Attempted Economic Reform and Innovation in Bolivia under Antonio José de Sucre, 1825-1828

Abstract

Mz /[UCH of Bolivian history, both before and after political independence, has been bizarre or tragic. Colonial Potosi, the exploits of the unique General Mariano Melgarejo, and the futile Chaco War come to mind immediately. This essay, in contrast, deals with a period of Bolivian history which is neither bizarre nor tragic, and which has therefore attracted little attention. Today, however, when increasing interest is being focused on economic and social development, the administration of Antonio Jose de Sucre, 1825-1828, takes on new significance. No longer the exclusive preserve of the antiquarian, it now concerns those who want to understand the roots of the present-day economic and social problems which plague Bolivia and Latin America as a whole. The meaningful economic development of Bolivia began late in the nineteenth century. A growing world industrial market for metals and increasing international investment brought the development of Bolivian silver and tin mining on a large scale. Industrialized mining was followed by railroad expansion, growing urban centers in need of modern services, increased financial contact with the outside world, the beginnings of industrialization, labor organization, and limited social reforms. But there had been much earlier attempts to start this sort of economic development in Bolivia, attempts which have been largely ignored until now. The first of these took place during the Sucre administration, which sought to transform the financial structure of Upper Peru, revive the silver-mining industry, and enact the social and educational reforms necessary to transform the erstwhile colony into a modern nation. Bolivia's first years of existence as an independent state were obviously important, for new governmental patterns, economic systems,