Landlocked Bolivia loses its bid to force Chile to cede access to the Pacific

A UN court says that Chile will not have to give up any territory to Bolivia

Today's expression: Sigh of relief
Explore more: Lesson #94
October 15, 2018:

Bolivia's dream of regaining sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean suffered a setback after a UN court sided with Chile, saying that Chile was not required to give Bolivia access to the sea. Landlocked Bolivia has been trying to regain a Pacific port ever since it lost a long coastline to Chile in a war in the late 1800s. Chile says that a peace treaty signed in 1904 settled the matter, but for Bolivians, access to the Pacific is a matter of national pride. Learn how to use the English phrase "sigh of relief."

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A UN court says that Chile will not have to give up any territory to Bolivia—the latest chapter in a hundred-year old dispute between the two South American countries

Talk about a long-running dispute: Almost since it lost territory bordering the Pacific Ocean in the late 1800s, Bolivia has been trying to get it back. Its latest effort was a case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. But the court ruled against Bolivia and in favor of Chile, in an embarrassment for Bolivian President Evo Morales, who is trying to win his fourth consecutive term.

Welcome to Plain English—I’m Jeff; JR is the producer in Mexico; and you are listening to a great podcast for English learners. As most of you know by now, we pick one current events topic each week and we also review an English expression, phrasal verb, or word at the end of each episode. We haven’t done a phrasal verb in a while, so maybe on Thursday, if you remind me, I’ll pick a phrasal verb. Today’s expression is a sigh of relief—so listen for that during the first part of the program.

Today is Monday, October 15, 2018 and you can find the transcript of today’s program at PlainEnglish.com/94. I’ve heard from so many listeners who like to go back in time and listen to all the old episodes in order, and the best way to do that is by the URL. Every transcript and audio is available by episode number, so you can go back to 93, 92, 91, all the way back to the very beginning to practice listening to English and learn a little bit about what’s going on in the world at the same time.


Court rules against landlocked Bolivia in sea access case

Bolivia’s dreams of regaining sovereign, territorial access to the Pacific Ocean suffered a setback when the International Court of Justice sided with Chile in the long-simmering dispute between the two nations.

The ICJ, as the court is called, was established by the United Nations to settle disputes between countries. And this dispute between Bolivia and Chile has been going on for more than a hundred years. Landlocked Bolivia once had a resource-rich chunk of land with 250 miles of Pacific coastline, but lost it in a war with Chile that lasted from 1879 to 1884. Though Bolivia signed a peace treaty agreeing to the loss of its territory in 1904, it has never really accepted its loss, and has been trying to get that territory—or at least full access to the Pacific—back ever since.

Chile does provide Bolivia tariff-free access to a Pacific port, and Bolivia has its own customs station at Chilean ports. But only sovereign territory would have satisfied the Bolivians, who say they were invaded in the original war and that Chile was required to give them full sovereign access to the Pacific. As part of their arguments, the Bolivians said that ceding a little territory would make a small difference to Chile, but would be a big economic boon to their country.

But by a 12-3 vote, the ICJ rejected Bolivia’s claims, saying that Chile does not have an obligation to negotiate or hand over any type of territory to Bolivia.

This came as a shock to Bolivia, and especially to its president Evo Morales. Morales was in the courtroom in The Hague, in the Netherlands, where the verdict was read out loud. He had all but promised his countrymen a victory in court. He said in August that his country was “very close” to getting territorial access to the Pacific, and just days before the verdict, he told people he had a good feeling about how the court would rule.

Back in Bolivia itself, people gathered in plazas in cities around the country to watch the verdict live on large television screens—kind of like how some countries watched the World Cup matches. After the verdict was read, people went home dejected; many expressed a feeling of injustice at the verdict. Bolivia’s national pride was wounded when it lost that territory to Chile way back in 1884, and people still consider it an affront to Bolivia’s sovereignty. Every March 23, Bolivia celebrates the Day of the Sea to commemorate its lost territory. The constitution that it adopted in 2009 calls access to the Pacific an irrevocable right—even though they don’t currently have that access. Bolivia defiantly maintains a navy to patrol its lakes and rivers, and sees its navy as a symbol of its aspirations to once again regain access to the Pacific.

Bolivia is not giving up. Its representative in The Hague said “This is not a closed subject.” This puts Bolivian President Evo Morales in a tough spot. His approval rating is just 29% and he’s preparing to run for a record fourth term in office. The constitution bars him from doing so, and the people voted in 2016 not to let him run for a fourth term—but a court overruled the people’s decision and Morales is running again. But this latest blow, especially on something where he had promised results, makes his re-election even less likely than it was before.

Meanwhile, they breathed a sigh of relief in Chile. The prime minister, Sebastián Piñera, said it was a great day for Chile and that the ICJ had done justice. He also said that Chile would continue to talk with Bolivia and negotiate short of giving up territory, but that as long as Bolivia insists on regaining territory, there is nothing to talk about.


I think people in Chicago know how they feel in Bolivia. I’ll tell you a quick story. It was back in the mid-2000s, when the International Olympic Committee was choosing the host country for the 2016 Olympics. This must have been 2009 because our newly-elected, massively popular president, Barack Obama, who lived in Chicago and represented our state in the Senate before he was elected—Obama went to Europe to plead our case to the IOC. Everyone thought that would seal the deal. The set up massive screens in Daley Plaza, in the center of Chicago; huge crowds were gathered. They stood outside watching, waiting, expecting all the other cities to go down one by one, leaving Chicago as the last city, the one chosen to host the 2016 Olympics. And do you know what happened? We were the first ones eliminated, out of four. We basically got last place; it was such an insult. Rio got those Olympics. I didn’t personally think it was a good idea to host the Olympics, so I wasn’t too disappointed, but a lot of people here were. Obviously losing the Olympics and losing a big case over territory are not the same thing, but it was kind of the same feeling for a lot of people here. Wounded pride, right?

I want to say hello to Ania from Poland and Caio from Brazil today. Ania has listened to all of the old episodes—that’s hours and hours of Plain English. Thanks for doing that Ania; you’ve heard us improve over time I hope! And Caio is in Brazil and he’s studying biology, and as many of you know, a lot of material in the sciences is written in English, so he’s going to be using English a lot in his studies and in his career. Thanks again to both of your for listening and for sending me a note this week.

Chicago is cold and rainy today and these have been great days to stay inside with a book and watch some games on TV. I’m getting into the baseball playoffs again and starting to pay some more attention to American football. I’ve also been reading a couple of great books. One of them is called Still Me, which is the third in a series by the author Jojo Moyes. I’m reading that one in Spanish. You might recognize the first book in that series, Me Before You, since it was made into a movie. And the English book I’m reading is called Little Fires Everywhere, and it is amazing; I really can’t put it down. Both of those books are available as audiobooks, so if you’re looking for a way to enjoy a good story and also practice English, try Me Before You or Little Fires Everywhere—they’re both great, in their own unique way. Not sure if you’ll like audiobooks? Why not take a free trial that gives you a full-length audiobook to keep forever. And if you get addicted, then you can keep subscribing to get a full audiobook once a month. All the details, including the offer for a free book, are available at PlainEnglish.com/book. That will take you to a page that gives you the free offer and explains all the details. PlainEnglish.com/book.

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Expression: Sigh of relief