Episode
Can Rodrigo Paz Unearth Bolivia’s Lithium Potential?
- Podcast
- Latin America in Focus
- Published
- Nov 13, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 1615
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
For decades, Bolivia’s abundant reserves of lithium, thought to be the largest in the world, have been touted as the country’s ticket to economic prosperity. But time and again, the sector has run into political hurdles, social resistance, technical issues, and a lack of investment. As newly inaugurated President Rodrigo Paz enters office under a promise of “Capitalism for all,” what will it take to get Bolivia’s lithium sector off—and out from under—the ground? In this episode, political scientist Dr. Diego von Vacano of Texas A&M University, unpacks Bolivia’s decades-long struggle to advance its lithium industry, how it compares with Chile and Argentina—the other two points of the “lithium triangle,” and prospects for Paz to attract the foreign investment needed to develop critical technological infrastructure while attending to social and environmental concerns.