Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 2009

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

Article 5

1. Official or national languages
   The official languages of the State are Spanish and all the languages of the rural native indigenous nations and peoples, which are Aymara, Araona, Baure, Bésiro, Canichana, Cavineño, Cayubaba, Chácobo, Chimán, Ese Ejja, Guaraní, Guarasu'we, Guarayu, Itonama, Leco, Machajuyai-kallawaya, Machineri, Maropa, Mojeñotrinitario, Mojeño-ignaciano, Moré, Mosetén, Movima, Pacawara, Puquina, Quechua, Sirionó, Tacana, Tapiete, Toromona, Uruchipaya, Weenhayek, Yaminawa, Yuki, Yuracaré and Zamuco.
2. Official or national languages
   The Pluri-National Government and the departmental governments must use at least two official languages. One of them must be Spanish, and the other shall be determined taking into account the use, convenience, circumstances, necessities and preferences of the population as a whole or of the territory in question. The other autonomous governments must use the languages characteristic of their territory, and one of them must be Spanish.

Article 6

1. National capital
   Sucre is the Capital of Bolivia.
2. National anthem, National flag
   The symbols of the State are the red, yellow and green tri-color flag; the Bolivian national anthem; the code of arms; the wiphala; the rosette; the kantuta flower and the patujú flower.

Article 7

Article 8

1. The State adopts and promotes the following as ethical, moral principles of the plural society: ama qhilla, ama llulla, ama suwa (do not be lazy, do not be a liar or a thief), suma qamaña (live well), ñandereko (live harmoniously), teko kavi (good life), ivi maraei (land without evil) and qhapaj ñan (noble path or life).
2. Reference to fraternity/solidarity, Human dignity
   The State is based on the values of unity, equality, inclusion, dignity, liberty, solidarity, reciprocity, respect, interdependence, harmony, transparency, equilibrium, equality of opportunity, social and gender equality in participation, common welfare, responsibility, social justice, distribution and redistribution of the social wealth and assets for well being.

Article 9

Article 10

1. Bolivia is a pacifist State that promotes the culture of peace and the right to peace, as well as cooperation among the peoples of the region and the World, for the purpose of contributing to mutual understanding, equitable development, and the promotion of an inter-cultural character, with full respect for the sovereignty of states.
2. Bolivia rejects every war of aggression as a means of resolving differences and conflicts between states, and it reserves the right to its legitimate defense in the event of aggression that threatens the independence and integrity of the State.
3. The installation of foreign military bases on Bolivian territory is prohibited.

Article 11

1. The Republic of Bolivia adopts a participatory democratic, representative and communal form of government, with equal conditions for men and women.
2. Democracy is exercised in the following forms, which shall be developed by law:
   1. Referenda
      Direct and participatory, through referendum, citizen legislative initiative, revocation of terms of office, assembly, councils and prior consultation. The assemblies and councils shall have a deliberative character in accordance with the law.
   2. Claim of universal suffrage, Secret ballot
      Representative, by means of the election of representatives by universal, direct and secret vote, in accordance with the law.
   3. Communal, by means of the election, designation or nomination of the authorities and representatives pursuant to the norms and procedures of the native indigenous nations and peoples, among others, in accordance with the law.

Article 12

1. Judicial independence, Claim of executive independence
   The State organizes and structures its public power through Legislative, Executive, Judicial and Electoral bodies. The organization of the State is based on the independence, separation, coordination and cooperation among these bodies.
2. Control, Defense of the Society, and Defense of the State are functions of the state.
3. Judicial independence, Claim of executive independence
   The functions of the public bodies may not be united in a single body nor may they be delegated.

Article 13

1. The rights recognized in this Constitution are inviolable, universal, inter-dependent, indivisible and progressive. The State has the duty to promote, protect and respect them.
2. The rights declared in this Constitution shall not be understood to deny other rights that are not enumerated.
3. The classification of the rights established in this Constitution does not determine any hierarchy or superiority of some rights over others.
4. Legal status of treaties, International law
   International treaties and conventions ratified by the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa), which recognize human rights and prohibit their limitation in States of Emergency, prevail over internal law. The rights and duties consecrated in this Constitution shall be interpreted in accordance with the International Human Rights Treaties ratified by Bolivia.

Article 14

1. General guarantee of equality
   Every human being, without distinction, has legal status and capacity under the law and enjoys the rights recognized in this Constitution.
2. Equality regardless of political party, Equality regardless of religion, Equality regardless of language, Equality regardless of origin, Equality regardless of financial status, Equality regardless of age, Equality regardless of skin color, Equality regardless of creed or belief, Equality regardless of gender, Equality regardless of sexual orientation, Equality regardless of nationality, Equality regardless of social status, Equality for persons with disabilities
   The State prohibits and punishes all forms of discrimination based on sex, color, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, origin, culture, nationality, citizenship, language, religious belief, ideology, political affiliation or philosophy, civil status, economic or social condition, type of occupation, level of education, disability, pregnancy, and any other discrimination that attempts to or results in the annulment of or harm to the equal recognition, enjoyment or exercise of the rights of all people.
3. International law
   The State guarantees everyone and all collectives, without discrimination, the free and effective exercise of the rights established in this Constitution, the laws and international human rights treaties.
4. Principle of no punishment without law
   In the exercise of rights, no one shall be obligated to do anything that is not mandated by the Constitution or laws, nor be deprived of that which they do not prohibit.
5. Bolivian laws are applied to every person, natural and legal, Bolivian and foreign, within Bolivian territory.
6. Foreigners who are in Bolivian territory have the rights, and must fulfill the duties, established in the Constitution, except for the restrictions that it may contain.

Article 15

1. Prohibition of torture, Prohibition of capital punishment, Right to life, Prohibition of cruel treatment
   Every person has the right to life and physical, psychological and sexual integrity. No one shall be tortured, nor suffer cruel, inhuman, degrading or humiliating treatment. The death penalty does not exist.
2. Everyone, in particular women, have the right not to suffer physical, sexual or psychological violence, in the family as well as in the society.
3. The State shall adopt the necessary measures to prevent, eliminate and punish sexual and generational violence, as well as any action or omission intended to be degrading to the human condition, to cause death, pain, and physical, sexual or psychological suffering, whether in public or private spheres.
4. No person shall be submitted to a forced disappearance for any reason or under any circumstance.
5. Prohibition of slavery
   No person shall be submitted to servitude or slavery. The trade and trafficking of persons is prohibited.

Article 16

1. Right to water
   Every person has the right to water and food.
2. The State has the obligation to guarantee food security, by means of healthy, adequate and sufficient food for the entire population.

Article 17

Article 18

1. Every person has the right to health.
2. The State guarantees the inclusion and access to health for all persons, without any exclusion or discrimination.
3. There shall be a single health system, which shall be universal, free, equitable, intra-cultural, intercultural, and participatory, with quality, kindness and social control. The system is based on the principles of solidarity, efficiency and co-responsibility, and it is developed by public policies at all levels of the government.

Article 19

1. Right to shelter
   Every person has the right to an adequate habitat and home that dignifies family and community life.
2. The State, at all levels of the government, is responsible for promoting the development of housing for social benefit, using adequate financing systems, based on principles of solidarity and equity. These plans shall be directed preferentially to families with scarce resources, to disadvantaged groups and to rural areas.

Article 20

1. Telecommunications, Right to water
   Every person has the right to universal and equitable access to basic services of potable water, sewer systems, electricity, gas services in their domicile, postal, and telecommunications services.
2. Telecommunications
   It is the responsibility of the State, at all levels of government, to provide basic services through public, mixed, cooperative or community entities. In the case of electricity, gas and telecommunications services, these may be provided by contracts with private companies. The provision of services should respond to the criteria of universality, responsibility, accessibility, continuity, quality, efficiency, equitable fees and necessary coverage; with social participation and control.
3. Right to water
   Access to water and sewer systems are human rights, neither are the object of concession or privatization, and are subject to a regimen of licensing and registration, in accordance with the law.

Section I. Civil Rights

Section II. Political Rights

Article 30

1. A nation and rural native indigenous people consists of every human collective that shares a cultural identity, language, historic tradition, institutions, territory and world view, whose existence predates the Spanish colonial invasion.
2. In the framework of the unity of the State, and in accordance with this Constitution, the nations and rural native indigenous peoples enjoy the following rights:
   1. To be free.
   2. To their cultural identity, religious belief, spiritualities, practices and customs, and their own world view.
   3. That the cultural identity of each member, if he or she so desires, be inscribed together with Bolivian citizenship in his identity card, passport and other identification documents that have legal validity.
   4. Right to self determination
      To self-determination and territoriality.
   5. That its institutions be part of the general structure of the State.
   6. To the collective ownership of land and territories.
   7. To the protection of their sacred places.
   8. To create and administer their own systems, means and networks of communication.
   9. Protection of language use
      That their traditional teachings and knowledge, their traditional medicine, languages, rituals, symbols and dress be valued, respected and promoted.
   10. Protection of environment
       To live in a healthy environment, with appropriate management and exploitation of the ecosystems.
   11. Provisions for intellectual property, Reference to science
       To collective ownership of the intellectual property in their knowledge, sciences and learning, as well as to its evaluation, use, promotion and development.
   12. To an inter-cultural, intra-cultural and multi-language education in all educational systems.
   13. Right to health care
       To universal and free health care that respects their world view and traditional practices.
   14. To the practice of their political, juridical and economic systems in accord with their world view.
   15. Ownership of natural resources
       To be consulted by appropriate procedures, in particular through their institutions, each time legislative or administrative measures may be foreseen to affect them. In this framework, the right to prior obligatory consultation by the State with respect to the exploitation of nonrenewable natural resources in the territory they inhabit shall be respected and guaranteed, in good faith and upon agreement.
   16. Ownership of natural resources
       To participate in the benefits of the exploitation of natural resources in their territory.
   17. Ownership of natural resources
       To autonomous indigenous territorial management, and to the exclusive use and exploitation of renewable natural resources existing in their territory without prejudice to the legitimate rights acquired by third parties.
   18. To participate in the organs and institutions of the State.
3. The State guarantees, respects and protects the rights of the nations and the rural native indigenous peoples consecrated in this Constitution and the law.

