Bolivia begins the commemoration of the 147 years of the loss of its access to the sea

La Paz.- Bolivia began official acts this Friday to commemorate on March 23 the 147th anniversary of the loss of its coastline to Chile with a tribute to Eduardo Abaroa, the hero of the defense of the coastal territory in the so-called War of the Pacific. An escort from the Bolivian Navy and the Colorados Regiment of Bolivia, which participated in the War of the Pacific and is currently the Presidential Guard, led a caravan to transfer Abaroa’s remains from the San Francisco temple, in the historic center of La Paz, to the plaza that bears the name of the hero in the residential neighborhood of Sopocachi. Previously, the Bolivian president, Rodrigo Paz, some ministers and the high command of the Police and the Armed Forces participated in a liturgical act in which the Franciscan priests, custodians of the urn containing Abaroa’s remains, blessed it and then began the transfer. Paz withdrew after the liturgical act, while the ministers, military personnel from different units, police officers, and firefighters marched through the main avenues of La Paz to Abaroa square. The Minister of the Presidency, José Luis Lupo, told the media that Bolivia “will never” renounce its “right” to claim sovereign access to the sea, which is something “inalienable”, although “the paths are different” and that it will aim to follow the routes of “progress”, “integration” and trade.

“The past has to teach us how to build the future and we are going to do that. And if we have learned something from Eduardo Abaroa, and I believe that is the great lesson that is in the nature of the Bolivian people, it is to never give up,” stated Lupo.

Bolivia commemorates Sea Day on March 23 because on that date in 1879 the country’s first resistance occurred against what the Bolivian authorities call an invasion by Chilean troops that began on February 14 of the same year.

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In that first resistance was Abaroa, who, according to Bolivian historians, when urged to surrender, replied “”Surrender, me? Cowards, let your grandmother surrender, damn it!“”. Bolivia lost about 400 kilometers of coastline and about 120,000 square kilometers of territory in that war. On the eve of the 23rd, commemorative acts usually begin with the transfer of the remains of Eduardo Abaroa, but this year, regional elections are scheduled for the 22nd, which will be held under restrictions that include the prohibition of public acts, meetings, or shows of any kind. For this reason, the parade was brought forward to this Friday. School parades for Sea Day were also common, but this year the Ministry of Education decided to replace them with brief civic acts in the educational units, to avoid the interruption of the 200 working days of classes. It is expected that Paz will give a message on Monday at an event that, unlike other years, will not be in La Paz, but in the town of Puerto Quijarro, bordering Brazil. Bolivia and Chile have not had diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level since 1962, except for a parenthesis from 1975 to 1978, due to the lack of a solution to the century-old Bolivian maritime claim, although they maintain consulates general in La Paz and Santiago. Peace, who has governed Bolivia since last November, has indicated several times his intention to open a “new cycle” with Chile, with an agenda above all economic and commercial, without leaving aside the maritime aspiration of his country.