Bolivia has a new Constitution even though half of the administrative departments do not intend to implement it. These are the circimstances President Evo Morales will have to deal with after the referendum hold yesterday in the South-American country. The results showed again that Bolivia is split in the poor regions of indigenous majority and the rich Eastern departments with white criollo majority. According to the latest exit polls, about 60% of the voters were in favour of the new constitution. Final results will be delivered in a few days.

However, Morales did not wait for the final results of the ballot and proclaimed the victory of his Constitution yesterday: “the citizens, through their vote, through their democratic participation, have decided to refund Bolivia," Morales said. He also declared that his country has finally buried the colonial State: “internal and external colonialism ends here”, he proclaimed, and stated that it won’t be possible “to auction off natural resources to transnational corporations” from now on.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum, and according to Santa Cruz’s El Deber newspaper, civil governors from Eastern departments warned President Morales they are not going to accept the results of the referendum. Rubén Costas, Governor of Santa Cruz, threatened Morales with “putting up resistance and not giving in”, while Savina Cuéllar, Governor in Chuquisaca, called out to disobey the Constitution. Other Eastern leaders requested Bolivian President to negotiate with them, since the “no” vote in their areas has made them strong enough to challenge Morales’ policies. According to exit polls, the “no” vote received 64% of the vote in Santa Cruz; 67% in Beni, 62% in Pando, 56% in Tarija and 51% in Chuquisaca. All these departments –except from Chuquisaca– approved their statutes of autonomy last year, but they have not been recognised by the central government.

A Constitution recognizing indigenous nations

Never before a Bolivian Constitution had gone this far regarding the recognition of autochthonous peoples. It recognizes for the indigenous nations the right to their “self-government, culture, institutions and consolidation of their administrative territories”. All native languages of Bolivia acquire official status, alongside Spanish. A whole chapter of the Constitution is aimed at listing the rights of the indigenous nations, such as the right of “using and exclusively optimize renewable resources in their territories, without detriment to rights rightfully acquired by third parties”.

What makes the new Bolivian legal framework complex is that it grants two types of autonomous territories: self-government for indigenous territories, but also for administrative departments. Therefore, the setting up of indigenous autonomies will have to overlap departmental autonomies, since the Bolivian territory was already divided in administrative departments. However, the Constitution clearly defines which powers are to be transferred to each of the autonomies.

Further information:

• Bolivian Constitutional process, in Nationalia: Bolivia's new constitution secures political and cultural rights for indigenous peoples, Bolivian Congress begins debating new constitution, Evo Morales wins recall election and says he is ready to talk to autonomist prefects