Grievances That Can Bring Globalization to Grief

Ten years ago, an American company won a bid to extract lithium from Bolivia's rich deposits. Protests from the impoverished Indian majority – who feared that the deal would only make the rich richer and leave most Bolivians worse off – helped stop the deal. Now, Bolivians may be regretting that decision. Such a deal would have forced greater investment in the nation and perhaps have brought about increased development. A decade later, a similar situation has arisen, with public protests stopping a deal to extract valuable natural gas deposits and leading to the resignation of Bolivia's president on October 17. Fears and memories of the exploitation suffered under the Spanish crown are holding Bolivia's poor people back, suggests this article's author. – YaleGlobal