Polls & Research

Bolivians Disappointed With Constituent Assembly

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in Bolivia are frustrated with the way the group tasked with re-writing the country’s Constitution has behaved thus far, according to a poll by Equipos MORI. 70 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with the performance of the Constituent Assembly.

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.

In August 2006, the National Constituent Assembly held its first session. The assembly was supposed to sit for just one year, but it has failed to finalize the document. When ready, the proposed body of law must be approved by two-thirds of the 255 lawmakers, and then ratified in a nationwide referendum. 48 per cent of respondents think the assembly will not be able to finish the job before the end of this year, while 34 per cent think it will.

The assembly’s work has been marred by discrepancies between opposition parties and pro-government factions about whether the charter should be approved by a simple majority, as well as a recent attempt by MAS legislators to introduce an article to allow the indefinite re-election of the president. Opposition parties believe this would give Morales a chance to remain in power for as long as he wants.

Assembly members have also discussed whether Bolivia’s administrative capital should move from La Paz to Sucre, even though this topic was not part of the body’s agenda.

Earlier this month, violent protests over the content of the Constitution forced the assembly to temporarily suspend its meetings. On Sept. 10, close to 5,000 pro-government protesters took to the streets demanding the Constitution writers to resume their duties. Wilbur Flores—a MAS congressman and one of the march’s organizers—declared: "The Constituent Assembly was a victory for the social movements and indigenous peoples. Now it’s our job to defend it."

 

Polling Data

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the performance of the Constituent Assembly?

Satisfied	12%
Dissatisfied	70%
Not sure	18%

Do you think the Constituent Assembly will be able to finish the new Constitution by December?

Yes	34%
No	48%
Not sure	18%

Source: Equipos MORI
Methodology: Interviews with 1,100 adult Bolivians, conducted in late August 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.