Although Bolivia is a landlocked country, before 1884 they had access to the ocean because of an agreement with Chile. Then, in the War of the Pacific in 1884, Bolivia lost access. In 2013 Bolivia brought it as a territorial dispute case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. However, the ICJ has just ruled that Chile does not need to negotiate with Bolivia over access to the ocean. This decision is unfortunately binding and cannot be negotiated. This ruling is a huge blow to Bolivia, especially as it descends further into turmoil with President’s Morales’ claims to the presidency, though Morales claims that Bolivia will never give up fighting for access to the ocean. Many citizens of Bolivia are upset over this decision as apparently, he has been leading his people to believe that he has been establishing a healthy relationship between the two countries over the years. While this decision will not affect the majority of Bolivia’s maritime trade through Chile’s ports, it will not provide Bolivia with the advantage of sovereignty over said ports.
In my opinion, this ruling is completely just as it looks a precedent and the history between the two countries. It is also an advantage to the “Say No to Morales” effort that is currently being in Bolivia created to oppose his play for another term. This ruling is an advantage because it will convince more people that Morales is no longer fit to be president and will cast doubts on his actions. It is also an interesting ruling and I wish I knew what exactly had caused Bolivia they had a legitimate claim to sovereignty over some Chilean ports.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45708671