La Paz, Bolivia

🇧🇴 La Paz, officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz, also named Chuqi Yapu in Aymara, is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bolivia. Its metropolitan area, which is formed by La Paz, El Alto, Achocalla, Viacha, and Mecapaca makes up the second most populous urban area in Bolivia. It is also the capital of the La Paz Department.

he city, in west-central Bolivia 68 km (42 mi) south-east of Lake Titicaca, is set in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River. It is in a bowl-like depression, part of the Amazon basin, surrounded by the high mountains of the Altiplano. Overlooking the city is the towering, triple-peaked Illimani. Its peaks are always snow-covered and can be seen from many parts of the city. At an elevation of roughly 3,650 m (11,975 ft) above sea level, La Paz is the highest capital city in the world. Due to its altitude, La Paz has an unusual subtropical highland climate, with rainy summers and dry winters.

La Paz was founded on 20 October 1548, by the Spanish conquistador Captain Alonso de Mendoza, at the site of the Inca settlement of Laja as a connecting point between the commercial routes that led from Potosí and Oruro to Lima; the full name of the city was originally Nuestra Señora de La Paz (meaning Our Lady of Peace) in commemoration of the restoration of peace following the insurrection of Gonzalo Pizarro and fellow conquistadors against the first viceroy of Peru. The city was later moved to its present location in the valley of Chuquiago Marka. La Paz was under Spanish colonial rule as part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, before Bolivia gained independence. Since its founding, the city was the site of numerous revolts. In 1781, the indigenous leader and independence activist Túpac Katari laid siege to the city for a total of six months, but was finally defeated. On 16 July 1809, the Bolivian patriot Pedro Domingo Murillo ignited a revolution for independence, marking the beginning of the Spanish American Wars of Independence, which gained the freedom of South American states in 1821.

As the seat of the government of Bolivia, La Paz is the site of the Palacio Quemado, the presidential palace. It is also the seat of the Bolivian legislature, the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, and numerous government departments and agencies. The constitutional capital of Bolivia, Sucre, retains the judicial power. The city hosts all the foreign embassies as well as international missions in the country. La Paz is an important political, administrative, economic, and sports centre of Bolivia; it generates 24% of the nation's gross domestic product and serves as the headquarters for numerous Bolivian companies and industries.

La Paz is also an important cultural centre of Latin America, as it hosts several landmarks belonging to the colonial times, such as the San Francisco Church, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Plaza Murillo and Jaén Street. La Paz is also situated at the confluence of archaeological regions of the Tiwanaku and Inca Empire. The city is renowned for its unique markets, particularly the Witches' Market, and for its vibrant nightlife. Its unusual topography offers unique views of the city and the surrounding mountains of the Cordillera Real from numerous natural viewing points. The city is considered to be a unique metropolitan structure, where a majority of the city has been built into the canyon of the Chuqiyapi and Irpavi Rivers. La Paz is also home to the largest urban cable car network in the world. In May 2015, it was officially recognised as one of the New 7 Wonders Cities together with Beirut, Doha, Durban, Havana, Kuala Lumpur and Vigan.

Economy The economy of La Paz has improved greatly in recent years, mainly as a result of improved political stability. Due to the long period of high inflation and economic struggle faced by Bolivians in the 1980s and early 1990s, a large informal economy developed. Evidence of this is provided by the markets found all around the city. While there are stable markets, almost every street in the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods has at least one vendor on it.

La Paz remains the principal centre of manufacturing enterprises that produce finished-product goods for the country, with about two-thirds of Bolivia's manufacturing located nearby. Historically, industry in Bolivia has been dominated by mineral processing and the preparation of agricultural products. However, in the urban centre of La Paz, small plants carry out a large portion of the industry. Food, tobacco products, clothing, various consumer goods, building materials, and agricultural tools are produced. "The tin quotations from London are watched in La Paz with close interest as an index of the country's prosperity; a third of the national revenue and more than half of the total customs in 1925 were derived from tin; in short, that humble but indispensable metal is the hub around which Bolivia's economic life revolves. The tin deposits of Bolivia, second largest in the world, … invite development".

The Federation of Private Entrepreneurs of La Paz The Federation of Private Entrepreneurs of La Paz (Federación de Empresarios Privados de la Paz (FEPLP), is an independent and autonomous civil association that represents private businesses in La Paz, Bolivia.

A non-profit organization, the Federation of Private Entrepreneurs of La Paz was founded on November 25, 1993.

2012 FEPLP affiliates include: • Chamber of Exporters from La Paz (Cámara de Exportadores de La Paz) • Chamber of Hotels from La Paz (Cámara de Hotelería de La Paz) • Chamber of Tour Operators (Cámara de Operadores de Turismo Receptivo “Canotur La Paz”) • Departmental Chamber of Construction from La Paz (Cámara Departamental de la Construcción de La Paz) • Departmental Leather Industry Association (Asociación Departamental de Industrias del Cuero) • Departmental Chamber of Industry from La Paz (Cámara Departamental de Industrias de La Paz) • National Chamber of Commerce (Cámara Nacional de Comercio) • Regional Chamber of Customs Brokers from La Paz (Cámara Regional de Despachantes de Aduana de La Paz)

2013 FEPLP affiliates include: • Chamber of Hospitality of La Paz (Cámara de Hotelería de La Paz) • Chamber of Tour Operators (Cámara de Operadores de Turismo Receptivo) • Departmental Chamber of Commerce La Paz (Cámara Departamental de Comercio de La Paz) • Departmental Chamber of Construction of La Paz (Cámara Departamental de la Construcción de La Paz, CADECO LA PAZ) • Regional Chamber of Customs Brokers of La Paz (Cámara Regional de Despachantes de Aduana de La Paz, CRDA-LP) • Departmental Chamber of Industries of La Paz (Cámara Departamental de Industrias de La Paz, CADINPAZ) • Financial Institutions Bolivian Union Savings and Loan (Unión Boliviana de Entidades Financieras de Ahorro y Préstamo, UNIVIV).