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Bolivia Index
El Prado, a main avenue in La Paz
Courtesy United States Department of State
The Constituent Assembly that founded Bolivia in 1825
wrote the
nation's first constitution establishing a centralized
government
with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Based
on the
United States Constitution and borrowing a few premises
from the
French Republic, the first charter adopted liberal and
representative democracy granting the congress autonomy
and
policy-making prerogatives. This constitution, however,
was never
adopted.
On November 26, 1826, the Bolivarian constitution,
written in
Lima by the liberator Simón Bolívar Palacio, replaced the
original document and instituted a fourfold separation of
powers
among a lifetime presidency, an independent judiciary, a
tricameral congress, and an electoral body. The tricameral
congress comprised the Senate and the Chamber of Tribunes,
whose
members had fixed terms, as well as a Chamber of Censors,
whose
members served for life. Theoretically, the Senate was
responsible for codifying laws and reorienting church and
court
officials, the Chamber of Tribunes possessed general
legislative
powers, and the Chamber of Censors had oversight powers
that
included impeachment of members of the executive. In
reality, the
legislature's key functions were to name the president and
to
approve a list of successors submitted by the president.
One of
the long-lasting effects of the Bolivarian constitution
was the
establishment of an executive-based system. The Bolivarian
constitution reflected the Spanish tradition of
bureaucratic
patrimonialism in which power rested in the executive
branch.
Historians have argued retrospectively that Bolívar's
constitution suited the nation's political structure
better than
the liberal constitutions that followed.
In many ways, the Bolivarian constitution reflected
Bolívar's
uneasiness about mob rule. Like the founding fathers of
the
United States, Bolívar considered necessary the prevention
of
rule by the masses. As a result, the franchise was
extended only
to those literate in Spanish who either possessed property
then
worth 400 bolivianos or engaged in an art, in a science,
or in
some other remunerative position. Domestic and personal
servants
were also denied the franchise. In short, voting rights
were
limited to a very small and privileged elite. Voting
qualifications and restrictions remained until universal
suffrage
was adopted during the 1952 Revolution.
Mostly, however, the Bolivarian constitution reflected
Bolívar's
distrust of the privileged elite that inherited Upper
(Alto) Peru
from Spain. Bolívar feared that rival elite factions would
wage
battle against each other for control over the new nation
and
became convinced that the best way to prevent instability
and
chaos was to institutionalize a strong, centralized, and
lifetime
presidency.
In spite of Bolívar's foresight, the Bolivarian
constitution did
not last long because of the great disparity that existed
between
the national aspirations of the state and its effective
power
over Bolivia's disparate regions and population. Between
1825 and
1880, Bolivian political life was dominated by a series of
quasi-
military leaders, known as caudillos, who had emerged with
the
collapse of the Spanish Empire. Within the context of
economic
crisis, warring caudillos, and a semifeudal social
structure,
constitutions and the national government became prizes to
be
captured by one or another caudillo.
Under the presidency of General Andrés de Santa Cruz y
Calahumana, a new constitution was adopted on August 31,
1831.
The new constitution introduced bicameralism, dividing the
body
between the Chamber of Senators (Senate) and the Chamber
of
Deputies elected by proportional representation. Annual
sessions
for the Nationsl Congress (hereafter, Congress) were to
run
between sixty and ninety days. Although the president was
given
the power to dissolve congress, the new constitution
abolished
the lifetime presidency and limited the president to
renewable
four-year terms. Despite these limitations, however,
presidential
power actually increased during the presidency of Santa
Cruz, and
the trend toward greater concentration of power in the
executive
continued throughout Bolivia's history.
Under the short-lived Peru-Bolivian Confederation of
1836-39,
Santa Cruz promulgated a new constitution that basically
applied
the principles of the 1831 charter to the alliance
(see
Construction of Bolivia: Bolívar, Sucre, and Santa Cruz,
ch. 1).
The end of the confederation motivated Santa Cruz to
institutionalize the strong executive model embodied in
the 1831
charter. Because the president was given the power to
dissolve
the legislature, Congress was condemned to a passive and
submissive role.
For the next forty-two years, Bolivia was subjected to
the whims
of caudillos who dictated constitutional charters almost
as
regularly as changes of government occurred. Between 1839
and
1880, six constitutions were approved by the legislative
power.
