Will Bolivia Be Ruined, Improved, or Hated Because of Electric Cars?

With growing speculation that electric cars and other energy efficient vehicles will soon dominate markets worldwide, Bolivia is a nation that perhaps stands to benefit (or suffer) more than any other from the energy revolution.

Most electric cars will be powered by lithium batteries, and Bolivia has more lithium than any other nation worldwide. How this development will affect Bolivia is unknown, but will squarely place the South American country at an intriguing and crucial crossroads.

Bolivia: a Microcosm of World’s Struggles and Possibilities

Even though Bolivia might have incredible economic growth thanks to future sales of lithium, it does not change the fact that Bolivia currently struggles in almost every possible way.
The government is unstable, in part because of a fight over one of Bolivia’s other abundant natural resources: natural gas. I have written before about how President Evo Morales’ government plans to redistribute land, a controversial move that many of the country’s wealthier citizens think amounts to theft, despite claims that some wealthy ranchers have enslaved tribal people. On the other hand, regardless of what you think of modern socialism, or of Evo Morales and his followers, I think it is reasonable to say that with two thirds or more of the country living in poverty, the idea to redistribute land is not without its supporters.