Bolivia

More rural people live below the poverty line in Bolivia than in any other country in the world.

While the country's rich natural resources are controlled and exploited by a privileged minority, the indigenous majority struggle to subsist on the poorest soils, or migrate to swell the teeming shanty towns that surround the cities.

Disempowered and marginalized for centuries, the indigenous elements of this culturally diverse nation are now uniting to claim the right to be heard and to be included in the political process.

This profile examines the phenomenon of the campaign for "popular participation", which aspires to create a more equal society, one in which the poorest will be protected from the rigours of economic "stabilization" measures, and the economic potential of the nation can be realised for the benefit of all.