Article 31

1. The nations and the rural native indigenous peoples that are in danger of extinction, in voluntary isolation and not in contact, shall be protected and respected with respect to their forms of individual and collective life.
2. The nations and the rural native indigenous peoples that live in isolation and out of contact enjoy the right to maintain themselves in that condition, and to the legal definition and consolidation of the territory which they occupy and inhabit.

Article 32

Section I. Environmental Rights

Section II. Right to Health and Social Security

Section III. Right to Work and Employment

Section IV. Right to Property

Section V. Rights of Children, Adolescents and Youth

Section VI. Rights of the Family

Section VII. Rights of the Elderly Adults

Section VIII. Rights of Disabled Persons

Section IX. Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty

Section X. Rights of Users of Services and Consumers

Section I. Education

Section II. Higher Education

Section III. Cultures

Section IV. Science, Technology and Research

Section V. Sports and Recreation

Article 106

1. The State guarantees the right to communication and the right to information.
2. Freedom of expression
   The State guarantees the right of Bolivians to freedom of expression, opinion and information, to rectification and reply, and the right to freely publish ideas by whatever means of dissemination, without prior censorship.
3. The State guarantees freedom of expression and the right to communication and information to workers of the press.
4. The conscience clause of the information workers is recognized.

Article 107

1. The public means of communication must contribute to the promotion of the ethical, moral and civic-minded values of the different cultures of the country with the production and dissemination of multi-lingual educational programs and in an alternative language for the disabled.
2. Information and opinions issued by the public means of communication must respect the principles of truth and responsibility. These principles shall be put into practice through the rules of ethics and self-regulation of the organizations of journalists and of the means of communication and their law.
3. The public means of communication shall not form, either directly or indirectly, monopolies or oligopolies.
4. The State shall support the creation of communitarian means of communication with equal conditions and opportunities.

Article 109

1. All the rights recognized in the Constitution are directly applicable and enjoy equal guarantees of their protection.
2. The rights and guarantees may be regulated only by the law.

Article 110

1. Persons who violate constitutional rights are subject to the jurisdiction and competence of the Bolivian authorities.
2. The intellectual and material perpetrators of violations of constitutional rights are to be held responsible.
3. The immediate perpetrators of attacks against personal security are to be held liable, and are not excused from liability for having committed them under orders of superiors.

Article 111

Article 112

Article 113

1. Victims of violations of their rights are granted the right to timely indemnification, reparation and compensation for damages and prejudices.
2. In the event that a sentence requires the State to repair damages and prejudices, it shall interpose the same action against the authority or public servant responsible for the act or omission that caused the damage.

Article 114

1. Prohibition of torture
   All forms of torture, disappearances, confinement, coercion, exaction and any other form of physical and moral violence are prohibited. The public servants or officials, who apply, instigate or consent to them shall be dismissed and replaced, without prejudice to the sanctions determined by law.
2. Regulation of evidence collection
   The statements, actions or omissions which are obtained or undertaken through the employment of torture, coercion, exaction, or by any other form of violence, are null to the full extent of the law.

Article 115

1. Everyone shall be protected in the exercise of his or her rights and legitimate interests in a timely and effective manner by the judges and courts.
2. Guarantee of due process
   The State guarantees the right to due process and defense, and to plural, prompt, appropriate, free, and transparent justice without delays.

Article 116

1. Presumption of innocence in trials
   The presumption of innocence is guaranteed. During the process, in the event of a doubt concerning the applicable norm, the one most favorable to the accused or the defendant shall govern.
2. Principle of no punishment without law, Protection from ex post facto laws
   Every sanction must be based on a law existing prior to the commission of the punishable act.

Article 117

1. Guarantee of due process
   No one may be condemned without having been previously heard and tried pursuant to due process. No one shall be subject to a criminal sanction that has not been imposed by a competent judicial authority as a final judgment.
2. Prohibition of double jeopardy
   No one shall be tried or sentenced more than once for the same act. The rights that are restricted shall be immediately restored upon fulfillment of the sentence.
3. Rights of debtors
   No sanction of deprivation of liberty may be imposed for debts or property obligations, except in the cases established by law.

Article 118

1. Dishonor, civil death and confinement are prohibited.
2. The maximum criminal sentence shall be thirty years of deprivation of liberty without the right to pardon.
3. The fulfillment of sentences of deprivation of liberty and the security measures imposed are directed toward the education, rehabilitation and reinsertion in society of the condemned persons, with respect for their rights.

Article 119

1. During the legal process, the parties in conflict enjoy equal opportunities to exercise the faculties and rights that may help them, whether in an ordinary process or by rural native indigenous process.
2. Right to counsel, Inalienable rights
   Everyone has the inviolable right to a defense. The State shall provide a defense lawyer free of charge to persons accused or denounced in the event that they do not have the necessary economic resources.

Article 120

1. Right to fair trial
   Every person has the right to be heard by a competent, impartial and independent jurisdictional authority, and may not be tried by special commissions or submitted to other jurisdictional authorities other than those established prior to the time the facts of the case arose.
2. Trial in native language of accused
   Every person submitted to legal process has the right to be tried in his or her language; in case of exception, the person must be assisted by a translator or interpreter.

Article 121

1. Protection from self-incrimination
   In criminal matters, no person can be forced to make a statement against him or herself, or against his or her blood relatives to the fourth degree or against non-blood relatives up to the second degree. The right to remain silent shall not be considered an indication of guilt.
2. Protection of victim's rights, Right to counsel
   The victim in a criminal process shall be able to intervene in accordance with the law, and shall have the right to be heard before each judicial decision. In the event that he or she does not have the necessary economic resources, he or she will be assisted free of charge by a lawyer appointed by the State.

Article 122

Article 123

Article 124

1. The Bolivian who engages in the following acts commits the crime of treason against the country:
   1. Takes up arms against his or her country, puts him or herself at the service of participating foreign states, or enters into complicity with the enemy in the case of an international war against Bolivia.
   2. Violates the constitutional regime of natural resources.
   3. Attacks the unity of the country.
2. This crime shall deserve the maximum criminal sanction.

Section I. Action for Liberty

Section II. Action of Constitutional Protection

Section III. Action for Protection of Privacy

Section IV. Action for Unconstitutionality

Section V. Action for Compliance

Section VI. Popular Action

Article 137

Article 138

1. The validity of the declaration of the state of emergency shall depend on the subsequent approval of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, which shall take place as soon as circumstances permit, and in all cases, within seventy two hours following the declaration of the state of emergency. The approval of the declaration shall indicate the powers conferred, and it shall maintain strict relation and proportion to the case of necessity addressed by the state of emergency. In general, the rights consecrated in the Constitution shall not be suspended by the declaration of the state of emergency.
2. Once the state of emergency ends, no other state of emergency may be declared within one year following, except upon prior legislative authorization.

Article 139

1. The Executive shall report to the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly concerning the reasons for the declaration of the state of emergency, as well as the use that has been made of the powers conferred by the Constitution and the law.
2. Those persons who violate the rights established in this Constitution shall be subject to criminal process for violation of rights.
3. The states of emergency shall be regulated by law.

Article 140

1. Neither the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, nor any other body or institution, nor association or popular group of any kind, shall grant to a body or person any extraordinary authorities different than those established in this Constitution.
2. Public Power may not be accumulated, nor may any body or person be granted supremacy over the rights and guarantees recognized in this Constitution.
3. The reform of the Constitution may not be initiated while there is a state of emergency in force.

Article 141

Article 142

1. Foreigners may acquire Bolivian nationality by naturalization if they are legally in the country for more than three years of uninterrupted residence under the supervision of the State, and they expressly manifest their desire to obtain Bolivian nationality and comply with the requisites established by law.
2. The time of residence shall be reduced to two years in the case of foreigners who are in one of the following situations:
   1. They have a Bolivian spouse, a Bolivian child or children, or Bolivian adoptive parents. Foreign citizens who acquire citizenship by marriage with Bolivian citizens do not lose it in the case of widowhood or divorce.
   2. They serve in the Bolivian military at the required age and pursuant to the law.
   3. They obtain Bolivian nationality granted by the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly for their service to the country.
3. The time of residence for obtaining Bolivian nationality may be modified when there are reciprocal conventions with other states, first and foremost those of Latin America.

Article 143

1. Bolivians who marry foreign citizens shall not lose their nationality of origin. Nor shall Bolivian nationality be lost by acquiring foreign citizenship.
2. Foreigners who acquire Bolivian nationality shall not be obligated to renounce their nationality of origin.

Article 144

1. All Bolivians are citizens and exercise their citizenship rights from the age of 18, whatever may be their level of education, occupation or income.
2. Citizenship rights consist of:
   1. Restrictions on voting
      Taking part as an elector or being eligible to be part of and exercise functions in the bodies of popular power, and
   2. The right to exercise public functions without any requisites, except those established by law.
3. Conditions for revoking citizenship
   The rights of citizens are suspended for reasons and in the manner set forth in article 28 of this Constitution.

Article 145

Article 146

1. Size of first chamber
   The Chamber of Deputies shall have 130 members.
2. In each Department, half of the Deputies (Diputados) shall be elected by direct voting electoral districts. The other half shall be elected by proportional voting electoral districts, from lists headed by candidates for President, Vice President and the Senators of the Republic.
3. Deputies are elected by universal, direct and secret vote. In the single Districts, they are elected by simply majority of the voters; in the multiple districts, by a system of representation established by law.
4. Right to culture, Indigenous right to vote, Indigenous right to representation
   The number of Deputies must reflect the proportional vote obtained by each party, citizen group or indigenous people.
5. Electoral districts
   The total distribution of seats among the departments shall be determined by the Electoral Organ (Organo Electoral) on the basis of the number of inhabitants in each one of them, pursuant to the latest National Census, according to law. For equity, the law shall assign a minimum number of seats to the departments that have the least population and least economic development. If the distribution of seats for any department is an uneven number, preference will be given to the single districts for the assignment of the seats.
6. Electoral districts
   The single districts must have geographical continuity, affinity and territorial continuity; they may not extend beyond the borders of each department and must be based on criteria of population and territorial extension. The Electoral Organ shall define the single districts.
7. Electoral districts
   The special rural native indigenous districts shall be governed by the principle of density of population in each department. They shall not cross department borders. They shall be established only in a rural area in those departments in which those nations and native indigenous rural peoples constitute a minority population. The Electoral Organ shall define the special districts. These districts form part of the total number of deputies.