Except for the constitution of 1839, which limited
presidential
power, the constitutions promulgated under José Ballivián
y
Segurola (1843), Manuel Isidoro Belzú Humérez (1851), José
María
Achá Valiente (1861), Mariano Melgarejo Valencia (1868),
and
Agustín Morales Hernández (1871) further concentrated
power in
the hands of the executive. As a rule, during this era
Congress
responded to the demands of whatever caudillo was in
power.
Caudillo politics came to an end after the War of the
Pacific
(1879-80), in which the combined forces of Bolivia and
Peru
suffered a humiliating defeat against Chile's armed forces
(see War of the Pacific
, ch. 1). The end of the war gave rise
to a new
mining elite oriented to laissez-faire capitalism. Aided
by the
failure of Bolivia's armed forces in the war effort, this
new
elite was able to design a new civilian regime of "order
and
progress."
In 1880 Bolivia's most durable constitution was
approved; it was
to remain in effect for the next fifty-eight years. Under
this
constitution, bicameralism was fully adopted, and the
legislative
power became an important arena for political debate.
During this
period, Bolivia achieved a functioning constitutional
order
complete with political parties, interest groups, and an
active
legislature. The country was also a prime example of a
formal
democracy with legally limited participation. Literacy and
property requirements were still enforced to exclude the
Indian
population and the urban working class from politics.
Political
life was reserved for the privileged and a minuscule upper
class.
The basic premises of representative democracy
introduced in
1880 still prevailed in 1989. Specifically, congressional
oversight prerogatives over executive behavior were
introduced by
law in 1884 when Bolivia emerged from the War of the
Pacific. The
Law Governing Trials of Responsibilities was to become an
integral part of Bolivia's restricted democracy.
The era of political stability, which paralleled the
integration
of Bolivia into the world economy through the export of
tin,
ceased with the end of the tin-export boom and the
overthrow of
President Daniel Salamanca Urey (1931-34). One of the
legacies of
this period was an extremely stratified pattern of social
relations that was to affect Bolivia's political
structure. In
particular, the middle class became dependent on the state
for
employment as the upper class monopolized hard sources of
wealth.
As the economy plummeted, competition for scarce jobs
increased.
The result was a discontented and jobless middle class. In
this
context, political conflict became a struggle between
factions
led by elite leaders and middle-class followers.
The economic crisis of the 1930s and the disastrous
Chaco War
(1932-35) exacerbated social tensions
(see the Chaco War
, ch. 1).
The effects of the war would in turn have a dramatic
effect on
Bolivian political life and its institutions. Between 1935
and
1952, middle-class reformist efforts converged into
populist
movements led by both military officers and middle-class
civilian
intellectuals
(see Prelude to Revolution, 1935-52
, ch. 1).
Under
Colonel Germán Busch Becerra (1937-39), a constituent
assembly
approved reforms in 1938 that were to have a lasting and
profound
impact on Bolivian society. Of greatest significance were
changes
that altered the pattern of relations between state and
society.
According to its provisions, human rights outweighed
property
rights, the national interest in the subsoil and its
riches
predominated, the state had a right to intervene in
economic life
and to regulate commerce, workers could organize and
bargain
collectively, and educational facilities for all children
were
mandated. The labor provision helped establish the basis
for
political parties by allowing the formation of miners' and
peasants' unions that eventually played central roles in
the 1952
Revolution.
Bolivia's constitution was again reformed in 1944
during the
presidency of Colonel Gualberto Villarroel López
(1943-46),
another populist reformer. The principal changes included
suffrage rights for women, but only in municipal
elections, and
the establishment of presidential and vice presidential
terms of
six years without immediate reelection. Reforms undertaken
by
military-populist governments, however, were partially
rolled
back following the overthrow and assassination of
Villarroel in
1946. In 1947 a new constitution reduced the presidential
term to
four years and increased the powers of the Senate.
In retrospect, it is clear that the post-Chaco War
reformist
efforts increased the role of the state, especially in
terms of
redressing social and economic grievances. The
constitutions of
this period reflected the rise of movements and groups
that were
to dominate Bolivian politics for the next forty years.
