Dismantling the Plurinational State, the greatest challenge for Bolivians

Hugo Marcelo Balderrama

By: Hugo Marcelo Balderrama - 27/03/2023

Guest columnist.
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Bolivian teachers protest the great shortcomings, fallacies and sophistry of the country's new educational curriculum. The acts of corruption, and even criminal acts, show the deinstitutionalization of the National Police. Félix Ajpi, a MAS senator, told the press that the violent assaults are signs of the strength of the Bolivian economy. In addition, given the constant questions about the economic model, he affirmed that poverty is a mental matter, it is enough that we stop thinking about it for it to disappear.

How did Bolivia, which had closed the 20th century with relatively solid institutions and great energy potential, get to this embarrassing point?

It all started with the breakdown of democracy and the coup in 2003, what the subversives call the "Gas War." Let's see.

On October 17, 2003, after having betrayed Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, Carlos Mesa was sworn in as president of the Republic of Bolivia. Although Mesa defined that his management would be a "citizens' government", basically, it was a co-government with Evo Morales. Since, since the dawn of his government, the historian sought to appease the coca grower by granting him spaces of power.

But, without a doubt, Decree 2234, which gave amnesty to the rioters of September and October 2003, was the most disastrous rule in Mesa's management. Well, it prevented all those gang members, militiamen and terrorists who had broken the constitutional order from being legally prosecuted. However, five generals of the Bolivian army, who fulfilled their patriotic duty, were being tried for non-existent crimes. But worst of all, this perfidious maneuver by Mesa opened the doors to enable Morales to run in the 2005 elections.

The second great turning point is what is known as the Constituent Assembly. Two other MAS accomplices appear there: Jorge Quiroga and Samuel Doria Medina.

The Constituent Assembly was installed on August 6, 2006. Article 3 of its convocation stated: "It is independent and exercises sovereignty of the people, it does not depend on or is subject to the constituted powers and its sole purpose is the total reform of the Political Constitution. of the State”. Likewise, its period of validity was between six months and one year. But none of that came to pass.

After completing the year of functions, the Assembly had not approved any norm. Therefore, under its own law, it should be dissolved. However, on July 3, 2007, the Assembly itself extended its mandate until December 14 of that year. But that was not the worst of the vices, rather the fact that Congress promulgated, on August 3, 2007, the Constituent Assembly Expanding Law, which established the Referendum as the approval mechanism.

On February 28, 2008, Evo Morales, in agreement with Jorge Quiroga and Samuel Doria Medina, promulgated Law 3837. Adjusting, once again, the procedure and the constitutional text. By the law of 3941 of October 2008, Morales, Quiroga and Doria Medina embodied a new agreement to interpret Article 32 of the Political Constitution of the State. In this way they ended with the supremacy of the Constitution. At that time they gave the coup de grace to the Republic of Bolivia, but they granted the birth certificate to the Plurinational State. It was evident that the illiterate cocalero was not behind that project, his role was that of executor. The Plurinational State was set up with advice from the entire Sao Paulo Forum.

Although the Plurinational State was presented as inclusive, tolerant and, especially, indigenous, it is actually quite the opposite. First, because it destroys the concept of the Bolivian nation and, at the same time, promotes inequality before the law. Second, it seeks to submit all institutions to party control. Thus, it destroys meritocracy. Third, it annuls the private ownership of Bolivian indigenous lands, leaving them at the mercy of the whims of leaders and caudillos. Fourth, it centralizes all economic activity in the hands of the State. Finally, it seeks the indefinite maintenance of power.

It is evident that the economic crisis, the corruption of justice, the deinstitutionalization of the Security Forces and the low levels of education are only symptoms of a bigger problem called: Plurinational State. Therefore, dismantling this entire network of corruption and inefficiency is the greatest challenge for Bolivians. It is not an exclusive issue of political parties, since politics is the property and responsibility of all citizens, not a monopoly of politicians.


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