Relationship dossier
Bolivia
Venezuela
Relationship assessment
Close political cooperation, interrupted by Bolivia’s 2019 diplomatic rupture and restored in 2020
Bolivia toward Venezuela
+40Bolivia’s MAS governments pursued political and institutional cooperation with Venezuela through ALBA and bilateral agreements. Bolivia’s interim government broke diplomatic ties with Maduro’s government in 2019; Luis Arce’s government restored relations in 2020.
Venezuela toward Bolivia
+40Venezuela pursued political and institutional cooperation with Bolivia through ALBA and bilateral agreements. Following Bolivia’s 2019 diplomatic break, Venezuela restored diplomatic relations with the Arce government in 2020.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship has been shaped by sustained political cooperation under aligned governments and shared participation in ALBA, but it is also vulnerable to changes in Bolivia’s governing coalition. Bolivia’s 2019 break in diplomatic relations, followed by restoration in 2020, marks a significant interruption in an otherwise cooperative bilateral relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Bolivia and Venezuela have had close political and institutional cooperation, particularly under Bolivia’s MAS governments, including participation in ALBA and bilateral cooperation agreements. Relations sharply deteriorated when Bolivia’s interim government broke diplomatic ties with Nicolás Maduro’s government in 2019, then were restored under Luis Arce in 2020. The relationship is substantially cooperative, though its history includes a serious rupture tied to political change in Bolivia.
Areas of tension
- Bolivia’s 2019 interim government broke diplomatic relations with Nicolás Maduro’s government and recognized Venezuela’s opposition-led claim to the presidency.
Key developments
Bolivia’s interim government broke diplomatic relations with Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Bolivia’s government under Luis Arce restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela.
Major uncertainties
- The current scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation agreements are unclear.
- The durability of cooperation across changes in Bolivia’s government is uncertain.