Article 147

1. The equal participation of men and women shall be guaranteed in the election of the members of the assembly.
2. Right to culture, Indigenous right to representation
   Proportional participation of the nations and rural native indigenous peoples shall be guaranteed in the election of members of the assembly.
3. The law shall define the special districts of the rural native indigenous peoples, in which population density and geographical continuity shall not be considered as conditional criteria.

Article 148

1. Size of second chamber
   The Chamber of Senators shall consist of a total of 36 members.
2. Second chamber selection
   In each department, four Senators shall be elected in departmental districts by universal, direct and secret vote.
3. The assignment of seats for Senators in each department shall be made by a proportional system pursuant to the Law.

Article 149

Article 150

1. Replacement of legislators
   The Pluri-National Legislative Assembly shall have alternate members who do not receive remuneration except in the case that they must actually serve as substitutes. The law shall determine the manner of substitution of the members.
2. Outside professions of legislators
   The members of the assembly shall not carry out any other public function, under penalty of losing their mandate, with the exception of university teaching.
3. The resignation of a member of the assembly shall be final, without the possibility of being able to obtain permission or the grant of temporary substitution for the purpose of carrying out other functions.

Article 151

1. The members of the assembly shall enjoy personal privilege during the time of their mandate, and afterwards they may not be criminally processed for their opinions, communications, representations, requests, questions, denouncements, proposals, expressions or any legislative act or act of reporting or control, which they formulate or undertake while performing their functions.
2. The domicile, residence or habitat of the members of the assembly may not be violated, and they shall not be searched under any circumstance. This provision shall be applied to the vehicles of their personal or official use and to their legislative offices.

Article 152

Article 153

1. The Vice President of the State shall preside over the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly.
2. The ordinary sessions of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly shall start on the 6th of August of every year.
3. Length of legislative sessions
   The ordinary sessions of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly shall be continuous, and each one will have two recesses of fifteen days per year.
4. By decision of the Plenary and the convocation of its President, the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly may hold sessions in a different place other than the habitual one within the territory of the State.

Article 154

Article 155

Article 156

Article 157

Article 158

1. The attributes of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, in addition to those determined by this Constitution and the law are the following:
   1. To approve and execute its budget autonomously; to name and remove its administrative personnel; and to attend to everything related to its internal governance and economy.
   2. Compensation of legislators
      To set the remuneration of the members, which, in no case, may be higher than that of the Vice President of the State. Any additional income from a remunerated activity is prohibited.
   3. To dictate, interpret, repeal, abrogate and modify laws.
   4. To elect six of its members to the Pluri-National Electoral Organ, by two-thirds vote of the members present.
   5. Supreme court selection, Constitutional court selection, Establishment of judicial council
      To pre-select the candidates to form the Pluri-National Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional), the Supreme Court of Justice (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia), the Agro-Environmental Court (Tribunal Agroambiental) and the Council of Magistrates (Consejo de la Magistratura).
   6. To approve the creation of new territorial units and to establish their boundaries, pursuant to the Constitution and the law.
   7. Economic plans
      To approve the economic and social development plan presented by the Executive Organ).
   8. To approve the laws in matters of budgets, indebtedness, control and supervision of state resources, of public credit, and of subsidies for the undertaking of public works and social needs.
   9. To make decisions on indispensable state economic measures in case of public necessity.
   10. To approve the contracting of loans that commit general income of the State, and to authorize universities to contract loans.
   11. Budget bills
       To approve the General State Budget presented by the Executive Organ. Once the draft law is received, it must be considered by the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly within the term of sixty days. In case it is not approved within this time frame, the draft law shall be considered approved.
   12. To approve the contracts of public importance with regard to natural resources and strategic areas, signed by the Executive Organ.
   13. To approve the disposal of assets of public dominion of the State.
   14. Treaty ratification
       To ratify international treaties signed by the Executive, in the manner established by the Constitution.
   15. To establish the monetary system.
   16. To establish the system of measures.
   17. To monitor and oversee the organs of the State and the public institutions.
   18. Legislative oversight of the executive, Cabinet removal
       To question, at the initiative of any of the members of the assembly, the Ministers of State, individually or collectively, and to censure by the vote of two-thirds of the members of the Assembly. The questioning shall be requested by either of the Chambers. The censure shall imply the replacement of the Minister.
   19. Legislative oversight of the executive, Legislative committees
       To undertake investigations within the framework of their supervisory attributes, by way of a commission or commissions elected for that purpose, without prejudice to the control exercised by the competent bodies.
   20. To monitor and oversee public enterprises, those of mixed capital and every entity that has State economic participation.
   21. Designation of commander in chief
       To authorize the use of military troops, armaments and war materiel outside of the territory of the State, and to determine the purpose and time of the absence of troops.
   22. To authorize in exceptional cases the entrance and temporary transit of foreign armed forces, determining the purpose and length of their stay.
   23. Tax bills
       At the initiative of the Executive Organ, to create or modify taxes at the central level of the State. Nevertheless, the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, at the request of one of its members, shall request that the Executive Organ present bills on the matter. If the Executive Organ, within the term of twenty days does not present the requested bill, or the justification for not having done so, the representative who had requested it or another, shall present his or her own bill for consideration and approval.
2. The organization and functions of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly shall be regulated by the Rules of the Chamber of Deputies.

Article 159

Article 160

Article 161

Article 162

1. Initiation of general legislation
   The following have the authority to initiate legislation, which the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly is obligated to process:
   1. Legislative initiatives by citizens
      Citizens.
   2. Members of the assembly in each of the Chambers.
   3. The Executive Organ.
   4. The Supreme Court, with respect to initiatives related to the administration of justice.
   5. The autonomous governments of the territorial entities.
2. The law and rules of each Chamber shall develop the procedures and requisites for exercising the authority of legislative initiative.

Article 163

Article 164

1. The promulgated law shall be published immediately in the Official Gazette.
2. Compliance with the law is obligatory from the date of its publication, except for those that establish a different term for entrance into force.

Section I. General Matters

Section II. Presidency and Vice Presidency of the State

Section III. Ministers of State

Article 178

1. Right to fair trial, Right to speedy trial, Judicial independence, Right to public trial
   The power to impart justice emanates from the Bolivian people and is based on the principles of independence, impartiality, juridical security, publicity, probity, promptness, being free of charge, legal pluralism, being inter-cultural, equity, service to society, citizen participation, social harmony and respect for rights.
2. The guarantees of judicial independence are:
   1. The performance of the judges in accordance with a judicial career.
   2. Protection of judges' salaries
      The budgetary autonomy of the judicial bodies.

Article 179

1. Indigenous right to self governance, Structure of the courts, Right to culture
   The judicial function is singular. Ordinary jurisdiction is exercised by the Supreme Court of Justice, the departmental courts of justice, the sentencing courts and the judges; the agro-environmental jurisdiction is exercised by the Agro-Environmental Court and judges; and the rural native indigenous jurisdiction is exercised by their own authorities. There shall be specialized jurisdictions regulated by the law.
2. Right to culture
   Ordinary jurisdiction and rural native indigenous jurisdiction enjoy equal status.
3. Establishment of constitutional court
   Constitutional justice is imparted by the Pluri-National Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional).
4. Establishment of judicial council
   The Council of Judges is part of the Judicial Organ (Organo Judicial).

Article 180

1. Guarantee of due process, Right to fair trial, Right to speedy trial, Right to public trial
   Ordinary jurisdiction is based on the following procedural principles: application free of charge, publicity, transparency, the right to be heard, promptness, probity, honesty, legality, efficiency, accessibility, immediacy, material truth, due process, and equality of the parties before the judge.
2. Right to appeal judicial decisions
   The principle of the right to challenge in judicial processes is guaranteed.
3. Establishment of military courts
   Ordinary jurisdiction shall not recognize privileges or extraordinary courts. The military jurisdiction shall try the crimes of military nature regulated by the law.

Sole Section. Supreme Court of Justice

Article 186

Article 187

Article 188

1. The Magistrates of the Agro-Environmental Court shall be elected by universal suffrage, pursuant to the procedures, mechanisms and formalities for the members of the Supreme Court of Justice.
2. The system of prohibitions and incompatibilities applicable to the Magistrates of the Agro-Environmental Court shall be those that are applied to public servants.
3. The term of the performance, permanence and cessation of the position that is established for Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia) shall be applied to the members of the Agro-Environmental Court.

Article 189

Article 190

1. The nations and native indigenous rural peoples shall exercise their jurisdictional functions and competency through their authorities, and shall apply their own principles, cultural values, norms and procedures.
2. The rural native indigenous jurisdiction respects the right to life, the right to defense and other rights and guarantees established in this Constitution.

Article 191

1. The rural native indigenous jurisdiction is based on the specific connection between the persons who are members of the respective nation or rural native indigenous people.
2. The rural native indigenous jurisdiction is exercised in the following areas of personal, material and territorial legal effect:
   1. Members of the nation or rural native indigenous people are subject to this jurisdiction whether they act as plaintiffs or defendants, claimants or accusers, whether they are persons who are denounced or accused, or are appellants or respondents.
   2. This jurisdiction hears rural native indigenous matters pursuant to that established in a law of Jurisdictional Demarcation.
   3. This jurisdiction applies to the relations and juridical acts that are carried out, or the effects of which are produced, within the jurisdiction of a rural native indigenous people.

Article 192

1. Each public authority or person shall obey the decisions of the rural native indigenous jurisdiction.
2. To secure compliance with the decisions of the rural native indigenous jurisdiction, its authorities may request the support of the competent bodies of the State.
3. The State shall promote and strengthen rural native indigenous justice. The law of Jurisdictional Demarcation shall determine the mechanisms of coordination and cooperation between rural native indigenous jurisdiction and ordinary jurisdiction and agro-environmental jurisdiction and all the recognized constitutional jurisdictions.

