Viva Bolivia: July 2011

BIF News Briefing, May to June 2011

CONTENTS

1. Government passes legislation on upcoming judicial elections

2. Bolivia raises maritime access at OAS General Assembly

3. Congress approves law to withdraw from drugs convention

4. Police corruption and national security

5. Morales ‘buries’ Decree 20160 – an end to neoliberalism?

6. Amnesty for illegal cars in Bolivia

1. Government passes legislation on upcoming judicial elections

Regulations relating to the selection of candidates for judicial elections scheduled for 16 October have been passed by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. The Electoral Law has also been amended to allow for greater coverage by the media in the run up to the elections.

During the elections, citizens will vote for magistrates to serve on the Supreme Court, the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal, the Agro-environmental Tribunal and the Council of the Judiciary. President Morales stressed the unique nature of the October elections, reminding the Bolivian people that these were not the same as going to the polls to select deputies or presidents who ‘promise heaven and earth’. Instead the people will have an enormous responsibility in voting for the authorities who will apply norms and ‘do justice’.

There were heated parliamentary debates about the qualifications that candidates should hold to be eligible for election. MAS deputies stressed the need for equality of opportunity, with Vice-President García Linera arguing that ‘the vast majority of the population do not have the resources to do a masters degree or a doctorate’. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had earlier pointed out the importance of ‘clear and objective criteria for grading the merits and professional competency of the candidates’. However, the regulations now stress that experience will be given more weight than academic qualifications.

In addition to the regulations on selecting candidates, both the president and the Electoral Court had called on the assembly to amend Article 82 of the Electoral Law in order to relax the rules on media coverage, with Morales arguing that: ‘Our obligation is to guarantee freedom of expression, information, of participation’. The modified article now allows candidates to be interviewed by the media, but any interviews will be monitored by the Electoral Court. Campaigning by the candidates will not be permitted.

2. Bolivia raises maritime access at OAS General Assembly

Speaking at the 2011 General Assembly of the Organisation of American States, held in El Salvador, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca demanded ‘concrete, practical and useful proposals’ from Chile on which to base bilateral negotiations over Bolivia’s access to the sea.

As reported in the March-April BIF News Briefing, Chile suspended discussions on the issue after the Bolivian government said it would seek international mediation in its efforts to win back the maritime access lost after the War of the Pacific (1879-1883). After securing space on the OAS assembly’s agenda to discuss the longstanding diplomatic problem, Choquehuanca spoke of his desire to achieve real progress, and not simply ‘to talk for another 132 years’.

His Chilean counterpart, David Moreno, said that Chile had already clearly stated it was not in a position to grant sovereign access to the sea, nor offer any kind of territorial compensation. He added there was no legal precedent for Bolivia’s demands, and warned that taking the dispute to the international courts would leave the decision ‘in the hands of judges’, when it was an issue that should be negotiated between the two countries. After both foreign ministers addressed the assembly, delegates from thirteen member states - including Argentina, Brazil, Peru and the United States - called on the two countries to resume discussions in order to find a solution, with representatives from a number of countries arguing that it was an issue that should be settled bilaterally.

David Choquehuanca also indirectly criticised the 1904 Treaty of Peace and Friendship which fixed the current territorial boundaries between Chile and Bolivia. He told the assembly that no treaty signed under the threat of force should be considered unchangeable.

In La Paz, President Evo Morales welcomed the fact that David Moreno had publicly recognised the existence of a dispute, saying that Chile had previously always rejected any notion that there was a problem needing resolution.

3. Congress approves law to withdraw from drugs convention

The Plurinational Legislative Assembly has approved a law which will withdraw Bolivia from the 1961 Vienna Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The law stipulates that Bolivia will re-join the convention in January 2012 with a reservation concerning sections which prohibit traditional uses of the coca leaf.

Foreign minister David Choquehuanca attended the plenary session of the chamber of deputies on 22 June to explain the government initiative. He had previously been on an international tour to lobby for an amendment to remove articles in the convention that prohibit the cultural practice of coca chewing (see BIF Briefing January 2011), but this was blocked by objections from a group of 18 countries including the UK and USA.

