LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Visiting Bolivia became a little easier for certain travelers on Monday, when the South American nation'sfirst conservative government in nearly 20 yearseliminated visa requirements for citizens from the United States and Israel, among several other countries, as part of a broadergeopolitical and economic overhaul.
Americans and Israelis, as well as citizens of South Korea, South Africa and several eastern European nations that had been obliged to apply and pay for Bolivian tourist visas can now enter the country with only a valid passport for stays up to 90 days.
From the snowy slopes of its 20,000-foot peaks to the dense forests of its Amazon basin and the world'slargest salt flats, Bolivia is home to an array of tourist experiences often overlooked by international travelers vacationing in neighboring Brazil and Peru.
Monday's measure is a bid byBolivian President Rodrigo Paz— whotook over the government last monthfrom the long-ruling Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party — to build a strategic alliance with the U.S. and to fuel economic progress by attracting more visitors.
Bolivia is currently facing asevere shortage of U.S. dollarsthat has hampered imports and paralyzed the economy.
Anti-American hostility in Bolivia peaked under former left-wingPresident Evo Morales(2006-2019), a charismatic coca-growing union leader who gained popularity in the early 2000s among Bolivians tired of a half-century of dependence on Washington and angry about the violent U.S.-backed war on drugs in the tropics.
Morales led the country's decoupling from the U.S. — throwing the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency out of the country, expelling the U.S. ambassador and imposing visa restrictions on U.S. citizens.
He cited the principle of reciprocity, meaning that Bolivians — who are still charged $185 and required to undergo a cumbersome application process to obtain visas — should be afforded the same benefits when traveling to the U.S.
During the 2014 Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Morales also severed diplomatic ties with Israel and began requiring tourist visas for Israeli travelers to Bolivia.
Meanwhile,Bolivia drew closer to Russia,Chinaand Venezuela.
After mass protests against alleged electoral fraudforced Morales to resign under pressure from the military in 2019, right-wing former interimPresident Jeanine Áñezbriefly scrapped the entry restrictions for citizens from the U.S. and Israel.
But then formerPresident Luis Arce, Morales'political heirfrom the MAS party, reinstated the visa rules when heentered office in 2020.
Paz's officials on Monday estimated that Bolivia had lost around $900 million from the decline in visa recipients since 2007 and promised $80 million in new tourism revenue over the next four years.
"We must restore the world's confidence in Bolivia being a suitable and safe country to visit," Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo told reporters in announcing the new measures.
The State Department keeps Bolivia at a level 2 travel advisory that urges visitors to "exercise increased caution" because of the risk of civil unrest. It also issues a level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory, the highest grade of warning, for the country's coca-growingregion of Chapare where ex-President Morales is currently holed up, evading arrest for alleged statutory rape.
Seeking to replenish depleted dollar reserves and liberalize Bolivia's economyas it undergoes its worst crisis in four decades, Paz last weekscrapped some corporate and wealth taxesand laid out plans for taking on more debt.