Article 193

1. The Council of Ministers of Justice is the instance responsible for the following: the disciplinary regime for the ordinary, agro-environmental and the specialized jurisdictions; the monitoring and supervision of their administrative and financial management; and the formulation of procedural policies. The Council of Ministers of Justice shall be governed by the principle of citizen participation.
2. Its formation, structure and functions are determined by the law.

Article 194

1. Establishment of judicial council
   The members of the Council of Ministers of Justice shall be elected by universal vote from among the candidates proposed by the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly. The Pluri-National Electoral Organ shall be in charge of the organization and implementation of the electoral process.
2. In addition to the general conditions necessary to enter public service, the members of the Council of Ministers of Justice shall be thirty years old, possess knowledge of the material under their jurisdiction, and have performed their duties ethically and honestly.
3. The members of the Council of Ministers of Justice shall remain in their posts for six years and may not be re-elected.

Article 195

Article 196

1. The Pluri-National Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional) assures the supremacy of the Constitution, exercises constitutional control, and safeguards respect for and enforcement of constitutional rights and guarantees.
2. As criteria to be applied in its interpretive role, the Pluri-National Constitutional Court shall give preference to the intent of the constituent assembly as demonstrated in its documents, acts and resolutions, as well as the literal tenor of the text.

Article 197

1. Indigenous right to representation, Right to culture
   The Pluri-National Constitutional Court shall consist of Judges elected on the basis of pluri-nationality, with representation from the ordinary system and the rural native indigenous system.
2. The substitute Judges of the Pluri-National Constitutional Court shall not receive remuneration, and shall assume functions only in the case of the absence of the titled Judge or for other reasons established by law.
3. The composition, organization and functions of the Pluri-National Constitutional Court shall be regulated by law.

Article 198

Article 199

1. Min age of const court judges, Eligibility for const court judges
   To become a Judge of the Pluri-National Constitutional Court, in addition to the general requisites to become a public servant, one must be thirty five years of age and have specialized or credited experience of at least eight years in the disciplines of Constitutional law, Administrative law or Human Rights law. For purposes of determining merit, experience as a native authority under its system of justice shall be taken into account.
2. Constitutional court selection, Right to culture
   The candidates for the Pluri-National Constitutional Court shall be proposed by organizations of civil society and the nations and rural native indigenous peoples.

Article 200

Article 201

Article 202

Article 203

Article 204

Article 205

1. The Pluri-National Electoral Organ (Organo Electoral) shall be composed of:
   1. The Supreme Electoral Court.
   2. The Departmental Electoral Courts.
   3. The Electoral Judges.
   4. The Juries of the polling places.
   5. The Electoral Notaries.
2. The jurisdiction, competency and powers of the Electoral Organ and its different levels are defined in this Constitution and the law.

Article 206

1. The Supreme Electoral Court is the highest level of the Electoral Organ, and has national jurisdiction.
2. Electoral court term length, Right to culture, Indigenous right to representation, Electoral court term limits
   The Supreme Electoral Court is composed of seven members, who shall remain in office for six years without the possibility of re-election, and at least two of them shall be of rural native indigenous origin.
3. Electoral court selection
   The Pluri-National Legislative Assembly shall elect six of the members of the Pluri-National Electoral Organ, by two-thirds of the votes of the members present. The President of the State shall designate one of its members.
4. Civil service recruitment, Electoral court selection
   The election of the members of the Pluri-National Electoral Organ requires the prior public announcement, and the determination of the capacity and merits by public selection process.
5. The Departmental Legislative Assemblies or the Departmental Councils shall select, by two thirds votes of their members present, a list of candidates for each one of the voting members of the Departmental Electoral Courts. The Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) shall, by two third votes of the members present, elect from the lists the members of the Departmental Electoral Courts, guaranteeing that at least one of its members belong to the nations and rural native indigenous peoples of the Department.

Article 207

Article 208

1. The Supreme Electoral Court is responsible for organizing, administering and carrying out the electoral processes, and for proclaiming the results.
2. The Court shall guarantee that the voting is carried out effectively, pursuant to that set forth in Article 26 of this Constitution.
3. It is the function of the Supreme Electoral Court to organize and administer the Civil Registry and the Electoral Roll.

Article 209

Article 210

1. Right to culture, Restrictions on political parties
   The organization and functioning of the organizations of the nations, rural native indigenous peoples, and citizen associations and political parties must be democratic.
2. Restrictions on political parties
   The internal election of the leaders and the candidates of the citizen associations, and of the political parties, shall be regulated and supervised by the Pluri-National Electoral Organ, which shall guarantee the equal participation of men and women.
3. Indigenous right to vote, Right to culture
   The nations and rural native indigenous peoples may elect their candidates according to their own democratic communitarian norms.

Article 211

1. The nations and rural native indigenous peoples may elect their political representatives whenever required, in accordance with their own forms of election.
2. The Electoral Organ shall assure that the norms of those peoples and nations will be complied with strictly in the elections of authorities, representatives and candidates of the nations and rural native indigenous peoples, using their own norms and procedures.

Article 212

Sole Section. General Comptroller

Section I. Public Defender

Section II. The Public Ministry

Sole Section. Office of the Attorney General of the State

Article 232

Article 233

Article 234

Article 235

Article 236

Article 237

1. The obligations for the exercise of the public administration:
   1. Inventory and care for the documents belonging to the public administration in public offices, with the prohibition of taking them out or destroying them. The law shall regulate the management of archives and the conditions under which public documents may be destroyed.
   2. Maintain the confidentiality of classified information, which may not be divulged even after they have left their duties. The procedure for characterizing classified information shall be set forth in the law.
2. The law shall determine the sanctions for violation of these obligations.

Article 238

Article 239

Article 240

1. The mandate of anyone who occupies an elected position, with the exception of those of the Judicial Organ, may be revoked, in accordance with the law.
2. The revocation of a mandate can be requested when at least half the term of the mandate has been completed. The revocation of a mandate cannot take place during the last year of the term in office.
3. Referenda
   The revocation referendum shall commence by citizen initiative, at the request of at least fifteen percent of the voters of the electoral roll of the district that elected the public servant.
4. The revocation of a mandate of a public servant shall be carried out pursuant to the law.
5. The revocation of a mandate shall result in the immediate cessation of service in the post, providing for his or her substitution according to the law.
6. The revocation shall take place only once during the constitutional mandate of the person elected.

Article 243

Article 244

Article 245

Article 246

1. The Armed Forces are subordinate to the President of the State and receive their orders administratively through the Minister of Defense as an intermediary, and with respect to technical aspects, from the Commander in Chief.
2. In the event of war, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces shall direct the operations.

Article 247

1. No foreigner may exercise command, nor be employed or occupy an administrative post in the Armed Forces without the prior authorization of the Captain General.
2. Restrictions on minister of defense
   To occupy their positions, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the Chief of Staff, the Commanders and Chiefs of Staff of the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy of Bolivia, and of the large units, must be Bolivian by birth and meet the requisites set forth in the law. The same requisites are necessary for the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Defense.

Article 248

Article 249

Article 250

Article 251

1. The Bolivian Police, as a public force, has the specific mission to defend the society and conserve public order, and to assure compliance with the law in the entire territory of Bolivia. It shall carry out the police function in a comprehensive, indivisible manner and under a single command, pursuant to the Organic Law of the Bolivian Police and the other laws of the State.
2. As an institution, it does not deliberate nor participate in party political activities, but individually its members enjoy and exercise their rights as citizens, in accordance with the law.

Article 252

Article 253

Article 254

Article 255

1. International relations and the negotiation, signing and ratification of international treaties serve the objectives of the state in terms of sovereignty and the interests of the people.
2. The negotiation, signing and ratification of international relations shall be guided by the principles of:
   1. Independence and equality among states, the no intervention in internal matters and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
   2. Rejection and condemnation of all forms of dictatorship, colonialism, neocolonialism and imperialism.
   3. Defense and promotion of human, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, with repudiation of all forms of racism and discrimination.
   4. Respect for the rights of native indigenous rural peoples.
   5. Cooperation and solidarity among states and peoples.
   6. Preservation of patrimony, capacity of State management and regulation.
   7. Harmony with nature, defense of biodiversity, and prohibition of forms of private appropriation for exclusive use and exploitation of plants, animals, microorganisms and any living matter.
   8. Protection of environment
      Food security and sovereignty for the entire population; the prohibition of importation, production and commercialization of genetically modified organisms and toxic elements that harm health and the environment.
   9. Access of the entire population to basic services for their wellbeing and development.
   10. Preservation of the right of the population to have access to all medications, primarily genetic medications.
   11. Protection and preference for Bolivian production, and promotion of exports with added value.

Article 256

1. The international treaties and instruments in matters of human rights that have been signed and/or ratified, or those that have been joined by the State, which declare rights more favorable than those contained in the Constitution, shall have preferential application over those in this Constitution.
2. The rights recognized in the Constitution shall be interpreted in agreement with international human rights treaties when the latter provide more favorable norms.

Article 257

1. Legal status of treaties
   Ratified international treaties are part of domestic law with the force of law.
2. Treaty ratification
   International treaties that involve any of the following matters shall require prior approval by binding popular referendum:
   1. Questions of borders.
   2. Monetary integration.
   3. Structural economic integration.
   4. Grant of institutional authority to international or supra-national organisms, in the context of processes of integration.

Article 258

Article 259

1. Referenda
   Any international treaty shall require approval by popular referendum when it is requested by five percent of the citizens registered on the voting rolls, or thirty five percent of the representatives of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly. These initiatives can be used also to request that the Executive Organ sign a treaty.
2. The announcement of the convocation of a referendum shall suspend, according to the time periods established by law, the process of ratification of the international treaty until the results are obtained.

Article 260

1. Customary international law
   The repudiation of the international treaties shall follow the procedures established in the same international treaty, the general norms of international law, and the procedures established in the Constitution and the law for its ratification.
2. The repudiation of ratified treaties must be approved by the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly before being executed by the President of the State.
3. The treaties approved by referendum must be submitted to a new referendum prior to their repudiation by the President of State.

