Government
Name of country:
conventional long form:
Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form:
Bolivia
local long form:
Republica de Bolivia
local short form:
Bolivia
Data code:
BL
Type of government:
republic
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
Legal system:
based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993) and Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993) were elected for four-year terms by popular vote; election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997); results - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%, Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN/MIR alliance) 20%, Carlos PALENQUE Aviles (CONDEPA) 14%, Max FERNANDEZ Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBAR Quiroga (MBL) 5%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA won a congressional runoff election on 4 August 1993 after forming a coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and Antonio ARANIBAR; FERNANDEZ died in a plane crash 26 November 1995
cabinet:
Cabinet was appointed by the president from panel of candidates proposed by the Senate
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados):
elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (130 total) MNR 52, UCS 20, ADN 17, MIR 17, CONDEPA 13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PCD 1
Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores):
elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (27 total) MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4, CONDEPA 1, UCS 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed for a 10-year term by National Congress
Political parties and leaders:
Left parties:
Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), Antonio ARANIBAR; April 9 Revolutionary Vanguard (VR-9), Carlos SERRATE; Alternative of Democratic Socialism (ASD), Jerjes JUSTINIANO; Revolutionary Front of the Left (FRI), Oscar ZAMORA; Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB); Socialist Unzaguista Movement (MAS); Socialist Party One (PS-1); Bolivian Communist Party (PCB)
Center-Left parties:
Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime PAZ Zamora, Oscar EID; Christian Democrat (PCD), Jorge AGREDA
Center-Right party:
Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Jorge LANDIVAR, Hugo BANZER
Populist parties:
Civic Solidarity Union (UCS), Johnny FERNANDEZ; Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE Aviles; Popular Patriotic Movement (MPP), Julio MANTILLA; Unity and Progress Movement (MUP), Ivo KULJIS
Evangelical:
Bolivian Renovating Alliance (ARBOL), Hugo VILLEGAS
indigenous:
Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement (MRTK-L), Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde; Patriotic Axis of Convergence (EJE-P), Ramiro BARRANCHEA; National Katarista Movement (MKN), Fernando UNTOJA
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, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in 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
US diplomatic representation:
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:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band