For
example, the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement
(Movimiento
Nacionalista Revolucionario--MNR) espoused a broad
multiclass
alliance of workers, peasants, and middle-class elements
to do
battle with the antinational forces of the mining
oligarchy and
its foreign allies. It went on to conduct the 1952
Revolution,
and in 1988 the MNR was back in power with Paz Estenssoro,
its
founder and leader, as president. Although the 1952
Revolution
fundamentally transformed Bolivian society, a new
political order
was never fully implemented. Between 1952 and 1956,
factions of
the MNR debated alternative and novel modes of political
organization, including proposals to implement a worker's
assembly. By 1956, however, the 1947 constitution had been
ratified. Apart from a powerful labor movement, organized
as the
Bolivian Labor Federation (Central Obrera Boliviana--COB),
the
MNR failed to create new institutions capable of
channeling and
controlling the demands of the groups mobilized by the
1952
Revolution
(see The Unfinished Revolution
, ch. 1).
The 1961 constitution institutionalized the gains of
the 1952
Revolution by adopting universal suffrage, the
nationalization of
the mines, and agrarian reform. Factional disputes within
the
MNR, rooted in demands for access to state employment,
undermined
the party's capacity to carry out further reforms. In
fact, the
1961 constitution served mainly the interests of Paz
Estenssoro's
faction of the MNR by providing for his reelection in
1964.
The overthrow of the MNR by General René Barrientos
Ortuño
(president, 1964-65; copresident, May 1965-January 1966;
and
president, 1966-69) in 1964 initiated the contemporary era
in
Bolivian constitutional development
(see The Presidency of Barrientos
, ch. 1). After calling elections in 1966 and
invoking
the 1947 constitution, Barrientos attempted to force
through
Congress a new corporatist charter. Because he sought
democratic
legitimacy, however, he was forced to give up his original
project in favor of a constitution rooted firmly in the
liberal
democratic tradition that had inspired the authors of the
1880
charter.
Under the terms of the Constitution of 1967, Bolivia is
a
unitary republic that retains a democratic and
representative
democracy. Article 2 stipulates that sovereignty resides
in the
people, that it is inalienable, and that its exercise is
delegated to the legislative, executive, and judicial
powers. The
functions of the public power--executive, legislative, and
judicial--cannot be united in a single branch of
government.
Although the Constitution of 1967 recognizes Roman
Catholicism as
the official state religion, it also guarantees to all
faiths the
right to worship publicly. In theory, the people govern
through
their representatives and through other authorities
established
by law. The Constitution of 1967 became known to most
Bolivians
only in the 1980s because, for all practical purposes, it
was in
effect only until 1969 when a coup by General Alfredo
Ovando
Candia (copresident, May 1965-January 1966, and president,
January-August 1966 and 1969-70) overthrew the civilian
regime.
Between then and 1979, the Constitution of 1967 was given
only
lip service by the military rulers who governed Bolivia.
Between 1978 and 1989, four general elections were
held, and
Bolivia enjoyed a stable, elected, civilian democratic
government
under the terms of the Constitution of 1967. Nevertheless,
although the Constitution of 1967 had continued the strong
executive tradition, the political system had not yet
developed
strong party organizations capable of establishing viable
and
long-term ruling coalitions.
Data as of December 1989
- Bolivia-The United States FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE IN THE 1980s
- Bolivia-Mission and Organization THE ARMED FORCES
- Bolivia-Natural Regions
- Bolivia-Mountains and Altiplano
- Bolivia-Attitudes Toward Antinarcotics Forces
- Bolivia-Altiplano, Yungas, and Valley Indians
- Bolivia-Rural Society SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
- Bolivia-RELIGION
- Bolivia-The Private Sector
- Bolivia-Revolutionary Nationalism: Ovando and Torres
- Bolivia-Informal Sector
- Bolivia-Radical Military Government PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION, 1935-52
- Bolivia-Lowlands
- Bolivia-Struggle for Independence INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN AND THE EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD, 1809-39
- Bolivia-The Rise of New Political Groups
- Bolivia-The Media
- Bolivia-Migration MIGRATION AND URBANIZATION
- Bolivia-Petroleum and Natural Gas
- Bolivia-General Procedures
- Bolivia-The Middle Class
- Bolivia-GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- Bolivia-Regional Civic Committees
- Bolivia-Whites
- Bolivia-MINING
- Bolivia-Transition to Democracy
- Bolivia -COUNTRY PROFILE
- Bolivia-Electricity
- Bolivia-The "Sexenio," 1946-52
- Bolivia-Civic Action
- Bolivia-Formal Sector LABOR
- Bolivia-The Economy of Upper Peru
