Skip to main content
Bolivia: repression is intensifying nine months on from the lithium coup
KEN LIVINGSTONE looks at the motivations behind the illegal ‘regime change’ in Bolivia last year
riot bolivia 19

IN NOVEMBER 2019 President Trump welcomed the coup in Bolivia that toppled its democratically elected president, Evo Morales, as “one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere.”

But, in fact, like the 1953 coup in Iran or the slew of other coups that the US has supported, funded or organised in the last seven decades, at stake was the control and exploitation of scarce natural resources — in this case Bolivia’s reserves of lithium.

Lithium is a crucial component of the batteries used in electric cars, as well as computers, smartphones, and other equipment. As sales of such vehicles and devices increase, lithium’s value is set to rise steeply as supplies strain to keep up with demand.

Donate to the Fighting Fund
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
seoul
Features / 29 July 2023
29 July 2023
It is mayors living close to the people who understand what is needed to tackle climate change better than national politicians in their private jets and chauffeur-driven cars, writes KEN LIVINGSTONE
misiones
Features / 1 July 2023
1 July 2023
With the 25th anniversary of his first election approaching this year, KEN LIVINGSTONE writes on the achievements and legacy of an important figure in Latin America’s history
school meal
Features / 16 June 2023
16 June 2023
KEN LIVINGSTONE writes on the importance of devolution – and using devolved powers for progressive ends
Orgreave
Features / 19 May 2023
19 May 2023
Wide-ranging attacks on ‘enemies within’ are reminiscent of Thatcher’s assault on the miners, GLC, and black and Irish communities in the '80s, writes KEN LIVINGSTONE
Similar stories
Former President Evo Morales participates in an offering to
Features / 25 February 2025
25 February 2025
After years of struggle in the MAS party, the mass movement of left-wing peasants and workers has founded a new party, with former president Evo Morales as its candidate for the summer’s elections, writes CINDY FORSTER
OUSTED: A man holds a sign that reads in Spanish: ‘Evo [Mo
Science and Society / 20 November 2024
20 November 2024
Lithium is crucial for batteries — but because deposits form only under rare geological conditions, its extraction is a geopolitical flashpoint between the imperial West and the rest of the world, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
An armored vehicle and military police form outside the gove
Opinion / 29 June 2024
29 June 2024
Indigenous rights activist MIRIAM AMANCAY COLQUE gives her thoughts on the dramatic events in La Paz earlier this week which saw a thwarted attempt to overthrow President Arce