Desaguadero Municipality is the fourth municipal section of Ingavi Province in La Paz Department, Bolivia. Its capital is Desaguadero, a town on the border of Peru and Bolivia.
The name Desaguadero refers to the Desaguadero River, a channel of water flowing out from the neighboring Lake Titicaca at this location. This channel forms the international border and separates the Bolivian municipality from the Peruvian district of the same name.
Communities The municipality consists of the following two cantons:National Institute of Statistic in Bolivia Desaguadero - 4.194 inhabitants (2001) San Juan de Huancollo - 787 inhabitants
The following communities are located within the municipality:
Azafranal Kealluma San Pedro de Desaguadero Titijoni Vituncani Desaguadero San Pedro de Okorani Chuata Taipi Chiviraya San Juan de Huancollo Yanari Jayuma Zapana
Government
The Mayor of Desaguadero is Isidro Henry Mamani Cerda, who was elected in the March 2026 elections.
Desaguadero has a municipal council with five seats, as do all municipalities with populations up to 15,000.
Seat Type Name Party / Political Organization 1 Member Pedro Sarmiento Cerda MTS Alternate Flora Silvia Quispe Millares 2 Member Vaneza Sandivel Sánchez Zegarra MTS Alternate Víctor Hugo Acarapi 3 Member Primitivo Ticona Quispe M.P.S. Alternate Sara Aruquipa Salinas 4 Member Irma Aruquipa Catari M.P.S. Alternate TBD 5 Member Erwin Cerda Mamani M.P.S. Alternate Mery Dania Cerda TiconaSource: Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
Demographics
+ Population in Recent Censuses 1992 2001 2012 2024 4,337 4,981 6,987 7,897
Ethnicity The people are predominantly indigenous citizens of Aymara descent.obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo/municipal/fichas/ (inactive)
Ethnic group %Quechua1.3Aymara92.9Guaraní, Chiquitos, Moxos0.2Not indigenous 5.6Other indigenous groups0.1
Languages The languages spoken in the Desaguadero Municipality are mainly Aymara and Spanish.
+ Languages spoken Language 2024 speakers 2024 % 2012 speakers 2012 % Spanish 6,946 88.0% 5,416 77.5% Aymara 4,525 57.3% 4,571 65.4% Quechua 122 1.5% 126 1.8%Source: 2024 Bolivian Census
Places of interest Some of the tourist attractions of the municipality are:www.gobernacionlapaz.gob.bo Tourist guide by the government of the department The international fair of Desaguadero on the Peruvian border Desaguadero River with its avifauna and native Aymara and Uru communities along its banks. The river runs along the entire Altiplano.
See also Janq'u Jaqhi Jilarata
References
obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo/municipal/fichas/ (inactive)
External links Desaguadero Municipality: population data and map (Spanish)