Country name
conventional long form:
Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form:
Bolivia
local long form:
Republica de Bolivia
local short form :
Bolivia
Data code
BL
Government type
republic
National capital
La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)
Administrative divisions
9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca,Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Independence
6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National holiday
Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Constitution
2 February 1967; revised in August 1994
Legal system
based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsoryICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age,universal and compulsory (single)
Executive branch
chief of state :
President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993);Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993); note - thepresident is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993);Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993); note - thepresident is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president from a panel of candidates proposedby the Senate
elections:
president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular votefor four-year terms; election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held June1997); Constitutional reforms extend presidential and vice presidential termsto 5 years beginning in 1997
election results:
Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA elected president; percent of vote - GonzaloSANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%, Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN/MIR alliance) 20%, CarlosPALENQUE Aviles (CONDEPA) 14%, Max FERNANDEZ Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBARQuiroga (MBL) 5%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; GonzaloSANCHEZ DE LOZADA won a congressional runoff election on 4 August 1993 afterforming a coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and Antonio ARANIBAR; FERNANDEZ diedin a plane crash 26 November 1995
Legislative branch
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamberof Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly electedby popular vote to serve four-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camarade Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to servefour-year terms)
elections:
Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 June 1993(next to be held June 1997); Constitutional reforms extend congressional termsto 5 years beginning in 1997
election results:
Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party- MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4, CONDEPA 1, UCS 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent ofvote by party - NA; seats by party - MNR 52, UCS 20, ADN 17, MIR 17, CONDEPA13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PDC 1
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed for a 10-year term byNational Congress
Political parties and leaders
Left Parties:
Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Patriotic Axis of Convergenceor EJE-P [Ramiro BARRANECHEA]; April 9 Revolutionary Vanguard or VR-9 [CarlosSERRATE]; Alternative of Democratic Socialism or ASD [Jerjes JUSTINIANO];Revolutionary Front of the Left or FRI [Oscar ZAMORA]; Bolivian CommunistParty or PCB [Marcos DOMIC]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]; Assembly forthe Sovereignty of the People or ASP [Evo MORALES]; Front of National Salvationor FSN [Manual MORALES Davila]; Socialist Party One or PS-1; Bolivian SocialistFalange or FSB; Socialist Unzaguista Movement or MAS
Center-Left Parties:
Movement of the Revolutionary or MIR [Jaime PAZ ZAMORA]; Christian Democrator PDC [Benjamin MIGUEL]; New Youth Force [Alfonso SAAVEDRA Bruno]
Center Party:
Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]
Center-Right Parties :
Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Hugo BANZER]; New Republican Forceor NFR [Manfred REYES VILLA]
Populist Parties:
Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of theFatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Solidarity and Democracy orSYD; Unity and Progress Movement or MUP [Ivo KULJIS]; Popular Patriotic Movementor MPP [Julio MANTILLA]
Evangelical Party :
Bolivian Renovating Alliance or ARBOL [Marcelo FERNANDEZ, Hugo VILLEGAS]
Indigenous Parties:
Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement or MRTK-L [Victor HugoCARDENAS Conde]; Nationalist Katarista Movement or MKN [Fernando UNTOJA];Front of Katarista Unity or FULKA [Genaro FLORES]; Katarismo National Unity or KND [Filepe KITTELSON]
International organization participation
AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber),ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission:
Ambassador Fernando Alvaro COSSIO
chancery:
3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 483-4410 through 4412
FAX :
[1] (202) 328-3712
consulate(s) general:
Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission:
Ambassador Curtis Warren KAMMAN
embassy:
Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz
mailing address:
P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032
telephone :
[591] (2) 430251
FAX:
[591] (2) 433900
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with thecoat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, whichhas a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band
NOTE: The information regarding Bolivia on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bolivia Government 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bolivia Government 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.