Article 261

Article 262

1. Restrictions on rights of groups
   The fifty kilometers from the borderline constitute the border zone security. No foreign person, individual or company, may acquire property in this space, directly or indirectly, nor possess any property right in the waters, soil or subsoil, except in the case of state necessity declared by express law approved by two-thirds of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly. The property or the possession affected in the event of non compliance with this prohibition shall pass to the benefit of the State, without any indemnification.
2. The border zone security is subject to a special legal, economic, administrative and security regime, oriented to promote and prioritize its development and to the guarantee of the integrity of the State.

Article 263

Article 264

1. The State shall establish a permanent policy of harmonic, comprehensive, sustainable and strategic development of the frontiers, for the purpose of improving the living conditions of its population, and especially the nations and rural native indigenous peoples living on the border.
2. It is the duty of the State to execute policies of preservation and control of the natural resources in the border areas.
3. The regulation of the border system shall be established by law.

Article 265

1. The State shall promote the relations of social, political, cultural and economic integration with other states, nations and peoples of the world and, in particular, Latin American integration, based on the principles of a just, equitable relationship with recognition of asymmetry.
2. The state shall strengthen the integration of its nations and rural native indigenous peoples with the indigenous peoples of the world.

Article 266

Article 267

1. The Bolivian government declares its inalienable and indefeasible right to the territory that gives access to the Pacific Ocean and sea space.
2. The effective solution to the maritime dispute through peaceful means and the full exercise of sovereignty over that territory is a permanent and inalienable objective of the Bolivian State.

Article 268

Article 269

1. Subsidiary unit government
   Bolivia is organized territorially into departments, provinces, municipalities and rural native indigenous territories.
2. The creation, modification and definition of the territorial units shall be made by the democratic will of their inhabitants, in accordance with the conditions established in the Constitution and law.
3. Subsidiary unit government
   The regions shall form part of the territorial organization, under the terms and conditions determined by law.

Article 270

Article 271

1. Municipal government
   The Framework Law of Autonomies and Decentralization shall regulate the procedures for the following: drafting the autonomous Statutes and the Organic Charters, the transference and delegation of authority, the financial economic system, and the coordination between the central level and the decentralized and autonomous territorial entities.
2. Supermajority required for legislation
   The Framework Law of Autonomies and Decentralization shall be approved by two-thirds of the votes of the members of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly who are present.

Article 272

Article 273

Article 274

Article 275

Article 276

Article 277

Article 278

1. Right to culture, Indigenous right to vote
   The Departmental Assembly shall be composed of members elected by universal, direct, free, secret and obligatory vote; and by members elected by the nations and rural native indigenous peoples, in accordance with their own norms and procedures.
2. The law shall determine the general criteria for the election of members of the departmental assemblies, taking into account population, territorial, cultural identity and linguistic representation when there are rural native indigenous minorities, and parity and alternation of gender. The Statutes of Autonomy shall define its application in accordance with the specific reality and conditions of its jurisdiction.

Article 279

Article 280

1. The region is composed of various municipalities or provinces that have geographic continuity, which cross the borders of departments that share culture, language, history, economy and ecosystems in each department. The region shall constitute an area of planning and management. In exceptional cases, a region can be formed by a single province, which by itself has the characteristics that define a region. Metropolitan regions can be formed in the suburbs that are larger than 500,000 inhabitants.
2. The Framework Law of Autonomies and Decentralization shall establish the terms and procedures for the orderly and planned formation of the regions. Provincial authorities cannot be elected in the areas where regions are formed.
3. Referenda
   At the initiative of the municipalities belonging to it, the region may establish regional autonomy by way of referendum in its jurisdictions. Its powers must be conferred by two-thirds of the total votes of the members of the deliberative departmental organ.

Article 281

Article 282

1. The members of the Regional Assembly shall be elected in each municipality, together with the lists of candidates for the municipal councils, in accordance with criterion of population and territory.
2. The region shall draft its Statute in a participatory manner, in accordance with the procedures established for autonomous regions.

Article 283

Article 284

1. The Municipal Council shall be composed of council members elected by universal suffrage.
2. Right to culture
   The nations or rural native indigenous peoples in the municipalities, which do not constitute a rural native indigenous autonomy, may elect their representatives to the Municipal Council directly, pursuant to their own norms and procedures and in accordance with the Organic Municipal Charter.
3. The law shall determine the general criterion for the election and determine the number of municipal council members. The Organic Municipal Charter shall define its application, according to the specific reality and conditions of its jurisdiction.
4. The Municipal Council may draft the proposed Organic Charter, which shall be approved according to that set forth in this Constitution.

Article 285

1. To be a candidate for an elective position in the executive organs of autonomous governments, one must satisfy the general conditions for being a public servant, and:
   1. Municipal government
      Have resided permanently in the corresponding department, region or municipality for at least the two years immediately prior to the election.
   2. In the case of the election of the Mayor and the regional authority, the person must be twenty one years of age.
   3. In the case of the election of the Prefect or Governor, the person must be twenty five years of age.
2. The period of the mandate of the highest executive authorities of the autonomous governments is five years, and he or she may be re-elected once for a continuous mandate.

Article 286

1. The temporary substitution of the highest executive authority of an autonomous government shall correspond to the Council or Assembly, pursuant to the Statute of Autonomy or the Organic Charter as the case may be.
2. In the event of the resignation or death, permanent disability, or revocation of the mandate of the highest executive authority of the autonomous government, a new election shall be called, provided that half of the term of the mandate has not elapsed. If half the term has elapsed, the substitute shall be an authority already elected as defined pursuant to the Statute of Autonomy or the Organic Charter, as the case may be.

Article 287

1. The candidates for the councils and assemblies of the autonomous governments must satisfy the general conditions for being a public servant, and:
   1. Have resided permanently in the corresponding jurisdiction for at least two years immediately prior to the election.
   2. Be eighteen years of age on the day of the election.
2. The election of the Assemblies and Councils of the autonomous governments shall be carried out with lists that are separate from the election of the executives.

Article 288

Article 289

Article 290

1. The formation of rural native indigenous autonomy is based on ancestral territories, currently inhabited by those peoples and nations, and pursuant to the will of their population as expressed through consultation, in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
2. The self-governance of the rural native indigenous autonomies is exercised according to their norms, institutions, authorities and procedures, in accordance with their authority and competences, and in harmony with the Constitution and the law.

Article 291

1. The rural native indigenous autonomies are rural native indigenous territories and the municipalities and regions that adopt that character, pursuant to that established in the Constitution and the law.
2. Two or more rural native indigenous peoples can form a single rural native indigenous autonomy.

Article 292

Article 293

1. The indigenous autonomy, based on consolidated indigenous territories and those undergoing that process and once consolidated, shall be formed by the express will of the population through consultation, as the only necessary requisite, pursuant to their own norms and procedures.
2. If the establishment of an indigenous originary peasant autonomy affects the boundaries of municipal districts, the indigenous originary peasant nation or people and the municipal government must agree on a new district demarcation. If it affects municipal boundaries, a procedure for its approval shall be conducted by the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, following the fulfillment of the special requirements and conditions provided for by statute.
3. Statute shall establish the minimum population requirements and other modalities for the constitution of an indigenous peasant farmer autonomy.
4. To constitute an indigenous originary peasant autonomy extending to territories in one or more municipalities, statute shall determine the articulation, coordination and cooperation mechanisms for the exercise of its government.

Article 294

1. The decision to form a rural native indigenous autonomy shall be adopted pursuant to the norms and procedures for consultations, according to the requisites and conditions established in the Constitution and the law.
2. The decision to convert a municipality into a rural native indigenous autonomy shall be adopted by referendum, pursuant to the requisites and conditions established by law.
3. A new municipality may be formed by the municipalities where there are rural communities with their own organizational structures, which draw them together and have geographic continuity, following the procedure for its approval before the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, upon prior compliance with the requisites and conditions set forth in the Constitution and the law.

Article 295

1. To form a rural native indigenous region that affects municipal boundaries, the procedure before the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly must be followed beforehand, fulfilling the particular requisites and conditions set forth in the Constitution and the law.
2. The aggregation of municipalities, municipal districts and/or rural native indigenous autonomies to form a rural native indigenous region, shall be decided by referendum and/or in accordance with their norms and procedures for consultation as the case may be, and pursuant to the requisites and conditions established by the Constitution and the law.

Article 296

Article 297

1. The authorities defined in this Constitution are as follows:
   1. Prerogative: those that the legislation, regulation and execution of which cannot be transferred or delegated, and which are reserved to the central level of the State.
   2. Exclusive: those which a level of government has legislative, regulatory and executive authority over a determined subject, the latter two of which may be delegated or transferred.
   3. Concurrent: those in which the legislation corresponds to the central level of the State, and the other levels exercise simultaneous regulatory and executive authority.
   4. Shared: those subject to basic legislation of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, the legislative development of which corresponds to the autonomous territorial entities, according to its character and nature. The regulation and execution shall correspond to the autonomous territorial entities.
2. Every authority which is not included in this Constitution shall be attributed to the central level of the State, which may transfer or delegate it by law.

