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Bolivia is a South American nation with nine million inhabitants, indigenous cultures and the world's largest supply of the coca plant -- the key ingredient in the production of cocaine.
Many rural coca farmers depend on the crop for their livelihood. But the war on drugs now threatens age-old traditions, such as making pasta, toothpaste and shampoo from the coca leaves. Bolivian leader Evo Morales recently expelled the U.S. ambassador and drug enforcement agents from the country, throwing the future of U.S.-Bolivian relations into question.
Worldfocus correspondent Ivette Feliciano and producers Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer travel to the crisp quiet of Bolivia's crystalline salt flats, which sit on top of one of nearly half of the world's reserves of lithium -- a metal crucial for electric cars and other alternative energy technology. They explore how Bolivia is protecting its extraction rights and how foreign companies are vying for this natural resource.
"On the Ground in Bolivia" is a collection of signature videos, interviews, online radio shows, blogger perspectives and web original videos.
On the Ground in Bolivia
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Morales victorious as Bolivians approve new consitution
In Latin America, voters in Bolivia have approved a new constitution, and with it, says the leftist president Evo Morales, Bolivians have "begun to reach true equality."
Historic elections not “only in America”
A Worldfocus contributing blogger takes issue with the notion that Barack Obama's election could happen "only in America," pointing to several historic elections in Latin America.
A Worldfocus contributing blogger describes Bolivia's current chaos and its implications for the United States.