(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The majority of people in Bolivia agree with the revised version of a new Constitution, according to a poll by Equipos MORI. 56 per cent of respondents support the changes to the new charter agreed upon by government officials and members of the opposition.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The majority of people in Bolivia agree with the revised version of a new Constitution, according to a poll by Equipos MORI. 56 per cent of respondents support the changes to the new charter agreed upon by government officials and members of the opposition.
Evo Morales—an indigenous leader and former coca-leaf farmer—won the December 2005 presidential election as the candidate for the Movement to Socialism (MAS), with 53.7 per cent of the vote. He officially took over as Bolivia’s head of state in January 2006.
Morales’s tenure has been focused on "re-founding" Bolivia through a new constitution. In November 2007, a draft constitution was approved with the support of all pro-government National Constituent Assembly members. Opposition parties boycotted the vote. The proposed draft included articles that allow for consecutive presidential re-election, the creation of 36 autonomous indigenous communities, and tighter government controls over private media outlets.
This year, the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija—all led by politicians opposed to Morales—held votes in an effort to increase their autonomy within Bolivia, directly defying articles in the new constitution. In response to the non-binding referendums, Morales enacted a law that scheduled a recall vote on himself, Bolivian vice-president Álvaro García Linera, and the country’s nine governors or "departmental prefects" for Aug. 10. The president was ratified by more than 60 per cent of the participating voters.
On Oct. 21, the discussions between the president and the departmental prefects finally ended with a revamped version of the constitution and a decision to hold a referendum to ratify the new body of law on Jan. 25, 2009.
The new draft includes a bill of rights and an entire chapter dedicated to Bolivia’s 36 indigenous nations. It also puts the economy in the hands of the state, limits landholdings, redistributes revenues from gas fields in the eastern lowlands to the country’s poorer areas, and includes a compromise that allows the current president to seek only one additional five-year term.
On Nov. 15, Morales asked the Organization of American States (OAS) for help with the new Constitution, saying he is "worried" about its implementation. The Bolivian president also urged the international body to help promote "the truth" about the new charter in every country across the Americas, especially the United States.
Polling Data
Do you agree or disagree with the changes to the proposed Constitution reached after the negotiations between the government and the opposition?
|
Agree |
56% |
|
Disagree |
31% |
|
Not sure |
13% |
Source: Equipos MORI
Methodology: Interviews with 2,310 Bolivian adults in ten cities, conducted from Oct. 27 to Nov. 5, 2008. Margin of error is 2 per cent.
