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Bolivia Appoints Ex-Defense Minister as Chile Consul

On Monday, March 1st the ex-defense minister Walker San Miguel was appointed as Bolivia’s consul to Chile in the wake of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile on February 28th. After swearing in, San Miguel said, “In a few hours I will be on an express flight to Santiago, Chile to coordinate aid to Bolivians in Chile and help provide whatever Chilean authorities need. Bolivia is putting what little it has at Chile’s disposition t help in these moments of disaster to our neighboring country.”

On Sunday, February 28th, Bolivian Government Minister Iván Canelas announced that Bolivia is sending 60 tons of fresh water to Chilean disaster victims on a military plane. Canelas said, “We will share what little we have just like what occured with Haiti and Peru (with the 2007 Ica earthquake).” Bolivia has not maintained diplomatic relations with Chile since 1963 except for a brief stint in the 1970s when Bolivian right-wing dictator Hugo Banzer opened relations with Chile’s infamous dictator Augusto Pinochet. San Miguel said that bi-lateral talks with a 13 point agenda will continue with Chile. Bolivia’s primary condition for re-establishing relations and selling Bolivia’s enormous natural gas reserves to Chile is gaining access to the Pacific Ocean for Bolivia.
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