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This article explores the relations among the coup d'etat in Bolivia, the 2019 new discovery of lithium reserves in that country, and the dispute between the United States and China for technological superiority and dominance of world market shares in the electric vehicles' industry.
As one of the three countries with significant lithium resources in South America, together with Argentina and Chile, Bolivia was the only one seeking national industrialization with a significant role for the State; and active participation in local value-added chains producing electric vehicles. Analysis is based on United States Geological Survey data.
Keywords: lithium, coup d'etat in Bolivia, electric vehicles, sovereignty of natural resources, local value-added chains
INTRODUCTION
Resources and Reserves - A World Power in Lithium
Lithium is a strategic mineral that has become a priority for USA and Chinese technology companies. It is obtained from brine or mine based sources and it has multiple applications (aerospace, energy, telecommunications, electronics, and transportation).
Of the 80 million metric tons (MT) of this resource in the world, the USA has 6.8 MT (USGS, 2020: 99).2 According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the USA classifies lithium as a critical mineral for its national security (with a net import dependency exceeding 50%).
The South American countries are strong lithium producers and have the largest mineral resources, as it is considered that Argentina, Chile and Bolivia (called the Lithium Saudi Arabia or the Lithium Triangle) combined have over 50% of the world's available lithium.
In 2019, there was a new discovery of lithium reserves belonging to Bolivia and this seems to be associated with triggering the coup ďétat. The USGS had estimated in 2017, that the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia had 9 million metric tons of lithium. But "on January 19, 2019, the Bolivian government announced that, based on a new study by the USA consulting firm SKR covering 64% of the Salar de Uyuni, the geological reserves of lithium reached 21 million metric tons."3 This discovery turned Bolivia into the world's largest potential reserve of this mineral.4 In its 2020 Report, USGS confirms Bolivia's resources at 21 million tons (USGS, 2020: 99).s
With this discovery, Bolivia was consolidated as a key player in the lithium industry and market,...