Reivindicaciones marítimas bolivianas durante la Guerra del Pacífico

Abstract

The article examines the negotiations promoted by the governments of Chile and Bolivia to guarantee the country maritime access during the Pacific War, and the role played by Peru in these negotiations. According to the analysis, the Chilean position, although not precisely a determined one on the subject, was initially favorable to guarantee territorial grants. This changed after the Bolivian withdrawal of its military forces in 1880. This lack of determination of the Chilean authorities, which was due to the interest of privileging dominance over the nitrate regions, was interpreted by the Bolivian authorities as a clear will to negotiate their domination over the provinces of Tacna and Arica, transforming thus the country into an effective border between the two belligerent nations. The role of Bolivia in the conflict lost all relevance after the battle of Tacna, which conditioned its territorial aspirations. With a polarized political class and with a willful perseverance in maintaining its alliance with Peru, the country was unable to reconcile its geostrategic interests with a diplomatic definition that guaranteed a maritime position (or a possible negotiation to obtain it), and whose consequence was the Chilean refusal to make peace on the basis of territorial grants.