Data code: BL
Government type: 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; revised in August 1994
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:
President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president
elections:
president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held June 2002)
election results:
Hugo BANZER Suarez elected president; percent of vote - Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN) 22%; Jaime PAZ Zamora (MIR) 17%, Juan Carlos DURAN (MNR) 18%, Ivo KULJIS (UCS) 16%, Remedios LOZA (CONDEPA) 17%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Hugo BANZER Suarez won a congressional runoff election on 5 August 1997 after forming a "megacoalition" with MIR, UCS, CONDEPA, NFR and PDC
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections:
Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held June 2002)
election results:
Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADN 11, MIR 7, MNR 4, CONDEPA 3, UCS 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADN 32, MNR 26, MIR 23, UCS 21, CONDEPA 19, MBL 5, IU 4
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress
Political parties and leaders:
Alternative of Democratic Socialism or ASD [Jerjes JUSTINIANO]; April 9 Revolutionary Vanguard or VR-9 [Carlos SERRATE]; Bolivian Communist Party or PCB [Marcos DOMIC]; Bolivian Renovating Alliance or ARBOL [Marcelo FERNANDEZ, Hugo VILLEGAS]; Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [leader NA]; Christian Democrat or PDC [Benjamin MIGUEL]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Front of Katarista Unity or FULKA [Genaro FLORES]; Front of National Salvation or FSN [Manual MORALES Davila]; Katarismo National Unity or KND [Filepe KITTELSON]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Oscar EID]; Movement Towards Socialism-Popular Instrument for Solidarity with the People or MAS-IPSP [leader Evo MORALES]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Enrique TORO]; Nationalist Katarista Movement or MKN [Fernando UNTOJA]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES VILLA]; New Youth Force [Alfonso SAAVEDRA Bruno]; Patriotic Axis of Convergence or EJE-P [Ramiro BARRANECHEA]; Popular Patriotic Movement or MPP [Julio MANTILLA]; Revolutionary Front of the Left or FRI [Oscar ZAMORA]; Socialist Party One or PS-1 [leader NA]; Solidarity and Democracy or SYD [leader NA]; Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement or MRTK-L [Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]; Unity and Progress Movement or MUP [Ivo KULJIS]
note:
political blocs include: left - MBL, EJE-P, VR-9, ASD, FRI, PCB, IU, FSN, PS-1, FSB, and MAS; center left - MIR, PDC, and New Youth Force; center - MNR; center right - ADN and NFR; populist - UCS, CONDEPA, SYD, MUP, and MPP; evangelical - ARBOL; indigenous - MRTK-L, MKN, and KND
Political pressure groups and leaders: Cocalero Group
International organization participation: CAN, 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, Mercosur (associate), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO?, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado
chancery:
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, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Donna Jean HRINAK
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 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
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