Short facts about the government of Bolivia

Country name:

conventional long form:  Republic of Bolivia conventional short form:  Bolivia local long form:  Republica de Bolivia local short form:  Bolivia

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 May or 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; note - some members are drawn from party lists, thus not directly elected) elections:  Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 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 or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)

Political parties and leaders:

Christian Democratic Party or PDC [leader NA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Hugo BANZER Suarez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [leader NA]; Pachacuti Indigenous Movement [Filipe QUISPE]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC] note:  the ADN, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions

International organization participation:

CAN, CCC, 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 V. Manuel ROCHA embassy:  Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address:  P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone:  [591] (2) 432254 FAX:  [591] (2) 433854

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

Source: World Factbook