1986 – Twenty-one thousand miners lose their jobs following the collapse of the tin market.
1989 – Leftist Jaime Paz Zamora becomes president and enters power-sharing pact with former dictator Hugo Banzer.
1990 – Some 4 million acres of rainforest allocated to indigenous peoples.
1993 – Banzer withdraws from the presidential race, which is won by Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.
1997 – Banzer elected president.
1998 – Banzer tells the United Nations that he is committed to freeing Bolivia from drugs before the end of his term in 2002.
1999 – Encouraged by moves to prosecute former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, opposition demands inquiry into Banzer’s role during the repression of the 1970s.
2000 – Banzer announces the almost total eradication of the coca plant in the Chapare jungle region.
2001 January – Government declares almost half of Bolivia a natural disaster area following heavy rains.
Banzer dies
2001 August – Vice-President Jorge Quiroga sworn in as president, replacing Hugo Banzer who is suffering from cancer. He dies in May 2002.
2001 December – Farmers reject a government offer of $900 each a year in exchange for the eradication of the coca crop used to produce cocaine.
2002 August – Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada wins a clear victory in a National Congress run-off vote and becomes president for a second time. His rival, coca growers’ representative Evo Morales, leads a strengthened opposition.
2003 February – More than 30 killed in violent protests against proposed income tax. President Sanchez de Lozada withdraws the proposal.
2003 September-October – 80 killed, hundreds injured in protests fuelled by government plans to export natural gas via Chile. President Sanchez de Lozada resigns under pressure of protests and is succeeded by Carlos Mesa.
Energy protests
2004 April – President Mesa signs natural gas export deal with Argentina. Opponents say deal pre-empts referendum on gas exports planned for July. Protesters take to streets, demand president’s resignation.
2004 July – Referendum on gas exports: Voters back greater state involvement in the industry and approve exports of the resource.
2004 August – Landmark deal signed to allow Bolivia to export gas via a Peruvian port.
2005 January – Rising fuel prices trigger large-scale anti-government protests and blockades in Santa Cruz, the country’s largest and wealthiest city, and in El Alto, near La Paz.
Civic and business leaders in Santa Cruz push for autonomy for the province.
2005 March – President Mesa submits his resignation, blaming protests which he says have made it impossible to govern. Congress rejects the offer, as well as a later request by the president for early elections, and Mr Mesa remains in office.
2005 May – Protests over energy resources bring La Paz, and government business, to a near standstill. President Mesa promises a rewritten constitution and a referendum on autonomy demands from resource-rich provinces.
Socialists in power
2005 June – As angry street protests continue, President Mesa resigns. Supreme Court head Eduardo Rodriguez is sworn in as caretaker president.
2005 December – Socialist leader Evo Morales wins presidential elections. He becomes the first indigenous Bolivian to take office.
2006 May – President Morales issues a decree to put the energy industry under state control.