- Bolivia-Radical Reforms THE BOLIVIAN NATIONAL REVOLUTION, 1952-64
- Bolivia-The Banzer Regime
- Bolivia-State, Church, and Society
- Bolivia-HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY
- Bolivia-War of the Pacific FROM THE WAR OF THE PACIFIC TO THE CHACO WAR, 1879- 1935
- Bolivia-Chapter 1 - Historical Setting
- Bolivia-Mestizos and Cholos
- Bolivia-Reorganization of the Armed Forces, 1952-66
- Bolivia-Livestock
- Bolivia-The United States
- Bolivia-Other Foreign Military Ties
- Bolivia-Chapter 5 - National Security
- Bolivia-TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Bolivia-Fiscal Policy ECONOMIC POLICY
- Bolivia-The Military
- Bolivia-Coca
- Bolivia-Foreword
- Bolivia-Narcoterrorism
- Bolivia-Political Forces and Interest Groups
- Bolivia-Regional Police Structure
- Bolivia-Land Use
- Bolivia-Chapter 3 - The Economy
- Bolivia-Construction of Bolivia: Bolívar, Sucre, and Santa Cruz
- Bolivia-BOLIVIA
- Bolivia-The Peasantry
- Bolivia-SOCIETY
- Bolivia-Cash Crops
- Bolivia-Democracy and Economic Stabilization
- Bolivia-Military Justice
- Bolivia-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
- Bolivia-Narcotics Corruption
- Bolivia-Early History EVOLUTION OF THE MILITARY ROLE IN SOCIETY AND GOVERNMENT
- Bolivia-MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION
- Bolivia-Foreign Trade FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS
- Bolivia-The Presidency of Barrientos MILITARY RULE, 1964-82
- Bolivia-Revenues
- Bolivia-The Republican Party and the Great Depression
- Bolivia-POLITICAL INSTABILITY AND ECONOMIC DECLINE, 1839-79
- Bolivia-The 1989 Elections
- Bolivia-AGRICULTURE
- Bolivia-Crops
- Bolivia-Family and Kin
- Bolivia-The Counterinsurgency Decade
- Bolivia-NATIONAL SECURITY:
- Bolivia-The Unfinished Revolution
- Bolivia-Subversive Groups
- Bolivia-Land Reform and Land Policy
- Bolivia-Urbanization
- Bolivia-ETHNIC GROUPS
- Bolivia-Reconstruction and the Rule of the Conservatives
- Bolivia-POPULATION AND REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION
- Bolivia-Communications
- Bolivia-The Criminal Justice System CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Bolivia-PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILIZATIONS
- Bolivia-Conscription MANPOWER AND TRAINING
- Bolivia-CONSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND
- Bolivia-ECONOMY
- Bolivia-Special Police Forces
- Bolivia-EDUCATION
- Bolivia-Departmental and Local Government
- Bolivia-Farming Technology
- Bolivia-The Penal System
- Bolivia-Recruitment and Training
- Bolivia-The Third World
- Bolivia-Forestry and Fishing
- Bolivia-GEOGRAPHY
- Bolivia-Expenditures
- Bolivia-Acknowledgments
- Bolivia-Military Schools
- Bolivia-Organized Labor
- Bolivia-Air Force
- Bolivia-Foreign Assistance
- Bolivia-Preface
- Bolivia-Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies
- Bolivia-ENERGY
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Civil Aeronautics
- Bolivia-Land Tenure
- Bolivia-Defense Budget
- Bolivia-Narcotics Trafficking THREATS TO INTERNAL SECURITY
- Bolivia-The Electoral System
- Bolivia-The Legislature
- Bolivia-Conquest and Settlement CONQUEST AND COLONIAL RULE, 1532-1809
- Bolivia-Incidence of Crime
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-The Legacy of the 1952 Revolution POLITICAL DYNAMICS
- Bolivia-Extradition
- Bolivia-The Judiciary
- Bolivia-Tin and Related Metals
- Bolivia-Transportation
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Army
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Structure of the Mining Industry
- Bolivia-Other Metals and Minerals
- Bolivia-Balance of Payments
- Bolivia-Banking and Financial Services SERVICES
- Bolivia-The Executive GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-The Soviet Union
- Bolivia-Military Intervention in Politics, 1970-85
- Bolivia-Bilateral and Legislative Antinarcotics Measures
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Yungas and Other Valleys
- Bolivia-GROWTH AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY
- Bolivia-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment
- Bolivia-The Legacy of the Chaco War
- Bolivia-Neighboring Countries
- Bolivia-The Chaco War
- Bolivia-GEOGRAPHY
- Bolivia-Lowland Indians
- Bolivia-Urban Society
- Bolivia-Navy
- Bolivia-INTRODUCTION
- Bolivia-The Liberal Party and the Rise of Tin
- Bolivia-FOREIGN RELATIONS
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Debt
- Bolivia-The Upper Class
- Bolivia-Climate
- Bolivia-Impact of Narcotics Trafficking
Background | | Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor, indigenous majority. However, since taking office, his controversial strategies have exacerbated racial and economic tensions between the Amerindian populations of the Andean west and the non-indigenous communities of the eastern lowlands. In December 2009, President MORALES easily won reelection, and his party took control of the legislative branch of the government, which will allow him to continue his process of change.