Article 298

1. The following are the areas of prerogative authority of the central level of the State:
   1. Financial system.
   2. Central bank
      Monetary policy, the Central Bank, the monetary system, and the policy of foreign exchange.
   3. System of measures and weights, as well as the determination of the official time.
   4. Customs regime.
   5. Foreign Commerce.
   6. State Security, defense, the Armed Forces, and the Bolivian Police.
   7. Weapons and explosives.
   8. Foreign policy.
   9. Nationality, citizenship, laws applicable to foreigners, the right to asylum and refuge.
   10. Control of the borders in relation to the security of the State.
   11. Immigration regulation and policies.
   12. Creation, monitoring and administration of strategic public enterprises at the central level of the State.
   13. Administration of the Pluri-National State patrimony and the patrimony of public entities at the central level of the State.
   14. Control of air space and air transit throughout the entire national territory. The construction, maintenance, and administration of the international airports and inter-departmental air traffic.
   15. The Civil Registry.
   16. Census
       The official census.
   17. General policy over land and territory and title to them.
   18. Hydrocarbons.
   19. Creation of national taxes, rates and special tax contributions of the central level of the State.
   20. Protection of environment
       General policy of Biodiversity and Environment.
   21. Substantive and procedural codification in civil, family, criminal, tax, labor, commercial, mining and electoral matters.
   22. Economic plans
       National economic and planning policy.
2. The central level of the State has exclusive authority over the following:
   1. National electoral system for the election of national and sub-national authorities.
   2. Telecommunications
      General communications and telecommunications systems.
   3. Postal service.
   4. Ownership of natural resources
      Strategic natural resources, which include minerals, the electromagnetic spectrum, genetic and biogenetic resources, and water sources.
   5. General system of hydraulic resources and services.
   6. Protection of environment
      General system of biodiversity and environment.
   7. Forestry policy and the general system for soils, forestry and woods.
   8. Policy of generation, production, control, transmission and distribution of energy en the interconnected system.
   9. Planning, design, construction, conservation and administration of highways of the Fundamental Network.
   10. Construction, maintenance and administration of railroad lines and railroads of the Fundamental Network.
   11. Public works of important infrastructure of the central level of the State.
   12. Elaboration and approval of plans and official cartographic maps; surface maps.
   13. Elaboration and approval of official statistics.
   14. Granting of legal status to social organizations that carry out activities in more than one Department.
   15. Granting and registration of legal status to Non-Governmental Organizations, Foundations and not for profit civil entities that carry out activities in more than one Department.
   16. Social Security system.
   17. Policies of the educational and health systems.
   18. System of Real Property in obligatory coordination with municipal technical registration.
   19. Protected areas under the responsibility of the central level of the State.
   20. Fiscal reserves with respect to natural resources.
   21. Health and safety of livestock.
   22. Control of agrarian administration and rural land registry.
   23. Tax policy.
   24. Administration of Justice.
   25. Reference to science, Reference to art
       Promotion of culture and the conservation of important cultural, historic, artistic, monumental, architectural, archeological, paleontological, scientific, tangible and intangible patrimony at the central level of the State.
   26. Protection from expropriation
       Expropriation of real estate for reasons of public utility and necessity, in accordance with the procedures established by law.
   27. Centers of information and documentation, archives, libraries, museums, periodical libraries and others of importance of the central level of the State.
   28. Public enterprises at the central level of the State.
   29. Rural settlements
   30. Policies of basic services.
   31. Labor policies and systems.
   32. Transportation, ground, air, river and others when they transit more than one department.
   33. Policies of territorial planning and land registry and regulations.
   34. Internal and external public debt.
   35. General policies of productive development.
   36. General housing policies.
   37. General tourism policies.
   38. Regimen for land. The law shall determine the authorities to be transferred or delegated to the autonomies.

Article 299

1. The following authorities are exercised in shared form between the central level of the State and the autonomous territorial entities:
   1. The departmental and municipal electoral systems.
   2. Telecommunications
      Fixed and mobile telephone and telecommunications services.
   3. Urban electrification.
   4. Lottery games and gambling.
   5. International relations within the framework of the foreign policy of the State.
   6. The establishment of forums of citizen conciliation for the resolution of conflicts between neighbors in municipal matters.
   7. Regulation for the creation and/or modification of taxes that are the exclusive domain of autonomous governments.
2. The following authorities shall be exercised concurrently by the central level of the State and the autonomous territorial entities.
   1. Protection of environment
      To preserve, conserve and contribute to the protection of the environment and the wild fauna maintained in ecological equilibrium, and the control of environmental contamination.
   2. Management of the health and educational systems.
   3. Science, technology and research.
   4. Protection of environment
      Conservation of soil, forest resources and woods.
   5. Weather Service.
   6. Electromagnetic frequencies in the areas of their jurisdiction and within the framework of the policies of the State.
   7. Promotion and administration of hydraulic and energy projects.
   8. Industrial waste and toxic materials.
   9. Potable water projects and treatment of solid waste.
   10. Irrigation projects.
   11. Protection of basins.
   12. Administration or river ports.
   13. Public security.
   14. System of government control.
   15. Housing and public housing.
   16. Agriculture, livestock, hunting and fishing.

Article 300

1. The autonomous departmental governments have exclusive authority over the following in their jurisdictions:
   1. To elaborate their Statute pursuant to the procedures established in the Constitution and the law.
   2. To plan and develop human development in their jurisdiction.
   3. Initiation and convocation of departmental consultations and referenda on matters within their competence.
   4. Promotion of employment and improvement of working conditions, within the framework of national policies.
   5. Elaboration and execution of the Plans of land registry and regulations and the use of soils, in coordination with the plans at the central level of the State, municipalities and rural native indigenous peoples.
   6. Projects of generation and transport of energy in isolated systems.
   7. Planning, design, construction, conservation and administration of highways of the departmental network in accordance with state policies, including those of the Fundamental Network in the absence of the central level, in accordance with the norms established by the latter.
   8. Construction and maintenance of rail lines and railroads in the department in accordance with state policies, pursuant to the norms established by the state.
   9. Inter-provincial ground, river, railroad and other means of transportation en the department.
   10. Construction, maintenance and administration of the public departmental airports.
   11. Departmental statistics.
   12. To grant legal personality to public organizations that carry out activities in the department.
   13. To grant legal personality to Non Governmental Organizations, foundations and not for profit civil entities that carry out activities in the department.
   14. Services of agricultural health and safety.
   15. Projects for rural electrification.
   16. Projects of alternative and renewable sources of energy within the department, preserving food security.
   17. Sports in the area of its jurisdiction.
   18. Promotion and conservation of departmental natural patrimony.
   19. Reference to art, Reference to science
       Promotion and conservation of culture, cultural, historic, artistic, monumental, architectural, archeological, paleontological, scientific, tangible and intangible departmental patrimony.
   20. Departmental tourism policies.
   21. Projects for departmental infrastructure to support production.
   22. Creation and administration of taxes of departmental character, the imposition of which is not analogous to national or municipal taxes.
   23. Creation and administration of fees and special contributions of departmental character.
   24. Commerce, industry and services for development and competitiveness within the department.
   25. Expropriation of real estate in its jurisdiction for reasons of public utility and necessity.
   26. To elaborate, approve and execute is programs of operation and its budget.
   27. Fiduciary funds, investment funds and mechanisms of transfer of necessary and inherent resources within its competences.
   28. Departmental centers of information and documentation, archives, libraries, museums, periodical libraries and others.
   29. Departmental public enterprises.
   30. Promotion and development of projects and policies for children and adolescents, women, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
   31. Promotion and administration of services for productive and agricultural development.
   32. Elaboration and execution of departmental economic and social development plans.
   33. To participate in enterprises of industrialization, distribution and commercialization of hydrocarbons in the departmental territory in association with the national entities of the sector.
   34. Promotion of private investment in the department within the framework of national economic policies.
   35. Planning of departmental development in concordance with national planning.
   36. Administration of its royalties received within the framework of the general budget of the nation, which shall be transferred automatically to the Departmental Treasury.
2. The Autonomous Departmental Statues may define some of the exclusive authority as concurrent authority with other territorial entities of the department.
3. The competences that may be transferred or delegated will also be of departmental execution.

Article 301

Article 302

1. The following are the exclusive authority of the autonomous municipal governments, within their jurisdiction:
   1. To draft the Municipal Organic Charter pursuant to the procedures established in this Constitution and the law.
   2. To plan and promote human development in their jurisdiction.
   3. Initiative and convocation of municipal consultations and referenda in matters of their competence.
   4. Promotion of employment and the improvement of working conditions within the framework of national policies.
   5. Protection of environment
      To preserve, conserve and contribute to the protection of the environment and natural resources, wild fauna and domestic animals.
   6. Elaboration of land registry and regulations plans and the use of soils, in coordination with the plans of the central level of the State, the Departments and indigenous levels.
   7. To plan, design, construct, conserve and administer roads in coordination with the rural native indigenous villages when necessary.
   8. Construction, maintenance and administration of local public airports.
   9. Municipal statistics.
   10. Urban land registry in the area of their jurisdiction pursuant to the precepts and technical parameters established by the Municipal Governments.
   11. Municipal protected areas in accordance with the parameters and conditions established by the Municipal Governments.
   12. Projects of alternative and renewable sources of energy, preserving food security within the municipality.
   13. To control the quality and sanitation of the elaboration, transport and sale of food products for human and animal consumption.
   14. Sports in the area of their jurisdiction.
   15. Promotion and conservation of natural municipal patrimony.
   16. Reference to science, Reference to art
       Promotion and conservation of culture and municipal cultural, historic, artistic, monumental, architectural, archeological, paleontological, scientific, tangible and intangible municipal patrimony.
   17. Local tourism policies.
   18. Urban transportation, registration of automobile ownership, road regulation and education, administration and control of urban traffic.
   19. Creation and administration of municipal taxes, the imposition of which may not be analogous to the national or departmental taxes.
   20. Creation and administration of fees, certificates for economic activity and special contributions of municipal character.
   21. Projects for productive infrastructure.
   22. Expropriation of real property in their jurisdiction for reasons of public utility and necessity, pursuant to the procedures established by law, as well as establishing administrative limitations and right of passage for reasons of technical, legal order and public importance.
   23. To elaborate, approve and execute their programs of operation and their budgets.
   24. Fiduciary funds, investment funds and mechanisms of transference of necessary and inherent resources within the areas of their authority.
   25. Municipal centers of information, archives, libraries, museums, periodical libraries and others.
   26. Public municipal enterprises.
   27. Urban sanitation, management and treatment of solid waste within the framework of State policy.
   28. To design, construct, equip and maintain the infrastructure and works of public importance and the assets of municipal dominion, within their jurisdictional territory.
   29. Urban development and urban settlements.
   30. Public lighting service of their jurisdiction.
   31. Reference to art
       Promotion of culture and artistic activities in their jurisdiction.
   32. Public shows and recreational games.
   33. Urban publicity and announcements.
   34. To promote and sign agreements of association or municipal community with other municipalities.
   35. Agreements and/or contracts with natural or collective persons, public and private, for the development and fulfillment of their powers, authority and purposes.
   36. To construct and regulate the Municipal Guard for contribute to the fulfillment, exercise and execution of their authority as well as compliance with the municipal norms and the resolutions that are issued.
   37. Policies that guarantee the defense of consumers and users in the municipal area.
   38. Systems of micro-irrigation in coordination with rural native indigenous villages.
   39. Promotion and development of projects and policies for children and adolescents, women, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
   40. Basic services as well as approval of the corresponding fees in their jurisdiction.
   41. Grains and sharecroppers, in coordination with the rural native indigenous villages, when appropriate.
   42. Planning of municipal development in accordance with departmental and national planning.
   43. To participate in enterprises of industrialization, distribution and commercialization of Hydrocarbons in the municipal territory in association with the national entities of the sector.
2. The authorities that may be transferred or delegated to them shall also be executed by municipalities.

