Bolivia: Government

Principal Government Officials

Chief of State: President Juan Evo Morales Ayma
Head of Government: President Juan Evo Morales Ayma

A new constitution was promulgated February 7, 2009, replacing Bolivia’s 1967 constitution. The 2009 constitution provides for legislative, executive, judicial, and electoral branches of government.

The National Congress, renamed Plurinational Assembly, is composed of two bodies: the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Senators. The Chamber of Deputies has 130 members, with 70 members selected by direct vote, 53 by party list, and seven in special indigenous areas. The Chamber of Senators has 36 members, with 4 from each of the 9 departments. The executive consists of the president, vice president, and the ministers of state. The president and vice president are selected through national elections. The ministers of state are appointed.

The judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, an independent Constitutional Tribunal, a Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and departmental and lower courts. The 2009 constitution reformed the procedure for selecting judicial officials for the Supreme Court, Constitutional Tribunal, and Supreme Electoral Tribunal to make these officials subject to election by national vote. To stand for election, candidates first must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of all Plurinational Assembly members present.

The 2009 constitution strengthened the executive branch and centralized political and economic decision-making. It also provided new powers and responsibilities at the departmental, municipal, and regional areas, as well as in newly-created indigenous autonomous areas.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Bolivia traditionally has maintained normal diplomatic relations with all hemispheric states except Chile. Relations with Chile, strained since Bolivia’s defeat in the War of the Pacific (1879-83) and its loss of the coastal province of Atacama, were severed from 1962 to 1975 in a dispute over the use of the waters of the Lauca River. Relations were resumed in 1975, but broken again in 1978, over the inability of the two countries to reach an agreement that might have granted Bolivia sovereign access to the sea. Relations with Chile improved during the Michelle Bachelet administration. They are maintained today below the ambassadorial level. In June 2009, Peru recalled its ambassador over accusations of Bolivian involvement in its internal political affairs and personal attacks by President Morales on Peruvian President Alan Garcia.

In the 1960s, relations with Cuba were broken following Fidel Castro’s rise to power, but resumed under the Paz Estenssoro administration in 1985. Under President Morales, relations between Bolivia and Cuba have improved considerably, and Cuba has sent doctors and teachers to Bolivia. Relations with Venezuela are close, with the Venezuelan Government providing financial assistance to Bolivian municipalities, the armed forces, and the police since Morales took office. The Bolivian Government announced in September 2007 that it would pursue diplomatic relations with Iran and Libya, with plans to cooperate in the petrochemical industry and increase Bolivian exports to both countries.

Bolivia is a member of the UN and some of its specialized agencies and related programs, the Organization of American States (OAS), CAN, Non-Aligned Movement, International Parliamentary Union, Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), World Trade Organization (WTO), Rio Treaty, Rio Group, Amazon Pact, UNASUR, ALBA, and an associate member of Mercosur. As an outgrowth of the 1994 Summit of the Americas, Bolivia hosted a hemispheric summit conference on sustainable development in December 1996. UNASUR’s “parliament” will be located in Cochabamba, in the geographic center of Bolivia.

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