Choquehaunca stressed that the legislative measure was to protect cultural practices and traditional uses of coca, bringing Bolivia’s international obligations into line with the 2009 constitution, which recognises the coca leaf as part of Bolivia’s cultural heritage. He also emphasised the fact that withdrawal from the convention would not affect Bolivia’s continuing efforts to fight against illegal drug production and trafficking.

The rules around international treaties mean that it is necessary to withdraw from the convention first in order to register a reservation such as that proposed by Bolivia. Bolivia lodged a similar reservation, abstaining from sections prohibiting licit consumption of coca, when it joined another international drug convention: the 1988 United Nations Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

4. Police corruption and national security

In Santa Cruz, President Morales inaugurated the first summit on neighbourhood security to gather information and proposals as the government drafts a bill to tackle insecurity and organized crime. Earlier in the month, the Chamber of Deputies’ Commission on Government, Defence and the Armed Forces held a seminar in La Paz to develop public policies on security in preparation for the summit, which comes at a time of increasing concern over the ability of Bolivia’s police force to prevent crime and root out corruption within its ranks.

In a sign of a renewed intolerance of corruption in the institution, President Morales fired police chief Ciro Farfán for being the owner of a van containing several ‘cloned’ vehicle number plates. Farfán denied the allegations. The president also called on the General Police Command to apply ‘tough sanctions’ on any officers found guilty of wrongdoing. Ironically, Farfán had been recently appointed by Morales and given 90 days in which to investigate and expose corruption within the police.

5. Morales ‘buries’ Decree 20160 – an end to neoliberalism?

President Morales chose the symbolic date of 1 May to announce the repeal of a number of laws which underpin Decree 20160, the controversial measure passed in 1985 that ushered in neoliberal economic reforms in Bolivia.

Speaking at the mining community of Huanuni (Oruro) on International Workers’ Day, Morales said a new decree would bring about the ‘complete elimination’ of 20160. Earlier during the build-up to the May Day celebrations, Morales said that by modifying laws on mining, forestry, labour, banks, investment and electricity, amongst others, he would ‘bury’ the market-based economic framework introduced over 25 years ago by President Víctor Paz Estenssoro.

Under the terms of the new decree (0861), a commission will be created to investigate where revisions could be made to such legislation. This will include representatives of the government, unions and other interested organisations. The repeal of Decree 21060 had been one of the key demands of labour union Central Obrera Boliviana during the recent strikes held throughout the country.

However, a number of analysts in Bolivia have questioned the extent to which the government will be able to transform the economy. José Luis Evia, a researcher at the Fundación Milenio, suggested that the market-based nature of today’s ‘globalised society’ meant that the abolition of Decree 20160 would be no more than a gesture.

6. Amnesty for illegal cars in Bolivia

In an attempt to tackle the escalating problem of ‘chutos’ (undocumented vehicles) in Bolivia, the government has passed legislation offering an amnesty period in which to register them officially. However, critics of the scheme say it effectively sanctions smuggling, as many of vehicles are imported from the free port of Iquique in Chile.

Effectively recognising that customs officials were losing the battle against unlicensed vehicles, the new law would give owners of ‘chutos’ an amnesty period of 15 days in which to register their vehicles. The government had estimated that the number of undocumented vehicles in the country was between 3,000 and 10,000, but the actual number is significantly greater. In Cochabamba, a queue of around three kilometres was reported as people took advantage of the amnesty, while the National Customs website struggled to cope with the high volume of people wanting to register vehicles.

The law also has a social function, according to its supporters. President Morales said that the new law would help ‘poor people’ improve their status by owning a legal vehicle, arguing that ‘we all have the right to have a car’. However, the legislation has not been universally welcomed. The transport owners’ federation called a one-day strike to express their anger at the new law, which it said legalised contraband.

Bolivia Information Forum, Unit F5 89-93 Fonthill Road,

London N4 3JH www.boliviainfoforum.org.uk

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Friday, July 15, 2011

Bolivian events for summer 2011 in the US

Sunday, July 3, 2011

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