Bolivian Independence Day in Panama

August 7, 2015

Panma., like Bolivia, is one of the Bolivarian Republics -- the countries that became independent from Spain as part of the movement led by Simón Bolívar -- so the expected place to celebrate the anniversary of Bolivia's August 6, 1825 declaration of independence is Plaza Bolivar in the Casco Viejo, with wreaths to be laid at the monument to the Great Liberator. — Panama, like Bolivia, is one of the Bolivarian Republics — the six countries that became independent from Spain as part of the movement led by Simón Bolívar — so the place to celebrate the anniversary of Bolivia’s August 6, 1825 declaration of independence was Plaza Bolivar in the Casco Viejo, with wreaths laid at the monument to the Great Liberator.

Bolivian Independence Day in Panama

photos by José F. Ponce

We don’t get Bolivian ships coming through the Panama Canal. Bolivia has been landlocked since losing its access to the sea in the 19th century War of the Pacific and its relations with Chile in particular have been tense ever since. There are Panamanians who support Bolivia’s cause about this, the case is before the World Court and we may yet live to see a Bolivian container ship in the locks.

Rich in minerals but repeatedly looted for that reason, Bolivia has been one of the poorest countries in the Americas. These days things are looking up. President Evo Morales, the first indigenous head of state in the overwhelmingly indigenous country, is now into his third term and there is no allegation of fraud or coercion in his election. He brought those who speak Aymara as a first language like he does, others whose native tongue is Quechua and those who speak Spanish first, highlanders and lowlanders, into a new constitutional deal that renamed the country The Plurinational State of Bolivia, and has overseen some good times in which poverty has gone way down.

There have been ups and downs — lowland secessionists who wanted to take the parts of the country with the oil and gas out of Bolivia, people who objected to a road project through a wilderness area and those who don’t think that the lithium deposits in their region should belong to the whole nation have in their turns been quite assertive — and allegations that the United States was trying to meddle in these disputes and with Bolivian laws about coca have strained relations with the Americans. Morales’s party took some setbacks in recent local elections and he attributed the result to corruption among his followers and instead of throwing a fit he vowed to do something about that. Bolivia’s economy is better than that of its neighbors and with the world’s biggest lithium deposits that will be much in demand for electric car batteries the future is looking positive.

Here in the Casco Viejo members of Panama’s small Bolivian community, diplomats, Panamanian friends of Bolivia, kids from the Escuela Republica de Bolivia and the Escuela Simon Bolivar across the street from the plaza gathered to honor our fellow republic. Dignitaries spoke and a National Police band played. Bolívar’s dream lives.