Andean Information Network

The results of April 4 departmental and municipal elections largely reflect previous trends in voter choices. Initial estimates indicate that the official MAS party won five out of nine governor posts: Cochabamba, La Paz, Chuquisaca, Potosi and Oruro. They may have also prevailed in Pando, although that departmental race remains too close to call before [...]

It’s not the first time a respected, established journalist has presented a selective view of events in Bolivia.  In general, Lawrence Wright’s New Yorker article “Lithium Dreams” covers a great deal of territory, but lacks objectivity and thorough research in some areas.
Some errors are simple and avoidable, such as misspelling Pablo Solón, Bolivian ambassador to [...]

Despite U.S. concerns that Bolivia cultivates problematic alliances with countries such as Venezuela and Iran, it is important to note that Bolivia also maintains good relations with nations the United States government considers to be allies, including many of Bolivia’s neighbors. For example, Chile benefits from strong economic and diplomatic ties to the U.S., but [...]

Minister of Government, Sacha Llorenti, announced on March 16 that prisoners in La Paz’s maximum security prison, Chonchocoro, would remain locked down for 23 hours in an attempt to stifle recent  outbursts of violence.
On Sunday March 14, one prisoner detonated a grenade, injuring three others. Prison officials transferred the wounded to hospitals for treatment. Following [...]

Legislative Agenda Loses Steam
Almost a month after the whirlwind legislative approval of the “short-term” judicial law, Bolivian government officials appear to be moving slowly on other issues. Although critics initially expressed concern about the MAS leadership’s propensity to aggressively “steamroller”  their political agenda, no other major legislation has been passed. This suggests there is not [...]

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 [...]