A man holds a miniature replica of Bolivia’s first telecommunications satellite during the live broadcast from China of the launch Friday, in La Paz, Bolivia.

Hundreds of people gathered in the Bolivian capital to watch the launch of the satellite named after Tupac Katari, an indigenous Aymara hero who led 18th century resistance to Spanish colonizers, on large television screens erected by the government. It was financed with a credit from the China Development Bank for $302 million.