Contestation and Social Change: The Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization in Bolivia (Project Brief)

Drawing on the revenues from its rich mineral resources, the Bolivian state has recently managed to increase public revenue and improve performance on several social indicators. At the root of these changes was the social mobilization that led up to oil and gas sector nationalization in 2006. Creating fiscal space and setting social spending prominently on the policy agenda, the fierce contestation around the distribution of hydrocarbon rents in the early 2000s led to a new social contract, in the form of a new constitution in 2009. The Bolivian state is pursuing its development strategy in a context of ongoing decentralization while facing great challenges in institutional development and social provision.

For more information on the project, see Project Brief 1. The Project Briefs of the case studies of Zimbabwe and Uganda are available online.

This brief has been prepared by Katja Hujo and Harald Braumann.

UNRISD Project Briefs pose questions, flag ideas and contribute knowledge that can improve the quality of development debates, policy and practice. They provide a concise summary of an UNRISD research project, situating it within wider social development debates; outlining its focus, objectives and methodology; and highlighting interim findings.