years, of which lithium is a component, interest in Bolivia’s untapped reserves has skyrocketed. However, unlike neighboring countries Argentina and Chile, which both have lithium mines in production, efforts to develop these resources have so far amounted to little.
The Deals
Bolivia’s abundant lithium reserves are mostly located within the country’s spectacular salt flats, called the Salar de Uyuni. The area, which is popular with tourists, is home to the largest salt flats in the world. There were plans agreed by a privately-owned German firm called ACI Systems Alemania (ACISA) and Bolivia’s state-owned lithium company, YLB, to develop a lithium mine in the region. However, these had resulted in widespread protests as locals said the agreement to build a mine, an electric vehicle battery factory, and a lithium hydroxide plant did not deliver enough local benefits. Eventually, the project was shelved. At the time, Morales said the government had gone with China over the others because the country has the world’s biggest demand for lithium.
The Tranquility Wins Link
The reason for the overthrown and economic move for lithium links with each other due to the socialistic move of the government in deal with allies turned to take a step for corporates for the lithium need for future manufacture of batteries. The coming years can be high in the hands of electric mobility and the green side of transportation which vitally depends on lithium. This is the reason why a great political and economical finger points the country Bolivia.
Hope it ignites your thought on Bolivia
