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 their [...]

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 [...]

The Bolivian judicial system has long required reform.  In 2009, the Morales administration proposed significant restructuring in the new constitution and set a staged timeline for these measures to be enacted. One of the most significant modifications is the implementation of judicial elections, calling for popular vote on October 16, 2011 to fill the Supreme [...]

On December 29, the Bolivian legislative assembly passed the “Jurisdictional Law,”(Law 73) which recognizes indigenous, first nations’ and campesino judicial authorities, and establishes the jurisdiction of these tribunals versus the central court.  Law 73 helps to clarify which cases and individuals can be tried in alternative judicial systems. Most importantly, the law upholds and clarifies [...]

This is a follow up to “Conflict and Consensus Part I: The Anti-Racism and Discrimination Law in Bolivia; Content and Justification of the Legislation.” On January 5, three months after the ratification of the “Law against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination,” the Morales administration approved a supreme decree to establish the implementation guidelines mandated [...]

On October 8, Bolivian President Evo Morales signed the “Law against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination” (O45) into effect.  Despite protests from journalists across the country, the Bolivian Legislative Assembly passed the law without modifying contested articles 16 and 23, which outline potential penalties for members of the media who publish racist or discriminatory [...]

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 [...]