Bolivia eyes lithium with hopes to transform economy

Bolivia controls nearly half of the worlds reserves of lithium, a metal crucial for electric cars and other alternative energy technologies. But who will benefit from this discovery is creating controversy.

Worldfocus Ivette Feliciano, Bryan Myers and Ara Ayer venture to the Salar de Uyuni — the largest salt flat in the world, and one that may turn out to be the key to Bolivias future economic growth.

For more on how Bolivia and other developing countries might leverage their resources, listen to our online radio show on resources in the developing world: http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/03/31/tune-in-radio-show-on-resources-in-the-...

Worldfocus video podcast: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/worldfocus

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News & Politics

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• Ara Ayer
• Bolivia
• Bolivia Now
• Bryan Myers
• cars
• energy
• Evo Morales
• Ivette Feliciano
• lithium
• Sean McGinn
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[HelmetVanga]

@juan58102 acording to the newspaper today September 13, 2011 Bolivia and Peru are getting closer with its foreign relations to help Bolivia to use the peruvian port of ilo to export its products and import goods. This means bolivia eventually will stop using Chilean ports for good until unless Chile resolve the international dispute with Bolivia. Regarding Lithium, Bolivia does not need Chile at all since the bolivian government is with talks with Sout Korea, China, and France's Ballore.

[juan58102]

Chile has the technology and the money. It is just matter of talking between both Governments Both can make money , I hope the money will have good benefit for the poor in both countries.

[JaminHell]

one thing i want to say:"i hope no one decides to lick the ground. 5:15-6:02

[SPS148669]

Will they have no choice but to be racist or get conquered and anihilated agian(The Native American population is boom across both south and North America.) It's okay to be racist in on your own continant but when you mass immigrate to another continant and kill people and then be racist????? I don;t care if Whites and Asian hate us Native Americans in there own countries but we should hate them back if there gonna come here to to spread racism.

[PFDLOANS]

By doing that, aren't they just taking part in racism?

The natives of Bolivia are not stupid; on the contrary, they are very intelligent. However, they are very ignorant on how to capitalize on this resource. There is nothing wrong with being ignorant. We are all ignorant in something.

We need foreign help, but I agree we can't exploit our resources like we did with the precious metals and gases we lost to other countries.

Viva BOlivia carajo!

[SPS148669]

And of course that english speaking whitey wants people to come and colonize. The Native Americans can get experience through trial and error just like the Asians in the last century

[SPS148669]

In a recent article the Native Americans in bolivia said they want to ban greedy foreigners/westerners (Whites and Asians) from bolivia because they both have a histroy of facist and racist empires. They want a modern renaisance of the Incan Empire like the Asian empire modernised in the last century while ignoring elite whites. I support that they go solo and show the world Native Americans are not dumb primitive savages when given the chance to modernise on there own.

[hamstenator]

interesting. I hope the people of Bolivia will benifit one way or the other. The World will need lithium big time in the coming years.