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Bolivia - Politics

While economic growth had been positive in the past, Bolivia remained one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Much of the population lives in poverty and the country faces serious economic and social challenges. Bolivia is a producer of coca and cocaine. Bolivia is a constitutional, multi-party republic with an elected president and a bicameral legislature.

On December 18, 2005, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) candidate Juan Evo Morales Ayma was elected to the presidency by 54% of the voters. Morales won the December 2005 election by convincing, not only the poor and the indigenous to vote for him, but also a majority of the middle-class.

On 24 February 2010 Evo Morales won a landslide re-election victory in the presidential vote. Morales was elected to a third term in October 2014. His government is pursuing a constitutional amendment through a February 2016 referendum to allow Morales to run for a fourth term in 2019.

Historically one of South America's most unstable countries, Bolivia enjoyed relative prosperity and calm since Morales came to power. Whether Evo Morales had a chance to win a re-election in 2019 was more than unclear. In 2013, the Venezuelan regime was able to gain a majority of the vote, despite disastrous economic policies.

On 15 December 2006 the four departments that make up the eastern lowlands (half-moon states), Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni, and Pando, held large scale outdoor assemblies (cabildo in Spanish) to support departmental autonomy and the two-thirds vote in the constituent assembly (CA). Opposition and government figures estimate that more than one million people attended, including 800,000 in Santa Cruz. This figure represents more than ten percent of Bolivia's nine million population. The assemblies were peaceful, with the exception of rioting when assembly supporters outside of Santa Cruz tried to cross a road blockade and were attacked by MAS sympathizers. All four assemblies were carefully managed by departmental and civic leaders so as to avoid mention of independence.

To celebrate the one year anniversary of their vote in favor of "autonomy" large crowds gathered in the department capitals of Bolivia's four eastern departments on 02 July 2007. Each of the four departments also unveiled their unilaterally formulated "Autonomy Statutes." The statutes, essentially draft constitutions, if enacted would give the departmental governments vastly expanded powers, many of which are currently handled by the central government. The Santa Cruz statute calls for a directly elected executive and legislative assembly. Under Bolivian law there was no legislative branch at the departmental level. The most controversial feature in the Santa Cruz statute would grant the department government the power to regulate internal migration, a proposal that received much government criticism. In a clear attempt to defuse the controversy that pitted departmental autonomy against indigenous autonomy, Santa Cruz Prefect Costas and the leaders of five indigenous groups signed a "social and political pact" defending both forms of autonomy.

The constitution allows a president two consecutive terms in office. Morales was first elected in 2006 and then again in 2009. The constitutional term limit was adopted in 2009. In 2013 the Supreme Court decreed his 2006-09 period in office should not be counted as a first term as it preceded the adoption of the constitution.

The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press, but the government did not always respect these rights. The government used the antiracism law to restrict both rights, and some media outlets reported the government pressured them to report favorably about its policies. Some members of the press also alleged that government officials verbally harassed individual journalists and intimidated media outlets perceived to be critical of the government. There were reports of violence and harassment against members of the press corps. There were also allegations that government officials targeted and harassed media outlets perceived to be critical of the government.

While most demonstrations were peaceful, occasionally demonstrators carried weapons, including clubs, machetes, firearms, and dynamite. Security forces (police and on occasion the military) at times dispersed protest groups carrying weapons or threatening government and private facilities. There are no undue restrictions on political parties, but some opposition political leaders alleged the government’s charges against some elected officials and opposition political leaders were politically motivated.

Bolivia is prone to social unrest that includes violence. Given the country's reliance on a few key thoroughfares, conflict often disrupts transportation and distribution networks. The majority of civil disturbances are related to domestic issues, usually workers pressuring the government for concessions by marching or closing major transportation arteries. There has been little to no political violence targeted towards foreigners.

The rate of conflict grew substantially in 2013 due to protests over government infrastructure projects, salary increase or the second yearly bonus, and the draft of the new mining law. While protests and blockades are frequent, they only periodically affect commerce. Less than a half-dozen conflicts in La Paz directly affected distribution of essential services or travel in and out of the city for periods greater than 24 hours during 2013.

The Bolivian National Assembly approved 16 January 2016 the decision to probe former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada over “prejudicial contracts to the State, anti-economic behavior and unfulfillment of duty,” the Congress presidency said. Sanchez de Lozada, who was a fugitive from Bolivia’s justice system was living in the United States since he was accused in 2006 for violation of human rights. He was governing Bolivia during the privatization of various state-run companies, particularly the railway firm ENFE in 1995.

Sanchez Lozada was accused of having under-sold the state shares for an amount of US$13 million, while its value was estimated to reach US$29 million. Lawmakers approved a report issued by the legislative commission of justice, which was issued after a year investigation into the capitalization and privatizations of public companies carried out between 1990-2001.

Regional and communal votes had seen "Movement toward Socialism" MAS candidates losing important offices. Morales must also be wary of losing more supporters should an economic downturn forecast through 2017 balloon into a crisis. His proponents had become fewer as people begin to believe that Evo Morales' politics are neither intended for all Bolivians nor for all Indigenous peoples.

Evo Morales served as president from January 22, 2006, until November 10, 2019. He left Bolivia on November 10 to avoid a "bloodbath" when repression against his supporters intensified after the coup d'etat. The Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) leader noted that the coup was a reactive response from fascist and racist sectors to the structural changes that he was leading in Bolivia. Morales explained that the coup against him was properly "the Lithium Coup." The beneficiaries of the destruction of democracy in Bolivia seek to appropriate a mineral whose "value has increased markedly in international markets over the last years because it is a fundamental raw material" in the manufacture of eco-friendly technologies and electric batteries.

Civil disturbances related to domestic issues are common, often involving workers pressuring the government for concessions by marching or closing major transportation arteries. While Bolivia has low levels of street crime, with a homicide rate well below the regional average, there is a growing concern about increased criminality, especially gender-based violence and femicide. According to the UN Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean, Bolivia has the second-highest rate of femicide in South America, with a rate of 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023, and consistently has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in Latin America. Production of coca leaf is legal in Bolivia for traditional consumption, but the country is a known source and transit country for cocaine and other illicit drugs.