Domestic Policy of Evo Morales - Constitutional Assembly

Constitutional Assembly

For more details on this topic, see Bolivian Constituent Assembly of 2006-2007.

One of Morales's electoral promises was to establish a Constitutional Assembly to re-write the Bolivian constitution. This was also one of the central demands of the Bolivian social and indigenous movements who supported Morales's candidature for the presidency. A Constitutional Assembly was established and elections for assembly members were held in July 2006. The Assembly then sat in Sucre, in the Teatro Gran Mariscal and was given 12 months to write a new Bolivian constitution. The process of drafting the constitution was initially stalled by debates over voting procedures (whether a simple majority or two-third majority should be required to make decisions) and then by the introduction of an arcane debate about which should be Bolivia's capital city, Sucre or La Paz. The draft Constitution was finally approved in December 2007, in a session which took place in Oruro. Although most of the members of the opposition party, PODEMOS, absented themselves from the session, the assembly was able to pass the draft constitution with the two-thirds majority required.