Family
Bolivia's fertility rate is 2.45 children per woman. It has been falling sharply since the 1980s. Bolivia has a young population: 30.3% are under the age of 15, 49.5% under the age of 25, and barely 6% are over 65 (2024 estimates).
There are major cultural and economic disparities between the country's different communities. For example, an Aymara family will not function in the same way as a family from an Amazon tribe, or a family of European origin. Similarly, a rural family has different concerns to a more modern urban family.
In rural and indigenous families, the family unit is paramount. Parents often live under the same roof as grandparents, uncles and their four or five children, who may have one or two children of their own. So it's not uncommon for four generations to share the same house. The parents, and especially the father, have all-powerful authority. If a woman hasn't married and therefore hasn't "freed herself" from her parents, it's not uncommon for her to still be totally subject to their authority after thirty years. For a son, on the other hand, the situation is different: in Bolivia, having a son is more rewarding for the family, and the little boy will be more spoiled and have more freedom than his sister.
The elderly occupy a very important place in the family unit. The eldest sons will look after their parents, as there is no care system here. If grandparents are no longer able to work, they will be taken in by their children. The elderly will always have a major say in decisions affecting the whole family.
In rural areas, children are expected to help their parents with all family tasks from an early age. Girls will be responsible for household chores and looking after their younger brothers and sisters, boys for herding or fetching wood for the house. In rural and indigenous families, parents will give more importance to the education of sons than to that of daughters, since the latter will be trained above all to be mothers and wives.
Education
Slightly less than 6 percent of the population is completely illiterate, with the rate rising to 25 percent in rural areas. Education is the poor relation of the national budget, with the State devoting barely more than 7% of GDP to it. It is estimated that at least 1 million young people do not go to school and, worse, half of the Bolivian population has insufficient schooling and is unable to understand the content of a text. Children in rural areas are the most affected, as they have to provide labor for their families, absenteeism is common. In addition, language and cultural differences are a barrier to learning for these children from indigenous families, as classes are taught in Spanish. It is estimated that the duration of studies is a little more than 4 years in rural areas against more than 9 years in urban areas.
The Kindergarten corresponds to our kindergarten, starting at age 3. Then school is compulsory from the age of 5: this is elementary school, which lasts 8 years (however, UNESCO reports that 70% of children under 9 years of age do not attend school). Then comes secondary school (4 years) and university.
Bolivia has three indigenous universities founded after the promulgation of the constitution in 2009. Article 95 stipulates that these universities must do everything possible to recover, preserve, develop and disseminate the different languages of the indigenous nations and peoples: the UniversidadesIndígenasBolivianas Comunitarias Interculturales Productivas. One in Warisata (Aymara), another in Chimoré (Quechua), and a third in Kuruyuki (Guaraní). The specific subjects taught are not numerous: agronomy, food or textile industry, veterinary or fish farming for the Andean communities, hydrocarbons, forestry and veterinary for the Guaraní, but they allow students to obtain a higher technician diploma, a bachelor's degree or a master's degree. Spanish and a foreign language are mandatory.
However, let's not fool ourselves: the current system does not really correspond to the needs of the indigenous people, and the national programs do not include any element of indigenous culture. There are public schools and many private schools, the latter being of much better quality and contributing to the widening of the Bolivian social divide.
Wedding
Marriage in this country must always be religious, and the purpose of the union is to "populate Bolivia"! A young Aymara or Quechua couple can live together for a year without being obliged to marry ("test marriage"). If the couple is satisfied with their life together, they can choose to marry. If not, they can separate without any consequences for their parents or the community.
Sexuality
The sexual life of Bolivians is quite paradoxical: parents are very careful about their children's sexuality, but it is not uncommon for a teenage girl to be a mother at 16. Indeed, the use of the pill and the condom is still very unknown and not very accepted by the population.
In a country that is still quite macho, homosexuality is still frowned upon. Bolivia is a very conservative country on certain practices and orientations, and the Church still plays a very important role. In mid-2016, however, the country distinguished itself by being the first in South America to officially allow a sex change. The inequalities suffered by the LGBTQI+ community are still present, however. Some gay couples display themselves in the evening in the streets of La Paz or Santa Cruz, but with great caution.
The place of women
As is often the case in Latin America, Bolivian society adheres to a patriarchal system. Male aggression is not always physical, but often verbal. Nevertheless, Bolivia supports the Universal Declaration of Women's Rights, and was the first Latin American country to sign the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Eradicate Violence. Laws protect women against domestic violence. But, as the saying goes, " entre dicho y hecho hay mucho trecho " ("there's a long way between the cup and the lips"). One of the main obstacles to women's emancipation in Bolivia remains the lack of education (especially in rural areas).
In Bolivia, women have played an important role in the country's social and political history. Despite this active participation in national life, women's demands have often been ignored by society. The upkeep of the home is still considered to be a woman's essential task, even though she has always played a part in the family economy.
Feminicide is a major problem in the country (91 cases were reported in 2023), and the subject has been the subject of wide-ranging national debate in recent years. The government launched an awareness campaign on the subject in 2019, including large posters in La Paz. Moreover, a permanent exhibition on women's struggle against violence and feminicide has been in place since 2024 at the National Art Museum in La Paz.
Bolivian society is perhaps less macho than the clichés one might have had of Latin American countries: a woman once held the country's presidency (Lydia Gueiler Tejada, who died in May 2011), and we are gradually seeing women holding positions of relative importance within the administration. It was Senator Jeanine Añez who assumed interim power in the chaotic post-election period of 2019.
Of course, we're still a long way from equity, and women's power is exercised rather discreetly in the family: they manage the family budget, as their husbands are not considered reliable enough for such tasks.
As far as women's rights are concerned, abortion is still forbidden in the country except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the mother. Nevertheless, in 2017, the Assembly studied the possibility of broadening the conditions of application for abortion, a reflection that raised great debate and tensions between conservatives and feminists, and broadened the conditions of access in 2018 to the risks of malformations of the child, when it concerns children or teenagers. Currently, the feminist movement in Bolivia continues to push for abortion to be legalized more broadly, as in practice access is more than limited, even including the new theoretical access conditions.
Human rights
The Constitution approved by referendum in 2009 has led to major advances in the protection of human rights, particularly for indigenous peoples and peasants. A Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth (Pachamama) was drawn up at the World Conference of Peoples against Climate Change in 2010, under the impetus of Evo Morales, declaring that "respect for the rights of Mother Earth is more important than respect for human rights".
Health
Over 35% of Bolivians have no access to modern health care in rural areas, and almost 50% of people have never seen a doctor in their lives. This is relatively normal, given that there are only 1.61 doctors and 1.1 hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants in Bolivia. Spending on healthcare will represent less than 6.3% of the state's GDP in 2023. For a number of reasons, Bolivians are more likely to seek treatment from a traditional healer than an allopathic doctor. First and foremost, there's an economic reason for this choice, but there's also a cultural reason: the allopathic doctor will often be white and won't speak the language of his patient, whether of Quechua, Aymara or Guaraní origin. As a result, patients are generally afraid to seek treatment from a q'ara, the "white man with money".
