Bolivia's President Paz Announces Constitutional Reform Commission Amid National Blockades
Primary region South America
Tags Policy · Protest · Economy
Regions South America
President Rodrigo Paz announced a Constitutional Reform Commission to carry out a 'partial reform' of Bolivia's 2009 Constitution at a national meeting in Cochabamba, aiming to provide legal security and attract foreign investment. The government prepared approximately 10 new law projects covering hydrocarbons, electricity, and mining. The announcement came amid national road blockades by the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) and peasant organizations, with 18 road points blocked and demands including a 20% salary increase and the resignation of President Paz. The COB refused to attend government-called dialogue sessions.
Strategic interpretation
Paz's constitutional reform push is an attempt to liberalize Bolivia's resource-nationalist 2009 Constitution to attract foreign investment, but the simultaneous social unrest reveals the fragility of his six-month-old government. The COB's demand for his resignation — unusual for a president this early in his term — suggests Paz may lack the political capital to deliver on either economic reform or social peace.