[2][3]

In 2004, the anniversary of the 1904 treaty, Bolivian claims were reignited, and the words gas-for-sea became the slogan of those who opposed exportation. Former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos attended the inauguration of current Bolivian President Evo Morales. Due to a transfer of land to both Argentina and Chile during the Chilean annexation of the Bolivian coast in 1879, the Puna de Atacama dispute—this spin-off dispute was settled in 1899. The Atacama border dispute is a dispute between Chile and Bolivia that stems from the transfer of the Bolivian Coast and the southern tip of Peru to Chile in the 19th century through the Treaty of Ancón with Peru and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia after the War of the Pacific (1879–1883).

The referendum was approved with 54.79% of the votes saying "yes". Supporting their claims with different documents, Bolivians claim that it did, while Chileans disagree. Peruvian President General Francisco Morales Bermúdez did not agree with the Charaña proposal and instead drafted his own proposal, in which the three nations would share administration of the port of Arica and the sea immediately in front of it. After winning the 2002 presidential election, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada expressed his preference for the Mejillones option but made no "official" decision. In 1879, Bolivian dictator General Hilarión Daza increased the taxes on the exportation of saltpeter in violation of the 1866 treaty. In 1975, the Chilean government of Augusto Pinochet made a proposal to Bolivia consisting in a swap of a narrow continuous corridor of Chilean land from the sea to the border between Chile and Bolivia, running parallel to the border between Chile and Peru, making the Lluta River Chile's northern border, in exchange for the same amount of Bolivian territory. During the Bolivian Gas War the dispute rose again as most Bolivians, including Evo Morales (who would go on to become president), opposed the future export of Bolivian gas through Chilean territory, which the government and foreign companies wanted. The war began with victories by the Confederation over its enemies. Recently, Bolivian president Evo Morales decided to break off all dialogue with Chile on the maritime issue and declared to pursue the issue in litigation via the international courts. Evo Morales, who was elected president in 2005, is strongly opposed to having a foreign consortium export Bolivia's natural gas without processing it domestically. [3], Diplomatic relations between the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Republic of Chile, Relations following independence from Spain (1818-1828), Santa Cruz and the War of the Confederation (1829-1839), Learn how and when to remove this template message, Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia, "World Court: Chile not forced to negotiate over Bolivia sea access", Organization of American States (OAS/OEA), Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), List of presidential trips made by Sebastián Piñera, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bolivia–Chile_relations&oldid=977128950, Articles with Spanish-language sources (es), Articles with dead external links from June 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from May 2012, All articles needing additional references, Articles to be expanded from December 2009, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from October 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 7 September 2020, at 03:06.

However, antagonism towards Chile ran deep in Bolivia because of the loss of Bolivia's Pacific coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879–1884). Other countries' interest was drawn due to the importance of nitrates in the production of fertilizer and high explosives; Britain, Spain and the United States had a strategic and economic stake in controlling the resource granting their support to the different parties. In 2019, Chile's government expressed concern for the "disruption" of the electoral process in Bolivia following the forced resignation of then-President Evo Morales. Bolivia subsequently became dissatisfied at the arrangement due to the negative financial status of the national budget, especially after the earthquakes that struck Cobija in 1868 and 1877. Facts and statistics about the Coastline of Bolivia. Chile disembarked troops at Antofagasta the day of the auction. Bolivia announced the seizure and auction of the company on 14 February 1879. [2] A plan costing US$6 billion was drawn up to build a pipeline to the Pacific coast, where the gas would be processed and liquefied before being shipped to Mexico and the United States (Baja California and California) through a Chilean port, for example Tocopilla. Surprisingly, the case does not challenge the border treaties signed by both countries which Evo Morales has always been against. Bolivians began campaigning against the Chilean option, arguing instead that the pipeline should be routed north through the Peruvian port of Ilo, 260 km further from the gas fields than Mejillones, or, better yet, first industrialised in Bolivia. In 1964, Bolivian President Víctor Paz Estenssoro severed diplomatic relations with Chile. The basis of the case stems from two bilateral negotiations in the 1970s and 1950s where a sovereign route to the pacific was allegedly promised by Chile but never eventuated. Lozada's 2003 deal was heavily opposed by Bolivian society, in part because of nationalistic resentment against Chile, and the Gas War led to Lozada's resignation in October 2003. In 2015, Morales announced his intention to establish conditional diplomatic relations with Chile in order to achieve Bolivia's aspiration for sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean via Chilean land. [10][11], Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia, Boundary Treaty of 1866 between Chile and Bolivia, http://es.wikisource.org/wiki/Tratado_de_l%C3%ADmites_de_1874_entre_Bolivia_y_Chile, "Evo Morales: Chile offered Bolivia sea access in 1975", "Lagos ofreció a Bolivia reanudar relaciones diplomáticas", "Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile)", "UN court rejects Bolivia's bid for sea access via Chile", Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Boundary Treaty of 1874 between Chile and Bolivia, Expulsion of Chileans from Bolivia and Peru in 1879, Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atacama_border_dispute&oldid=956931173, History of the foreign relations of Chile, Articles with Spanish-language sources (es), Articles with dead external links from July 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 16 May 2020, at 03:06. The origins of the dispute came from the borders established in the Spanish empire that just defined the Atacama desert as the northern border of the General Captaincy of Chile.

This was a turning point in Bolivian history because, for nearly 60 years afterwards, coups and short-lived constitutions dominated Bolivian politics.

The territories ceded by Bolivia and Peru contain some of world's largest copper deposits. A second treaty in 1874 superseded this, entitling Bolivia to collect full tax revenue between the 23rd and 24th parallels, but fixed tax rates on Chilean companies for 25 years.

Chile responded by sending a warship to the area in December 1878. The Bolivian government followed through with its determination to file a case with the International Court of Justice on 24 April 2013. The company mounted significant pressure and demanded that the Chilean government intervene.[5]. Relations soured even more after Bolivia lost its coast to Chile during the War of the Pacific and became a landlocked country (Bolivia still claims a corridor to the Pacific Ocean). When Simón Bolívar established Bolivia as a nation in 1825, he claimed access to the sea, disregarding overlapping claims by Chile, which had gained independence 7 years before. Daza then put an end to all commerce with Chile and exiled all Chilean residents in Bolivia (the Bolivian port of Antofagasta had more Chileans than Bolivians). [9] In October 2018, the International Court of Justice issued a final and binding decision that Chile was not obliged to negotiate granting Bolivia sea access. The consortium comprised the British companies BG Group and BP, and Spain's Repsol YPF.