The Absence of an Objective State in Bolivia

Authors

  • Guillermo Guzmán Prudencio
  • Fernando Rodríguez López

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rep.170.06

Keywords:

Bolivia, constitutional process, constitution, State, statehood, ethnicity

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the degree of statehood of Bolivia, assessing the problems that preclude the establishment of an objective State, as well as the constituent challenges of the new Plurinational State. The first part includes an historical review regarding the State in Bolivia, from its founding to the present. The second part is focused on the analysis of, and relation between, the partisan powers and perception of statehood, as an approach for assessing the existence of a public and objective power, the State, in opposition to the particular and subjective powers embedded in political parties. The links between the major ethnic groups and the Plurinational project, within the governmental hegemony exercised by the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) led by Evo Morales Ayma, are also assessed.