This week on Wednesday 26th at around 2:30 of the afternoon military forces in ski masks took Plaza Murillo, the main plaza where the seat of the Bolivian government resides. Actions that at first seemed totally out of the ordinary, actions taken from history books, as a military coup has not happened since the 1980’s. However, the truth of the matter is much more complex than what the official government and international news outlets let on.After irregular military forces took the plaza with armored vehicles and soldiers under the command of General Juan Jose Zuñiga. The Minister of government  came out of the government palace and hitting the window of the armored vehicle shouted at the general to demobilize the troops immediately. After some time, in which the population of La Paz

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

Javier Milei’s chainsaw policy has been without a doubt one of the most interesting and important topics of discussion in world politics. Argentina has taken important measures since Milei assumed the presidency to revert the tragic economic situation that the country was facing. Perhaps one of the most important measures is the adjustments and cuts in the state, the colloquially called “chainsaw policy.”Two months after Milei assumed the presidency, nine thousand state jobs had been eliminated, and by the end of March fifteen thousand layoffs had been ordered. Furthermore, when Javier Milei spoke at the IEFA Latam Forum, he mentioned that seventy thousand contracts of public employes were going to be canceled. He also mentioned that two hundred thousand social programs were eliminated,

In the shadows of society, where legality meets defiance, lies a realm inhabited by those often deemed outlaws: smugglers. To some, they are criminals, evaders of the law; to others, they are the unsung heroes of the market, navigating the murky waters of prohibition and regulation to fulfill the demands of consumers and preserve individual freedoms. In this exploration, we unveil the clandestine world of smuggling and illuminate its role as a beacon of resistance against oppressive state control.There is a popular perception that smuggling is an illicit activity driven by greed and criminal intent. There are many people who when hearing the word “contraband” immediately think of drug lords, cartels, and human trafficking. Of course, when people are forced to act in the shadows of the law,

What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

This year, more than sixty countries will hold or have already held elections; a quarter of the population will participate in democracy. Most people in the free world would consider that a victory for liberalism (“liberalism” in the traditional meaning of the word, not the corrupted definition used in the United States). Democracy is often staged as the epitome of freedom and prosperity, a noble system where the voices of the people not only reign supreme, but a system assumed to possess inherent virtue and morality.However, behind the idealized version of democracy and behind the curtains of this great virtue lie a myriad of flaws and contradictions that will not only defy its idealized image as a moral example of freedom and prosperity, but will also show that democracy is just a tool

In today’s discourse on Bolivia, notions of liberalism, free markets, or traditional capitalist ideals don’t ever come to mind in contrast with mainstream discussions of 21st-century socialism, Keynesian policies, and a notable lack of economic freedoms. In fact, Bolivia was ranked 117 in 2021 by the Fraser institute in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2023 Annual Report. And it scored 43.4 in the Economic Freedom Index by the Heritage foundation, making it the 175th least free country (in economic freedoms) out of 184 countries ranked in 2023, these rankings underscore the entrenched nature of statist policies and their detrimental impact on Bolivia’s economic prospects.Professor Antonio Saravia, a prominent Bolivian economist and researcher, encapsulates the prevailing sentiment

On Saturday March 23rd Bolivia held its national census, an exercise that is a routine in data collection in most countries around the world. And the recent census in the Andean nation is just a reminder of what lurks beneath the surface of this autocratic survey. While purportedly aimed at gathering demographic and socioeconomic data, the census raises profound questions about individual liberties, privacy rights, economic efficiency, and the absolute waste of resources.Bolivia’s census, like many others worldwide consists of extensive data collection conducted by the government. In the case of Bolivia, it is done every 10 years, and it is within the jurisdiction of the central government to do. Asking questions from the names of all the household members, their citizenship status, where