Andean Information Network

Bolivia’s new constitution sets important precedents for indigenous autonomy. Drawing from the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the 2009 Constitution intends to grant greater self-determination to indigenous groups across the country. The 2010 Autonomy and Decentralization Framework Law outlines definitions and procedures for indigenous communities that wish to declare [...]

A block of indigenous representatives to the Bolivian Legislative Assembly announced that they are forming a new first nations’ caucus. The news unsettled Bolivian politics, as it means that MAS will lose its guaranteed 2/3 majority rule in the Legislative Assembly.
Congressman Bienvenido Zacu, a member of the newly formed caucus, explained that the new political [...]

Insight Crime’s “Massive Overcrowding Allows Bolivia’s Prison Gangs to Flourish” accurately highlights some of the endemic problems faced by Bolivia’s prisons. Yet, the crisis is not new; it began soon after the passage of drug control Law 1008, when the prison population swelled with prisoners detained on low-level drug charges. At the peak of the [...]

An ongoing municipal conflict in Yapacaní, in the Santa Cruz department, exploded on January 11, leading to three civilian deaths. In March 2011, a group of council members suspended MAS Mayor David Carvajal due to accusations of corruption, a common occurrence in Bolivia local governments.  However, their suspension did not properly follow legal procedures and [...]

According to the blogosphere, the biggest news out of Bolivia in the end of 2011 is that Bolivians have rejected McDonald’s. Headlines such as “McDonald’s goes belly up in Bolivia”[i] and “Fast Food fails to deliver in Bolivia”[ii] have topped Google alerts for weeks. Most all of the articles on the subject offer the same [...]

The Economist’s January 7th article, “Rough Justice: The wrong way to reform the courts,” offers a misleading picture of Bolivia’s recent judicial elections. While the newly elected magistrates face real challenges in renewing the Bolivian public’s faith in the national justice system, this article erroneously claims that appointed judges would were be better suited to [...]

On October 13, the Bolivian congress approved a new law to protect the contested TIPNIS indigenous territory and national park, temporary halting construction of the planned highway.  However, TIPNIS marchers, who are expected to arrive in La Paz next week after a two-month march on foot from the lowlands, reject the legislation, particularly because its [...]

On October 16, Bolivia will hold a popular vote to fill the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Tribunal, the Judiciary Council, and the National Agrarian and Environmental Tribunal.  These elections are part of Bolivian judicial reform, designed to make the judicial system more representative.  While critics of the MAS administration continue to question the politics behind [...]

On September 25 at 5 pm, approximately 500 Bolivian police officers tear-gassed and used excessive force against camping indigenous protestors outside of Yucumo, in Beni Department.   Initial reports listed one child dead and multiple wounded,[i] although human rights groups have not confirmed any casualties.   The violent police action presents the most dramatic example yet in [...]

On August 30, immediately following the “Black October” verdict, convicting five military officials and two ex-ministers for 68 killings in October 2003, the defense team of ex-president Sánchez de Lozada, disseminated a press release claiming the  trial was politicized and the verdict invalid.  Sánchez de Lozada, along with three former ministers who are also defendants [...]