Old Rivalries Still Simmer Between Bolivia and Chile

For centuries, relations between Bolivia and Chile have been marked by their dispute over territory. Bolivia's defeat by Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879-83) left the country landlocked, and resentment between the two countries has only grown since then. But there have been moments when tensions have ebbed. One came in the early 2000s, when a 13-point bilateral negotiation agenda was drawn up. It called for giving Bolivia sovereign access to a Chilean port to export natural gas to markets outside South America and for the construction of a railway connecting both countries. But the negotiations hit a snag in 2013 when Bolivia decided to take a territorial claim against Chile to the International Court of Justice, and the talks were put on hold....