of country:conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia
local long form: Republica de Bolivia
local short form: Bolivia
Data code: BL
Type of government: 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
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 and head of government: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE
LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993) and Vice President Victor
Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993) were elected for four-year
terms by popular vote; election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be
held NA May 1997); results - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%,
Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN/MIR alliance) 20%, Carlos PALENQUE Aviles
(CONDEPA) 14%, Max FERNANDEZ Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBAR
Quiroga (MBL) 5%; no candidate received a majority of the popular
vote; Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA won a congressional runoff election
on 4 August 1993 after forming a coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and
Antonio ARANIBAR; FERNANDEZ died in a plane crash 26 November 1995
cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president from panel of
candidates proposed by the Senate
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held 6
June 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997); results - percent of vote
by party NA; seats - (130 total) MNR 52, UCS 20, ADN 17, MIR 17,
CONDEPA 13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PCD 1
Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores): elections last held 6
June 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997); results - percent of vote
by party NA; seats - (27 total) MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4, CONDEPA 1, UCS
1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed
for a 10-year term by National Congress
Political parties and leaders:
Left parties: Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), Antonio ARANIBAR; April 9
Revolutionary Vanguard (VR-9), Carlos SERRATE; Alternative of
Democratic Socialism (ASD), Jerjes JUSTINIANO; Revolutionary Front
of the Left (FRI), Oscar ZAMORA; Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB);
Socialist Unzaguista Movement (MAS); Socialist Party One (PS-1);
Bolivian Communist Party (PCB)
Center-Left parties: Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR),
Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR),
Jaime PAZ Zamora, Oscar EID; Christian Democrat (PCD), Jorge AGREDA
Center-Right party: Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Jorge
LANDIVAR, Hugo BANZER
Populist parties: Civic Solidarity Union (UCS), Johnny FERNANDEZ;
Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE Aviles;
Popular Patriotic Movement (MPP), Julio MANTILLA; Unity and Progress
Movement (MUP), Ivo KULJIS
Evangelical: Bolivian Renovating Alliance (ARBOL), Hugo VILLEGAS
indigenous: Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement (MRTK-L),
Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde; Patriotic Axis of Convergence (EJE-P),
Ramiro BARRANCHEA; National Katarista Movement (MKN), Fernando UNTOJA
International organization participation: AG, 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, NAM, OAS,
OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Fernando Alvaro COSSIO
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483–4410 through 4412
FAX: [1] (202) 328–3712
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Curtis Warren KAMMAN
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz
mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032
telephone: [591] (2) 430251
FAX: [591] (2) 433900
Flag: 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
Economy———
Economic overview: With its long history of semifeudal
