191th Anniversary of the Independence of Bolivia

On August 5th, we attended the Celebration for the 191th Anniversary of the Independence of Bolivia. The Ambassador Guadalupe Palomeque noted the importance of women’s roles in a country’s growth. In the case of Bolivia, the Constituent Assembly that created the 2009 Constitution indigenous woman was led by an indigenous woman, Silvia Lazarte. As a result there were 20 gender related provisions and there were also laws passed around gender equality. Women’s participation in government and in agencies for external affairs also increased. The Ambassador also spoke about Bolivia’s economic stability. In the past ten years, including  2015, Bolivia has had the highest growth rate in South America. The last quarter of 2016 is expected to have an about 5% growth rate. This economic development is happening alongside policies for poverty alleviation. Bolivia, through its economic model of productive social communities and by implementing policies effectively redistributing income and alleviating discrimination, succeeded in reducing extreme poverty from 38% to 17%. The independence day celebration included traditional Bolivian dance and performances.