Written and researched by an eightman team, this is one of a series of country handbooks being prepared at American University under Department of the Army contract. It attempts to survey the national society of Bolivia through an examination of her social, economic, and political institutions. The work proceeds on the assumption that the 1952 Revolution provided a potential “model of revolutionary change and reform” and gave Bolivia a “significance far out of proportion” to her population and national power.
The book contains a great deal of difficult to obtain statistical data, much of it acquired from AID, which presumably cooperated with the authors. Maps set forth various specialized information and there are nineteen tables and graphs pertaining to the economy. Separate bibliographies with each of the major parts total about thirty pages and, even allowing for some duplication, they furnish an excellent though incomplete list of books on Bolivia which should satisfy the needs of all but advanced specialists. The quality of the cited materials varies widely, however.
Organized topically, the study consists of four main sections devoted to social (300 pages), political (124), and economic (178) characteristics, capped by a brief summary of various facets of the national security. There is some duplication between sections, and they are not always harmonized, as for example the settlement of Bolivia’s southeastern boundary with Argentina, which is incorrectly described on page 60 and then accurately covered on page 403.
The historical portions are generally acceptable, but not always accurate. Gamarra was not, for example, dictator of Peru in 1828 (p. 27), nor was Colombia a member of the Chaco Peace Commission (p. 34). One of the weaker sub-sections treats the historical background of Bolivian foreign relations. Despite these and other minor errors, the book succeeds in presenting a wealth of information.
Health and welfare, education, cultural expression, and religion receive good chapters. There is a strong discussion of ethnic groups and social structure. Constitutional history, governmental structure, political dynamics, and news media are usefully covered. The major section on economics is invaluable.
The authors present their effort as introductory in nature, and make no claims on behalf of their conclusions and judgments, which are modestly termed tentative. An objective, which they have attained, is to draw monographic and unclassified government materials together into a single fairly-complete volume. Unfortunately, the organization leaves the reader the task of sorting the model of revolutionary change out of the mass of information presented. A major shortcoming is that the salient characteristics of the model are never succinctly summarized.
Taken as a whole, nevertheless, this is a fine book which is a must for teachers and students of Bolivian history and development, despite the fact that the 1964 golpe makes some points obsolete. Forthcoming country handbooks on other South American republics will doubtless also prove useful for educators, as well as for the government users for which the studies are primarily intended.
