The navy’s proudest outpost is found on the southern banks of Lake Titicaca, more than two miles above sea level.

A monument near the entrance to the Titicaca Naval Base depicts a Bolivian soldier thrusting his bayonet into the throat of a Chilean soldier beside the words, “What once was ours, will be ours once more.” ~The New York Times

Via Steve Sailer

I can’t say that I fully understand the passionate desire to reacquire guano-rich territory, but I do respect the Bolivians’ sense of historical memory and their refusal to let bygones be bygones.  That coastline is theirs, and they’re going to get it back someday.  Good for them.  They are, in some sense, stuck in the same position as the Serbs in the Balkans–cut off from the coast, with which they have been historically connected.  Besides, if it’s good enough for other nations, it’s good enough for the Bolivians. 

Personally, though, if there were ever a new War of the Pacific (how’s that for irony?) I would be hoping for a Chilean victory.  Bolivia is dysfunctional enough–there’s no reason to bring more of South America under the rule of the fantastical Aymara utopia of Evo Morales.