|
Location | | Central South America, southwest of Brazil
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 1,098,581 sq km land: 1,083,301 sq km water: 15,280 sq km
|
Geographic coordinates | | 17 00 S, 65 00 W
|
Land boundaries(km) | | total: 6,940 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 km
|
Coastline(km) | | 0 km (landlocked)
|
Climate | | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m
|
Natural resources | | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower
|
Land use(%) | | arable land: 2.78% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.03% (2005)
|
Irrigated land(sq km) | | 1,320 sq km (2003)
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 622.5 cu km (2000)
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 1.44 cu km/yr (13%/7%/81%) per capita: 157 cu m/yr (2000)
|
Natural hazards | | flooding in the northeast (March-April)
|
Environment - current issues | | the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation
|
Environment - international agreements | | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
|
Geography - note | | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
|
Population | | 9,775,246 (July 2009 est.)
|
Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,767,310/female 1,701,744) 15-64 years: 60% (male 2,877,605/female 2,992,043) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 193,196/female 243,348) (2009 est.)
|
Median age(years) | | total: 21.9 years male: 21.3 years female: 22.6 years (2009 est.)
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 1.772% (2009 est.)
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 25.82 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 66% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
|
Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
|
Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 44.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 48.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
|
Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 66.89 years male: 64.2 years female: 69.72 years (2009 est.)
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 3.17 children born/woman (2009 est.)
|
Nationality | | noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian
|
Ethnic groups(%) | | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15%
|
Religions(%) | | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%
|
Languages(%) | | Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)
|
Country name | | conventional long form: Plurinational State of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia
|
Government type | | republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State"
|
Capital | | name: La Paz (administrative capital) geographic coordinates: 16 30 S, 68 09 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sucre (constitutional capital)
|
Administrative divisions | | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
|
Constitution | | 7-Feb-09
|
Legal system | | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; the 2009 Constitution incorporates indigenous community justice into Bolivia's judicial system
|
Suffrage | | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
|
Executive branch | | chief of state: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014); note - per the new constitution, presidents can serve for a total of two consecutive terms election results: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma elected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 64%; Manfred REYES VILLA 26%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 6%; Rene JOAQUINO 2%; other 2%
|
Legislative branch | | bicameral Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (36 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 76 members are directly elected from their districts [7 or 8 of these are chosen from indigenous districts] and 54 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms). elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2015) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 26, PPB-CN 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 89, PPB-CN 36, UN 3, AS 2
|
Judicial branch | | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms); District Courts (one in each department); Plurinational Constitutional Court (five primary or titulares and five alternate or suplente magistrates elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to rule on constitutional issues); Plurinational Electoral Organ (seven members elected by the Assembly and the president; one member must be of indigenous origin to six-year terms); Agro-Environmental Court (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to run on agro-environmental issues); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)
|
Political pressure groups and leaders | | Bolivian Workers Central or COR; Federation of Neighborhood Councils of El Alto or FEJUVE; Landless Movement or MST; National Coordinator for Change or CONALCAM; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB other: Cocalero groups; indigenous organizations (including Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Eastern Bolivia or CIDOB and National Council of Ayullus and Markas of Quollasuyu or CONAMAQ); labor unions (including the Central Bolivian Workers' Union or COB and Cooperative Miners Federation or FENCOMIN)
|
International organization participation | | CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag description | | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band note: similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; in 2009, a presidential decree made it mandatory for a so-called wiphala - a square, multi-colored flag representing the country's indigenous peoples - to be used alongside the traditional flag
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Economy - overview | | Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America. Following a disastrous economic crisis during the early 1980s, reforms spurred private investment, stimulated economic growth, and cut poverty rates in the 1990s. The period 2003-05 was characterized by political instability, racial tensions, and violent protests against plans - subsequently abandoned - to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. In 2005, the government passed a controversial hydrocarbons law that imposed significantly higher royalties and required foreign firms then operating under risk-sharing contracts to surrender all production to the state energy company. In early 2008, higher earnings for mining and hydrocarbons exports pushed the current account surplus to 9.4% of GDP and the government's higher tax take produced a fiscal surplus after years of large deficits. Private investment as a share of GDP, however, remains among the lowest in Latin America, and inflation remained at double-digit levels in 2008. The decline in commodity prices in late 2008, the lack of foreign investment in the mining and hydrocarbon sectors, and the suspension of trade benefits with the United States will pose challenges for the Bolivian economy in 2009.