Evening star., 1939-05-07
Difficulties With Tin at Heart
OF Bolivia's New Dictatorship
Busch Has Task of Meeting Industry's Crisis
Growing Out of World Depression
and Effect of Chaco War
Bv Cresf0n B. Mullins.

1t. Col German Busch. soldier-states-
man and hero of the Chaco war, rules
Bolivia with the "totality Of powers" by
which he hopes to revive his landlocked
country from depression and stave off
national bankruptcy.
The Transformation from constitu-
tional government to dictatorship could
scarcely have been quieter. Bolivia is
used to relationships, as is every Latin
American country.
But absent were the usual embeilish-
ments. A proclamation and it was done.
No mobs, no arrests. no gunplay, no ex-
citement. Bolivians had breakfast Mon
day morning, April "a, under constitu-
tional President; they ate lunch under
dictator.
The Constituent Assembly, which elect
ed Col. Busch President year ago, was
abolished, constitutional guarantees were
suspended, but the constitution itself re-
mains in existence, the Bolivian govern
ment makes clear, as do the law courts
and the laws.
The new regime states the intention
although the future will be the test of
its sincerity, to call new elections in five
or six months, but meanwhile the key
note of the dictatorship is discipline" for
the cohesion of the national life, defense
Of the natural resources, Strengthening
Of the countrys defenses, economic allie
Walton and guarantees for both capital
and labor.
Busch President Maker.
Imposing this coordination of the ma
tion's energies to meet present and FIJI
ture economic stress is Bolivia's maker
and unmaker of Presidents-Busch. Tax
ing politics as part of his military life,
Busch was leader of the army politicos
long before he led the coup in May, 1896,
which turned out President Luis .Tejada
Sorzana.
The military junta, which took over
power, selected one of its number, Col.
David Toro, as President, but Busch
headed the government for three days
he was with the army.
Although the army stands above po-
htical parties the new government mad
support of the Socialists, and Busch's
manifesto at the time of Toro's advent
set forth aims of virtual state Socialism
and the following month the government
pledged series of socialistic reforms.
Toro's failure to carry out the leftist
promises, however, brought him and
Busch to split, and Busch in July, 1887,
overthrew Toro, himself taking Office
with the pledge to execute the reforms
he promised in the manifesto of 1896.
Busch remained as military dictator
until May, 1888, when congressional elec-
tons were held. The voting was one
sided, with only the Socialist parties
participating, the traditional parties re-
framing on the excuse that the election
would not be fair anyway, so why enter
the campaign. The new Socialist con-
gress elected Busch constitutional presi-
dent and the following October the
president promulgated new constitu-
ton, following closely that of France
and Republican Spain.
Economic Malad djustments.
Behind the smoke screen of politics,
charges Of bribery, corruption and ex-
tremism, and financial troubles is a
deep-seated economic maladjustment,
flowing from the Chaco defeat and ag-
gravated by prolongation of the world
economic depression, which strikes Bo-
uv1a at its very heart-mining.
Bolivia Is almost one-product coun-
try-tin. Although silver, tungsten, an
timony, lead, zinc, copper, gold, sulphur
and bismuth are produced and exported
to some extent, three-quarters of Bo-
nvia's expectation Is tin, in the form of
concentrated ore shipped to Great
Britain for smelling in mixture with
Malayan ore, and the tin industry pro-
vides between 10 and 80 per cent of the
governments revenue. So the course
the world tin market takes is pretty
accurate index of the course of Bolivia's S
prosperity-or depression.
The tin king is the Bolivia's Simon I.
Patino, who controls a group of four
companies which produce about half Bo-
TWAS output. The balance of produc-
ton comes from the Chilean Hochschild
group, the Aramayo group and a num-
Der of small independent companies
American interest is small and all the
exports of concentrates go to England
for smelling.
Bolivian exports of tin are regulated
in accordance with quarterly quotas fixed
by the International Tin Committee in
London, composed of representatives of
Bolivia British Malaga, Netherland In
dies, Nigeria, Siam and the Belgian
Kongo. The agreement under which it
works dates from 1881, which has now
been extended to December 81, 1941.
Tin production in Bolivia-and Bo-
hvian prosperity its all-time high in
1929 when $1,000 fine metric tons of the
metal were sent out of the country. -Four
years later the second year of the Chaco
War, it dropped to $4,000 tons, and by
1888 had recovered only to $4,000 tons.
Chaco War Left Stamp.
The Chaco War left an indelible
stamp on Bolivia's economy, particularly
In governmental finances-the boliviano
is now worth about one-tenth of its pre-
war value-but almost as pronounced
was the crippling of the mining indus
try by the shortage of labor.
The needs of the war called from their
work in the tin mines thousands of Indian
laborers who are the backbone of the
mining industry. Even after the armistice
was declared in 1885 the shortage was
not noticeably relieved. for Bolivia MAIN