Andean Information Network

During the past five years, numerous high-ranking Bolivian judicial officers resigned amidst political controversy or stepped down when their terms ended, leaving many vacancies. This trend left the Constitutional Tribunal without members since June 2009. As a result, there was no way to rule on the constitutionality of government or other initiatives. The Supreme Court [...]

Bolivian president Evo Morales’s frequent, blunt criticisms of the United States Government often provoke irritation and complaints in Washington about negative “rhetoric” impeding bilateral relations.
Unfortunate comments from some U.S. officials complicate relations
It’s important to note that although U.S. officials have generally made diplomatic statements regarding relations with Bolivia, there have been some notable exceptions. The [...]

After the Bolivian armed forces refused to allow special prosecutor Milton Mendoza access to their files from the Garcia Meza dictatorship (1980-1981), despite court orders permitting him to do so, the armed forces changed their public stance.
In a press conference the same day, Commander of the Armed Forces General Ramiro de la Fuente Bloch stated [...]

It sounded too good to be true, and, of course it was. The new Bolivian Defense Minister, Ruben Saavedra, stated that the government, “has full democratic will to make the information available to… allow access to the armed forces’ information,” and promised that the Attorney General’s team would have access to personnel files today (EFE [...]

This should quell some fears about how closed to capitalist and American initiatives the new Bolivian pluri-national government could be:
During his campaign, Evo Morales promised that he would reach out to the lowland upper and middle classes and lobby to have the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant held in Santa Cruz.  The lowland city has the [...]

Military Trials in Human Rights Cases: Illegal and Reinforce Impunity
Since 2001, high-profile human rights cases have been transferred to the Bolivian military tribunal, although the Bolivian constitution and law do not authorize military jurisdiction in human rights cases.  Article 48 of the criminal procedures code states that:  "If there is doubt about the appropriate [...]

Though the report refers anecdotally to punishments of adulterers and others accused of violating local norms, the cases which it actually documents are all instances of lynching, in which an accused thief is apprehended and violently punished by an angry mob. Such events are not a product of the MAS’s rise to power, but have [...]

In addition, the Bolivian government is expected to present a formal extradition request to the U.S. State Department so that Sánchez de Lozada and two of his former ministers can stand trial in Bolivia.  (The United States and Bolivia signed an extradition treaty on June 27, 1995 which entered into force on November 21, 1996). [...]

Eleven reasons why the US civil court case makes sense:
1.     Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, have deftly crafted the misleading message that the criminal trial in Bolivia is a MAS political witch hunt, although the trial was actually approved by 2/3 of the Bolivian congress during the presidency of Sánchez de [...]

Adalberto Rojas and members of the APDH have been receiving threats and harassment since 2003 because of their legitimate work in defence of human rights of peasants, indigenous peoples and other members of the Santa Cruz de la Sierra community who face discrimination. In recent months, these threats have worsened as different groups in Santa [...]