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $43.38 billion (2008 est.) $40.88 billion (2007 est.) $39.08 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $16.6 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 6.1% (2008 est.) 4.6% (2007 est.) 4.8% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $4,500 (2008 est.) $4,300 (2007 est.) $4,200 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 11.3% industry: 36.9% services: 51.8% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 4.454 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 40% industry: 17% services: 43% (2006 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 7.5% (2008 est.) 7.5% (2007 est.) note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 60% (2006 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 44.1% (2005)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 59.2 (2006) 44.7 (1999)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 18% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $8.039 billion expenditures: $7.5 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 14% (2008 est.) 8.7% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $3.998 billion (31 December 2008) $3.032 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $6.339 billion (31 December 2008) $4.729 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $5.433 billion (31 December 2008) $4.759 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA (31 December 2008) $2.263 billion (31 December 2007) $2.223 billion (31 December 2006)
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Economic aid - recipient | | $582.9 million (2005 est.)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 45.2% of GDP (2008 est.) 46.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber
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Industries | | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 10.6% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | $2.015 billion (2008 est.) $1.984 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $6.448 billion (2008 est.) $4.49 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin
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Exports - partners(%) | | Brazil 60.1%, US 8.3%, Japan 4.1% (2008)
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Imports | | $4.641 billion (2008 est.) $3.24 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans
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Imports - partners(%) | | Brazil 26.7%, Argentina 16.3%, US 10.5%, Chile 9.5%, Peru 7.1%, China 4.8% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $7.722 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $5.318 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $5.931 billion (31 December 2008) $5.385 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $5.998 billion (31 December 2008)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $NA
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Exchange rates | | bolivianos (BOB) per US dollar - 7.253 (2008 est.), 7.8616 (2007), 8.0159 (2006), 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | boliviano (BOB)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 690,000 (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 4.83 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: privatization begun in 1995; reliability has steadily improved; new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile-cellular telephone use expanding rapidly; fixed-line teledensity of 7 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density slighly exceeds 50 per 100 persons domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded international: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
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Internet country code | | .bo
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Internet users | | 1 million (2008)
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Airports | | 952 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 4,883 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,475 km; refined products 1,589 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 62,479 km paved: 3,749 km unpaved: 58,730 km (2004)
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Ports and terminals | | Puerto Aguirre (inland port on the Paraguay/Parana waterway at the Bolivia/Brazil border); Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
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Military branches | | Bolivian Armed Forces: Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano, EB), Bolivian Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, FNB; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18-49 years of age for 12-month compulsory military service; when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal, compulsory recruitment is effected, including conscription of boys as young as 14; 15-19 years of age for voluntary premilitary service, provides exemption from further military service (2009)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 2,295,746 females age 16-49: 2,366,828 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,666,697 females age 16-49: 1,906,396 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 108,304 female: 104,882 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.9% of GDP (2006)
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Disputes - international | | Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile offers instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities; an accord placed the long-disputed Isla Suarez/Ilha de Guajara-Mirim, a fluvial island on the Rio Mamore, under Bolivian administration in 1958, but sovereignty remains in dispute
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 5.495 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 44.4% hydro: 54% nuclear: 0% other: 1.5% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 4.665 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 51,360 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 60,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 10,950 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 6,172 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 465 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 14.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 2.41 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 11.79 billion cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 750.4 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.2% (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 8,100 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 500 (2007 est.)
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Major infectious diseases | | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.7% male: 93.1% female: 80.7% (2001 census)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 6.4% of GDP (2003)
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