is a republic. The Congreso Nacional (National Congress) has two chambers. The Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies) has 130 members elected to five year terms, seventy from single-member districts (circunscripciones) and sixty by proportional representation

total of 193 coups d'état from independence until 1981, thereby averaging a change of government once every ten months. Credit for the past quarter century of relative political stability is largely attributed to President Víctor Paz Estenssoro, who ceded power peacefully after cutting hyperinflation which reached as high as 14, 000 percent.[36] [edit] Military A SK-105, the main battle tank of the Bolivian army.The Bolivian military comprises three branches: an Army, Navy (despite being landlocked) and Air Force. The legal age for voluntary admissions is 18; however, when the numbers are small the government recruits anyone as young as 14.[37] It is estimated

Main article: Culture of Bolivia See also: Music of Bolivia and Public holidays in Bolivia Festival time in SucreBolivian culture has been heavily influenced by the Quechua, the Aymara, as well as by the popular cultures of Latin America as a whole. The cultural development is divided into three distinct periods: precolumbian

colonial, and republican. Important archaeological ruins, gold and silver ornaments, stone monuments, ceramics, and weavings remain from several important pre-Columbian cultures. Major ruins include Tiwanaku, El Fuerte de Samaipata, Incallajta, and Iskanawaya. The country abounds in other sites that are difficult to reach and have seen little archaeological exploration.[29] Carnaval de Oruro 2007The Spanish brought their own tradition of religious art which, in the hands of local native and mestizo builders and artisans, developed into a rich

Bolivian artists of stature in the twentieth century include Guzmán de Rojas, Arturo Borda, María Luisa Pacheco, Roberto Mamani Mamani, Alejandro Mario Yllanes, and Marina Núñez del Prado. Bolivia has a rich folklore. Its regional folk music is distinctive and varied. The "devil dances" at the annual carnival of Oruro are one of the great folkloric events of South America, as is the lesser known carnival at Tarabuco.[29] The best known of the various festivals found in the country is the "Carnaval de Oruro", which was among the first 19 "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, " as proclaimed by the UNESCO in May 2001. Entertainment includes football, which is the

known as "Mestizo Baroque". The colonial period produced not only the paintings of Pérez de Holguín, Flores, Bitti, and others but also the works of skilled but unknown stonecutters, woodcarvers, goldsmiths, and silversmiths. An important body of Native Baroque religious music of the colonial period was recovered in recent years and has been performed internationally to wide acclaim since 1994

^ Fagan, Brian M. 'The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World: Unlocking the Secrets of Past Civilizations'. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2001.
^ Kolata, Alan L. 'The Tiwankau: Portrait of an Andean Civilization'. Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge, 1993. p. 145
^ Kolata, Alan L. Valley of the Spirits: A Journey into the Lost Realm of the Aymara. John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, 1996.
^ a b McAndrews, Timothy L. et al. 'Regional Settlement Patterns in the Tiwanaku Valley of Bolivia'. Journal of Field Archaeology 24 (1997): 67-83.
^ Isbell