UK supported the coup in Bolivia to gain access to its ‘white gold’

(March 8, 2021) Revealed: The UK supported the coup in Bolivia to gain access to its ‘white gold’
Bolivia has the world’s second-largest reserves of lithium, a metal that is used to make batteries
and which has become increasingly important due to the burgeoning electric car industry.
The UK government has stated that lithium battery technology is a priority for its “industrial strategy”.
In June 2019, it announced it was investing £23-million in “electric car battery development”.

In February 2019, Evo Morales’ government had chosen a Chinese consortium to be its strategic partner
on a new $2.3-billion lithium project which would focus on production from the Coipasa and Pastos Grandes salars (salt flats under which the lithium is deposited).
But after the coup, the regime’s new minister for mining cast doubt on whether the deal would be honoured by the new government.

Days after taking power, on 14 November, the Áñez regime forced through Decree 4078 which gave immunity
to the military for any actions taken in “the defence of society and maintenance of public order”.
The following day, on 15 November, Bolivian military forces shot and killed eight protesters in the city of Sacaba.
On 21 November, regime forces killed another 10 protesters in the neighbourhood of Senkata just outside the capital La Paz.
Despite the deadly violence, which was condemned by human rights groups, the British embassy in La Paz
moved quickly to support Bolivia’s new regime, Declassified can reveal from documents we have obtained.
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