<P> Pedro Domingo Murillo was hanged at the Plaza de los Españoles that night . After Bolivia gained independence, La Paz named this plaza after him, to commemorate him always . He is remembered as the voice of revolution across South America . </P> <P> In 1825, after the decisive victory of the republicans at Ayacucho over the Spanish army in the course of the Spanish American wars of independence, the city's full name was changed to La Paz de Ayacucho (meaning The Peace of Ayacucho). </P> <P> In 1898, La Paz was made the de facto seat of the national government, with Sucre remaining the nominal historical as well as judiciary capital . This change reflected the shift of the Bolivian economy away from the largely exhausted silver mines of Potosí to the exploitation of tin near Oruro, and resulting shifts in the distribution of economic and political power among various national elites . </P> <P> Located at 16 ° 30 ′ 0" S 68 ° 08 ′ 0" W ﻿ / ﻿ 16.50000 ° S 68.13333 ° W ﻿ / - 16.50000; - 68.13333 (− 16.5, − 68.1333), La Paz is built in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River (now mostly built over), which runs northwest to southeast . The city's main thoroughfare, which roughly follows the river, changes names over its length, but the central tree - lined section running through the downtown core is called the Prado . </P>

When did la paz become the capital of bolivia