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Fragile states / Comment

Bolivia: a national clash over multiple worlds

04/08/2008 By Jon Bright

Rodrigo Buendia/AFP/Getty Images

Two and a half years into his presidency, the Evo Morales reform programme has stalled, and Bolivia is in political deadlock. His far reaching constitutional project, which would serve not only to redistribute the country’s land and resource wealth but refound Bolivia on “plurinational” lines, has been approved by the constituent assembly, but without the presence of the main opposition party, who bitterly oppose the way the document distributes economic and political power in the country.

The fallout from an imminent recall vote – and the political manoeuvring around it – will decide whether his project gets moving again, or remains grounded. If it can be passed, however, the constitution as it stands could construct an uncertain future for the country. Whether it will provide a framework under which Bolivia’s multiple worldviews can mutually coexist and cooperate, or lay the foundations for a country permanently divided, remains to be seen.

This paper analyses the situation in Bolivia on two levels – looking first at the current debate over distribution of land and resource wealth and the political context of the forthcoming August 10th recall vote, before moving on to a more in depth analysis of Bolivia’s new constitution, looking in particular and the possible effects of trying to found a “plurinational” country.

 

 

 

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Keywords

Bolivia Civil society Democracy Divided societies Fragile state Latin America & Caribbean

Bio author: Jon Bright