 Country name:
conventional long form: Plurinational State of Bolivia conventional short form:Bolivia local long form:Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia local short form:Bolivia
Government type:
republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a 'Social Unitarian State'
Capital:
name:La Paz (administrative capital); Sucre (constitutional capital)geographic coordinates:16 30 S, 68 09 W time difference:UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Independence:
6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Constitution:
many previous; latest drafted 6 August 2006 - 9 December 2008, approved by referendum 25 January 2009, effective 7 February 2009; amended 2013 (2013)
Legal system:
civil law system with influences from Roman, Spanish, canon (religious), French, and indigenous law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state:President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006); note - the president is both chief of state and head of governmenthead of government:President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006) cabinet:Cabinet appointed by the president elections:president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term and are eligible for re-election once; election last held on 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014) election results:Juan Evo MORALES Ayma reelected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 64%; Manfred REYES VILLA 26%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 6%; Rene JOAQUINO 2%; other 2%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (36 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats total; 70 uninominal deputies directly elected from a single district, 7 'special' indigenous deputies directly elected from non-contiguous indigenous districts, and 53 plurinominal deputies elected by proportional representation from party lists; all deputies serve five-year terms)elections:Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held on 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014) election results:Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 26, PPB-CN 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 89, PPB-CN 36, UN 3, AS 2; note - as of 15 February 2013, the composition of the Chamber of Deputies was: MAS 88, PPB-CN 37, UN 3, AS 2
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (consists of 12 judges); Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 7 primary and 7 alternate magistrates); Plurinational Electoral Organ (consists of 7 members);judge selection and term of office:Supreme Court and Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Plurinational Legislative Assembly for 6-year terms); Plurinational Electoral Organ members - 6 judges elected by the Assembly and 1 appointed by the president; judges and members serve 6-year terms note:the 2009 constitution reformed the procedure for selecting judicial officials for the Supreme Court, Constitutional Tribunal, and the Plurinational Electoral Organ by direct national vote, which occurred in October 2011 subordinate courts:Agro-Environmental Court; Council of the Judiciary; District Courts (in each of the 9 administrative departments)
| | Political parties and leaders:
Bacada Indigena or BIBolivia-National Convergence or PPB-CN [Adrian OLIVA] Fearless Movement or MSM [Juan DE GRANADO Cosio] Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma] National Unity or UN [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana] People or Gente [Roman LOAYZA] Social Alliance or AS [Rene JOAQUINO] Social Democratic Movement or MDS [Ruben COSTAS]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Bolivian Workers Central or COB
International organization participation:
CAN, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Freddy BERSATTI Tudelachancery:3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone:[1] (202) 483-4410 FAX:[1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general:Los Angeles, Miami, New York note:as of September 2008, the US has expelled the Bolivian ambassador to the US
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Aruna AMIRTHANAYAGAM (since 28 February 2014)embassy:Avenida Arce 2780, Casilla 425, La Paz mailing address:P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone:[591] (2) 216-8000 FAX:[591] (2) 216-8111 note:in September 2008, the Bolivian Government expelled the US Ambassador to Bolivia, and the countries have yet to reinstate ambassadors
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; red stands for bravery and the blood of national heroes, yellow for the nation's mineral resources, and green for the fertility of the land
National symbol(s):
llama; Andean condor
National anthem:
name:'Cancion Patriotica' (Patriotic Song)
lyrics/music:Jose Ignacio de SANJINES/Leopoldo Benedetto VINCENTI note:adopted 1852 |