This year, more than sixty countries will hold or have already held elections; a quarter of the population will participate in democracy. Most people in the free world would consider that a victory for liberalism (“liberalism” in the traditional meaning of the word, not the corrupted definition used in the United States). Democracy is often staged as the epitome of freedom and prosperity, a noble system where the voices of the people not only reign supreme, but a system assumed to possess inherent virtue and morality.However, behind the idealized version of democracy and behind the curtains of this great virtue lie a myriad of flaws and contradictions that will not only defy its idealized image as a moral example of freedom and prosperity, but will also show that

In today’s discourse on Bolivia, notions of liberalism, free markets, or traditional capitalist ideals don’t ever come to mind in contrast with mainstream discussions of 21st-century socialism, Keynesian policies, and a notable lack of economic freedoms. In fact, Bolivia was ranked 117 in 2021 by the Fraser institute in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2023 Annual Report. And it scored 43.4 in the Economic Freedom Index by the Heritage foundation, making it the 175th least free country (in economic freedoms) out of 184 countries ranked in 2023, these rankings underscore the entrenched nature of statist policies and their detrimental impact on Bolivia’s economic prospects.Professor Antonio Saravia, a prominent Bolivian economist and researcher, encapsulates the

On Saturday March 23rd Bolivia held its national census, an exercise that is a routine in data collection in most countries around the world. And the recent census in the Andean nation is just a reminder of what lurks beneath the surface of this autocratic survey. While purportedly aimed at gathering demographic and socioeconomic data, the census raises profound questions about individual liberties, privacy rights, economic efficiency, and the absolute waste of resources.Bolivia’s census, like many others worldwide consists of extensive data collection conducted by the government. In the case of Bolivia, it is done every 10 years, and it is within the jurisdiction of the central government to do. Asking questions from the names of all the household members, their