I stayed away from this because it was a lot of “watching the pot boil” kind of stuff in Bolivia. They (government & opposition) were close to a compromise before, but had it all blow up in everyone’s faces. And there’s plenty of blame to go around, of course. But well after midnight, the Bolivian legislature approved a final compromise solution: a heavily amended constitution will go up for referendum January 2009 & new general elections will take place in December 2009.
First of all, it’s good the issue was finally settled by the legislature. That’s where the issue should’ve been dealt w/ from the start. This is therefore an important step back towards institutionality.
More than a hundred of the draft constitution’s articles were changed. I’ve not yet seen a revised final draft to see the changes beyond some rough sketches.
Presidential reelection is included, but it’s no longer “indefinite”—now presidents can only hold office for two consecutive terms. Questions still remain whether Evo qualifies to run again for reelection in 2014, though he has promised not to.
Departmental autonomy is included (as is indigenous & municipal, but not provincial, autonomy), and it has been strengthened (bringing it closer to the models presented at the departmental referendums earlier this year). Also, there seems to now be a mechanism by which municipalities can join together into an autonomous region through referendum.
Future changes to the constitution will require a 2/3 vote, rather than a simple majority.
Another interesting change was that Bolivia keeps its MMP (mixed-member proportional) electoral system. The draft constitution established a unicameral “plurinational” legislature made up of delegates elected in single-member districts. Instead, the lower house remains almost the same; the Senate increases to 36 members (4 for each department).
Rights of private property have been strengthened, in contrast to the draft CPE. In a related note, agrarian reform will not be retroactive & will respect previous demarcations.
The electoral court will have 7 members (rather than 5), strengthening it.
Three of the most radical measures have been reduced: The new “Social Control” branch of government has been pretty much neutered & turned into a citizens’ advisory board. Likewise, the state’s ability to “direct” the economy is curtailed, though the CPE (like all previous ones) recognizes the state’s role, particularly regarding strategic resources. Indigenous or “communitarian” justice is also highly restricted in its scope & application.
All in all, it seems like the new CPE is relatively tame in comparison to MAS ambitions. If anything, it seems that the opposition made impressive gains. Department autonomies are stronger, the number of senators is increased (meaning Media Luna departments will be even more disproportionately represented), and most of the legal-institutional framework of the current CPE remains in place. On the surface, it looks like the only major gain for the government was to win Evo’s right to run for reelection in 2014.
Lots more from MABB here, here, here, and here; from Gringo Tambo here.