Article 303

1. The rural native indigenous villages, in addition to their authority, shall assume that of municipalities, in accordance with a process of institutional development and with their own cultural characteristics in conformity with the Constitution and the Framework Law of Autonomies and Decentralization.
2. The rural native indigenous region shall assume the authority that may be transferred or delegated to it.

Article 304

1. The rural native indigenous autonomies shall exercise the following exclusive authorities:
   1. To elaborate their Statute for the exercise of their autonomy pursuant to the Constitution and the law.
   2. Definition and management of their own forms of economic, social, political, organizational and cultural development, in accord with their identity and the vision of each village.
   3. Management and administration of renewable natural resources, in accord with the Constitution.
   4. Elaboration of Plans of Land Regulation and land use, in coordination with the plans at the central State, departmental and municipal levels.
   5. Electrification in isolated places in their jurisdiction.
   6. Maintenance and administration of local and communal roads.
   7. Administration and preservation of protected areas within their jurisdiction, within the framework of the policy of the State.
   8. Exercise of rural native indigenous jurisdiction for the application of justice and the resolution of conflict through their own norms and procedures in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
   9. Sports, leisure activity and recreation.
   10. Reference to art
       Tangible and intangible cultural patrimony. The safeguard, stimulation and promotion of its cultures, art, identity, archeological centers, religious and cultural places, and museums.
   11. Tourism policies.
   12. To create and administer fees, certificates and special contributions in the area of its jurisdiction in accordance with the law.
   13. Administrate the taxes within its authority in the area of its jurisdiction.
   14. To elaborate, approve and execute its programs of operation and its budget.
   15. Planning and management of territorial occupation.
   16. Housing, town planning and redistribution of population in accordance with the cultural practices in the area of its jurisdiction.
   17. To promote and sign agreements of cooperation with other towns and public and private entities.
   18. Maintenance and administration of its micro-irrigation systems.
   19. Stimulation and development of productive activity.
   20. Construction, maintenance and administration of the infrastructure necessary for development in its jurisdiction.
   21. To participate in, develop and execute the mechanisms of prior, free and informed consultations related to the application of legislative, executive and administrative measures that affect them.
   22. Preservation of the habitat and the landscape, in accordance with its principles, norms, and cultural, technological, special and historical practices.
   23. Development and practice of democratic institutions pursuant to its own norms and procedures.
2. The rural native indigenous villages can exercise the following shared authority:
   1. International exchanges within the framework of the foreign policy of the State.
   2. Participation and control in the use of grains.
   3. The safeguard and registration of collective intellectual property related to knowledge of genetic resources, traditional medicine and germ plasma, in accordance with the law.
   4. Control and regulation of foreign institutions and organizations that carry out activities in their jurisdiction, which are inherent to the development of their institutions, culture, environment and natural patrimony.
3. The rural native indigenous autonomies may exercise the following concurrent authority:
   1. Organization, planning and execution of health policy in their jurisdiction.
   2. Organization, planning and execution of plans, programs and projects related to education, science, technology and research, within the framework of State legislation.
   3. Protection of environment
      Conservation of forestry resources, biodiversity and the environment.
   4. Irrigation systems, hydraulic resources, sources of water and energy, within the framework of State policy, within their territory.
   5. Construction of micro-irrigation systems.
   6. Construction of local and communal roads.
   7. Promotion of the building of productive infrastructure.
   8. Promotion and stimulation of agriculture and raising of livestock.
   9. Control and socio-environmental monitoring of the activities of hydrocarbon and mining activities carried out in their jurisdiction.
   10. Systems of financial control and administration of assets and services.
4. The resources necessary for carrying out their responsibilities shall be transferred automatically by the Pluri-National State in accordance with the law.

Article 305

Article 306

1. The Bolivian economic model is plural and seeks to improve the quality of life and the well being of all Bolivians.
2. The plural economy is composed of forms of community, state, private and public cooperative economic organization.
3. The plural economy articulates different forms of economic organization based on the principles of complementariness, reciprocity, solidarity, redistribution, equality, legal security, sustainability, equilibrium, justice and transparency.
4. The forms of economic organization recognized in this Constitution may form joint ventures.
5. The State places the highest value on human beings and assures development through the equitable redistribution of economic surplus in the social policies of health, education, culture, and the re-investment in productive economic development.

Article 307

Article 308

1. The State recognizes, respects and protects private initiative that contributes to the economic and social development and the strengthening of economic independence of the country.
2. Free enterprise and full exercise of business activities, which shall be regulated by law, are guaranteed.

Article 309

Article 310

Article 311

1. All forms of economic organization established in this Constitution shall enjoy equality before the law.
2. The pluralistic economy includes the following aspects:
   1. Economic plans
      The State shall exercise total direction of economic development and the processes of planning.
   2. Ownership of natural resources
      The natural resources are the property of the Bolivian people and shall be managed by the State. Individual and collective property rights in land shall be respected and guaranteed. Agriculture, raising of livestock, as well as hunting and fishing not involving protected species, are activities that are governed by Part Four of this Constitution relating to the economic structure and organization of the State.
   3. The industrialization of natural resources to overcome dependence on the export of raw materials and to achieve an economy with a productive base, within the framework of sustainable development in harmony with nature.
   4. The State may intervene in every part of the chain of productivity in the strategic sectors, seeking to guarantee its supply in order to preserve the quality of life of all Bolivians.
   5. Respect for enterprise initiative and legal security.
   6. The State shall stimulate and promote the community area of the economy as a supportive alternative in rural and urban areas.

Article 312

1. Every economic activity must contribute to the strengthening of the economic sovereignty of the country. The private accumulation of economic power to the degree that it might endanger the economic sovereignty of the State shall not be permitted.
2. Mentions of social class
   All forms of economic organization have the obligation to generate dignified work and to contribute to the reduction of inequalities and to the eradication of poverty.
3. Protection of environment
   All forms of economic organization have the obligation to protect the environment.

Article 313

Article 314

Article 315

1. The State recognizes the title to land of all legal persons that are legally constituted in the national territory, provided that it be used to fulfill the objective of the creation of an economic agent, the generation of employment, and the production and commercialization of goods and/or services.
2. The legal persons mentioned in the paragraph above that are formed after the adoption of the present Constitution shall have a corporate structure with the number of owners no less than the division of the total surface by five thousand hectares, rounding up the result to the immediately higher whole number.

Article 316

Article 317

Article 318

1. The State shall determine the policy for industrial and commercial production that guarantees a sufficient supply of goods and services to adequately cover basic domestic needs and to strengthen export capacity.
2. The State recognizes and shall prioritize support for the organization of associative structures of micro, small and medium productive enterprises, both urban and rural.
3. The State shall strengthen the productive, manufacturing and industrial infrastructure and basic services for the productive sector.
4. The State shall prioritize the promotion of rural productive development as fundamental to the development policies of the country.
5. The State shall promote and support the export of value added goods and of services.

Article 319

1. Protection of environment
   The industrialization of natural resources shall be a priority in the economic policies, within the framework of respect for and protection of the environment and of the rights of the rural native indigenous nations and peoples and their territories. The articulation of the exploitation of natural resources with internal productive apparatus shall be a priority in the economic policies of the State.
2. In setting the price for the commercialization of strategic natural and energy resources, the State shall consider taxes, royalties and the corresponding participations that must be paid to the public treasury.

Article 320

1. Bolivian investment shall take priority over foreign investment.
2. Every foreign investment shall submit to Bolivian jurisdiction, laws and authorities, and no one may cite an exceptional situation, nor appeal to diplomatic claims to obtain a more favorable treatment.
3. The economic relations with foreign states or enterprises shall be carried out under conditions of independence, mutual respect and equity. More favorable conditions may not be granted to foreign States or enterprises than those established for Bolivians.
4. The State acts independently in all of its decisions on internal economic policy, and shall not accept demands or conditions imposed on this policy by states, banks or Bolivian or foreign financial institutions, multilateral entities or transnational enterprises.
5. The public policies shall promote internal consumption of products made in Bolivia.

Section I. Fiscal Policy

Section II. Monetary Policy

Section III. Financial Policy

Section IV. Sector Policies

Article 339

1. The President of the Republic may only decree payments that are not authorized by the budget law in order to attend to necessities, which cannot be delayed, arising from public calamities, internal disturbance or the exhaustion of resources destined to maintain services, the paralysis of which would cause serious harm. The expenses destined for these objectives shall not exceed one percent of the total expenditures authorized by the General Budget.
2. The assets that are State patrimony and those of public entities are property of the Bolivian people, and they may not be violated, attached, limited or expropriated; they may not be employed to the benefit of any individual. Their description, inventory, administration, disposition, obligatory registration, and the kinds of claims shall be regulated by law.
3. The income of the State shall be invested pursuant to the general economic and social development plan of the country, the General Budget of the State and the law.

Article 340

1. State revenue is divided into revenue of the nation, departments, municipalities and the rural native indigenous peoples, and it shall be invested independently by their Treasuries, pursuant to their respect budgets.
2. The law shall classify the national, departmental and municipal income and that of the rural native indigenous peoples.
3. The departmental and municipal resources, and those of the rural native indigenous autonomies, and the judicial and university resources, which are collected by dependent offices at the national level, shall not be centralized in the National Treasury.
4. The national Executive Organ shall establish the norms for the elaboration and presentation of the proposed budgets of the entire public sector, including the autonomies.

Article 341

Article 342

Article 343

Article 344

1. The manufacture and use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons on Bolivian territory is prohibited, as well as the internment, transit and deposit of nuclear and toxic wastes.
2. The State shall regulate the internment, production, sale and employment of techniques, methods, supplies and substances that affect health and the environment.

