Bolivia is a land of gaunt mountains, cold desolate plains, and semi-tropical lowlands situated in the central part of South America. Straddling the Andes mountains, Bolivia's 424,165 square miles occupy an area about the size of Texas and California combined. It is a big country, but with a population of only 7.9 million. About 15 percent are of European heritage; 25 percent are Aymara Indians, 30 percent are Quechua Indians, and 30 percent are mestizos (of mixed Indian and European ancestry). Although Bolivia is rich in mineral resources—petroleum, natural gas, tin, lead, zinc, copper, and gold—it is an economically depressed country, with 66 percent of the population living below the poverty line. Most of the population works in agriculture, which is generally low paying, while a small number work in the mines. In 1998, Bolivia had a national debt of some 4.1 billion in U.S. dollars and an...