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What is the capital city of Bolivia?
7 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Why does Bolivia have two capital cities? When the Spanish colonized the Americas, they divided the continent into viceroyalties – large territories, each governed by a viceroy. Bolivia was initially a part of what was known as the Viceroyalty of Alto Peru which included what are now Peru, Bolivia, and parts of Chile.
In 1825, when Bolivia gained its independence, it was founded as a Republic in the city of Sucre, in the central department (state) of Chuquisaca, and Sucre was established as Bolivia’s capital city.
During this time, silver and tin mining were the country’s largest industries. Tin and silver were being mined in Potosí, west of Sucre. A great number of silver mine owners lived in Sucre and many of the tin mining families lived in La Paz, near which other tin mines were also being run. Silver had already been mined for several centuries. Tin was a newer industry and 70 years later, had surpassed silver mining in terms of income generation for the country.
Bolivia experienced a lot of upheaval during its first decades as a sovereign nation. In 1899 Bolivia’s Liberal Party and Conservative Party clashed in a struggle for political power. Sucre’s silver owners and large landowners supported the conservatives. Tin mine owners threw their support behind the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party overthrew the Conservative party and immediately put in a bid to move the country’s seat of government to La Paz.
In the end, an agreement was reached. La Paz became the seat of the Bolivian government’s executive and legislative branches and the judicial branch remained in Sucre. That’s why today Sucre is often called Bolivia’s constitutional capital and La Paz is called the administrative (and sometimes the de facto) capital.
- ChristyLv 51 decade ago
Sucre (de jure capital, or "legal capital") and La Paz (de facto capital, or "acting capital").
Bolivia is one of the few countries that has two capital cities -- Sucre is home to the judicial branch of the government (making it the constitutional capital), while the president and congress are stationed in La Paz (the administrative capital).
It's hard to say exactly why Bolivia's government is split into two places, but it seems to have something to do with the Liberal Party of 1899. According to the extensive Bolivia - A Country Study from the Library of Congress, a political power struggle and an economic shift led to the establishment of two capitals. In 1899 Bolivia's Liberal Party overthrew the Conservative Party during the Federal Revolution. Tin mining, which was centered around La Paz, had become a big, new money-maker for the country, and tin entrepreneurs supported the Liberals.
Until that time, Sucre had been the country's capital. The more established silver mine owners and landowners near Sucre were major supporters of the Conservatives. After their victory, the Liberals wanted to move the capital from Sucre to La Paz, where their supporters were located. They were partially successful. The presidency and congress moved to La Paz, but the Conservatives managed to keep Sucre as the legal capital and the home of the Supreme Court of Justice.
- 1 decade ago
La Paz became the seat of the Bolivian government’s executive and legislative branches and the judicial branch remained in Sucre. That’s why today Sucre is often called Bolivia’s constitutional capital and La Paz is called the administrative (and sometimes the de facto) capital.
Source(s): http://www.boliviabella.com/capital.html - How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- 1 decade ago
it has 2 apparently
Sucre
and
La Paz
the countries seat of government is La Paz though (main capital) : )
Source(s): http://www.boliviabella.com/capital.html
