-percent of vote by party--NA; seats by party--ADN 32, MNR 26,
MIR 23, UCS 21, CONDEPA 19, MBL 5, IU 4

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed
for a 10-year term by National Congress

Political parties and leaders:
Center-Left Parties: Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR
SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]
FERNANDEZ, Hugo VILLEGAS]
Indigenous Parties: Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement

International organization participation: CAN, ECLAC, FAO, G-11,
G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES,
LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Marcelo PEREZ Monasterios
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Donna Jean HRINAK
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz
mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top),
yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band;
similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed
star centered in the yellow band

Economy

Economy--overview: With its long history of semifeudal social
controls, dependence on mineral exports, and bouts of
hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least
developed Latin American countries. However, Bolivia has experienced
generally improving economic conditions since the PAZ Estenssoro
administration (1985-89) introduced market-oriented policies which
reduced inflation from 11,700% in 1985 to about 20% in 1988. PAZ
Estenssoro was followed as president by Jaime PAZ Zamora (1989-93)
who continued the free-market policies of his predecessor, despite
opposition from his own party and from Bolivia's once powerful labor
movement. President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-1997) vowed to advance
the market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as PAZ
Estenssoro's planning minister. His successes included the signing
of a free trade agreement with Mexico and the Southern Cone Common
Market (Mercosur) as well as the privatization of the state airline,
telephone comp