Article 345

Article 346

Article 347

1. The State and the society shall promote the mitigation of harmful effects on the environment and of the environmental contamination and damage that affect the country. Liability will be declared for damage to historic environments, and liability for environmental crimes shall not lapse.
2. Those who carry out activities that impact the environment must, at all stages of production, avoid, minimize, mitigate, remediate, repair and make compensation for the harms caused to the environment and the health of persons, and shall establish the security measures necessary to neutralize the possible effects of environmental contamination and damage.

Article 348

1. Minerals in all of their states, the hydrocarbons, water, air, soil and the subsoil, the forests, the biodiversity, the electromagnetic spectrum and all the elements and physical forces capable of use, are considered natural resources.
2. The natural resources are of strategic character and of public importance for the development of the country.

Article 349

1. The natural resources are the property and direct domain, indivisible and without limitation, of the Bolivian people, and their administration corresponds to the State on behalf of the collective interest.
2. The State shall recognize, respect and grant individual and collective ownership rights to land, as well as the rights to use and enjoyment of natural resources.
3. Agriculture, livestock, as well as the activities of hunting and fishing that do not involve protected animal species, are activities that are governed by that which is established in Part Four of this Constitution related to the economic organization and structure of the State.

Article 350

Article 351

1. The State, shall assume control and direction of the exploration, exploitation, industrialization, transport and sale of strategic natural resources through public, cooperative or community entities, which may in turn contract private enterprises and form mixed enterprises.
2. The State shall sign contracts of association with legal persons, Bolivian or foreign, for the use of natural resources. It must assure the reinvestment of economic profits in the country.
3. The management and administration of natural resources shall be carried out guaranteeing social participation and control in the design of the sector policies. Mixed enterprises may be established for the management and administration, with representation of the state and society, and the collective welfare shall be safeguarded.
4. Private enterprises, whether Bolivian or foreign, shall pay taxes and royalties when they take part in the exploitation of natural resources, and the payments that might be made shall not be reimbursable. The royalties for the use of natural resources are a right and a compensation for their exploitation, and they shall be regulated by the Constitution and the law.

Article 352

Article 353

Article 354

Article 355

1. The industrialization and sale of natural resources shall be a priority of the State.
2. The profits obtained from the exploitation and sale of the natural resources shall be distributed and reinvested to promote economic diversification in the different territorial levels of the State. The percentage of profits to be distributed shall be approved by the law.
3. The processes of industrialization shall be carried out with preference given to the place of origin of the production, and conditions shall be created which favor competitiveness in the internal and international market.

Article 356

Article 357

Article 358

Article 359

1. Ownership of natural resources
   The hydrocarbons, in whatever state they are found or form in which they are, are the inalienable and unlimited property of the Bolivian people. The State, on behalf of and in representation of the Bolivian people, is owner of the entire hydrocarbon production of the country and is the only one authorized to sell them. The totality of the income received by the sale of hydrocarbons shall be the property of the State.
2. No contract, agreement or convention, whether direct or indirect, tacit or express, may violate totally or partially that which is established in this article. In the event of violation, the contracts shall be null and void as a matter of law, and those who have agreed to, signed, approved or executed them, have committed the crime of treason.

Article 360

Article 361

1. Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) is a self-sufficient enterprise of pubic law, which cannot be subject to attachment, with autonomy of administrative, technical and economic management, within the framework of the state hydrocarbon policy. YPFB, under the legal protection of the Ministry of the branch and as the operative arm of the State, is the only one authorized to carry out activities in the productive chain of hydrocarbons and their sale.
2. YPFB may not transfer its rights or obligations in any form or modality, whether tacit or express, direct or indirectly.

Article 362

1. The YPFB is authorized to sign contracts for services with public, mixed or private enterprises, Bolivian or foreign, so that said enterprises, in their name and representation, carry out determined activities in the productive chain in exchange for compensation or payment for their services. In no case may the signing of these contracts signify losses for YPFB or the State.
2. The contracts referring to activities of exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons must have prior authorization and express approval of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly. In the event this authorization is not obtained, they shall be null and void as a matter of law, without the necessity of a judicial or extra-judicial declaration.

Article 363

1. The Bolivian Enterprise of Hydrocarbon Industrialization (EBIH) is a self sufficient, public law enterprise, with autonomy in its administrative, technical and economic management, under the legal protection of the Ministry of the branch and the YPFB, which acts in the area of state hydrocarbon policy. EBIH, in representation of the State and within its territory, shall be responsible for carrying out the industrialization of the hydrocarbons.
2. YPFB may form associations or mixed economic enterprises for the execution of the activities of exploration, exploitation, refining, industrialization, transport and sale of hydrocarbons. In these associations and companies, YPBF must have a shareholder participation of no less than fifty one percent of the total capital of the company.

Article 364

Article 365

Article 366

Article 367

Article 368

Article 369

1. The State shall be responsible for the mineralogical riches that are found in the soil and subsoil, whatever may be their origin, and their application shall be regulated by law. The private mining industry and cooperative companies shall be recognized as productive actors of the state mining industry.
2. The non metallic natural resources existing in the salts, brines, evaporations, sulfurs and others substances are of strategic character for the country.
3. The direction of the mining and metallurgy policy is the responsibility of the State, as well as the stimulation, promotion and control of mining activity.
4. The State shall exercise control of and audit the entire productive chain of mining and of the activities developed by the owners of mining rights, mining contracts or pre-existing rights.

Article 370

1. The State shall grant mining rights in the entire chain of production, and it shall sign mining contracts with individual and collective persons upon prior compliance with the norms established in the law.
2. The State shall promote and strengthen cooperative mines so that they contribute to the social economic development of the country.
3. The mining rights in the entire chain of production as well as mining contracts must fulfill a social economic function, carried out directly by their owners.
4. Mining rights, which include investments and prospecting, exploration, exploitation, concentration, industrialization or sale of minerals and metals, are controlled by the owners. The law shall define the extent of this right.
5. The mining contract shall obligate the beneficiaries to develop mining activities to satisfy the social economic interest. The failure to fulfill this obligation shall lead to the immediate dissolution of the contract.
6. The State, through self-sufficient entities, shall promote and develop policies for the administration, prospecting, exploration, exploitation, industrialization, commercialization, and for technical, geological and scientific information and evaluation of non-renewable natural resources for mining development.

Article 371

1. The areas of mining exploitation granted by contract are not transferable, not attachable, and cannot pass by hereditary succession.
2. The legal domicile of the mining enterprises shall be established in the local jurisdiction where the greatest amount of mining exploitation is carried out.

Article 372

1. The nationalized mining groups, their industrial plants and their foundries are the property of the people, which cannot be transferred or adjudicated as property of private enterprises pursuant to any title.
2. The high level direction and administration of the mining industry shall be entrusted to a self sufficient entity with the attributes that are determined by the law.
3. The State shall participate in the industrialization and sale of mineralogical, metallic and non metallic resources, as regulated by law.
4. The new self-sufficient enterprises created by the State shall establish their legal domicile in the departments of greatest mining production, Potosi and Oruro.

Article 373

1. Right to water
   Water constitutes a fundamental right for life, within the framework of the sovereignty of the people. The State shall promote the use and access to water on the basis of principles of solidarity, complementariness, reciprocity, equity, diversity and sustainability.
2. Ownership of natural resources
   Water resources in all their states, surface and subterraneous, constitute finite, vulnerable, strategic resources, and serve a social, cultural and environmental function. These resource cannot be the object of private appropriation and they, as well as water services, shall not be given as concessions and are subject to a system of licensing, registration and authorization pursuant to the law.

Article 374

1. The State shall protect and guarantee the priority use of water for life. It is the duty of the State to manage, regulate, protect and plan the adequate and sustainable use of water resources, with social participation, guaranteeing access to water for all the habitants. The law shall establish the conditions and limitations of all the uses.
2. The State shall recognize, respect and protect the uses and customs of the community, of its local authorities and the rural native indigenous organizations over the right, management and administration of sustainable water.
3. The fossil, glacial, wetland, subterraneous, mineral, medicinal and other waters are priorities for the State, which must guarantee its conservation, protection, preservation, restoration, sustainable use and complete management; they are inalienable, not attachable and cannot be limited.

Article 375

1. It is the duty of the State to develop plans for the use, conservation, management and sustainable exploitation of the river basins.
2. The State shall regulate the management and sustainable administration of the water resources and the basins for irrigation, food security and basic services, respecting the uses and customs of the communities.
3. It is the duty of the State to carry out the studies for the identification of fossil waters and their consequent protection, management and sustainable administration.

Article 376

Article 377

1. International law
   Every international treaty on water resources that the State signs shall guarantee the sovereignty of the country and shall prioritize the interest of the State.
2. The State shall safeguard permanently the border and trans border waters for the conservation of the water riches that contribute to the integration of peoples.

Article 378

1. Protection of environment
   The different forms of energy and their sources constitute a strategic resource; access to them is a fundamental and essential right for full development and the social development of the country; and they shall be governed by the principles of efficiency, continuity, adaptability, and environmental preservation.
2. It is the exclusive authority of the State to develop the chain of energy production in the phases of generation, transport, and distribution, by means of public, mixed enterprises, non profit institutions, cooperatives, private enterprises, and community and social enterprises, with public participation and control. The chain of energy production may not be held exclusively by private interests, nor may it be licensed. Private participation shall be regulated by law.

Article 379

1. The State shall develop and promote research, as well as the use of new forms of the production of alternative energy, compatible with the conservation of the environment.
2. The State shall guarantee the generation of energy for internal consumption; the export of excess energy must anticipate the reserves necessary for the country.

Section I. Biodiversity

Section II. Coca

Section III. Protected Areas

Section IV. Forest Resources

Article 390

1. Because of its high environmental sensitivity, existing biodiversity, water resources and for the eco-regions, the Bolivian Amazonia basin constitutes a strategic area of special protection for the comprehensive development of the country.
2. The Bolivian Amazonia includes the entire Department of Pando, Iturralde Province of the Department of La Paz and the provinces of Vaca Diez and Ballivan of the Department of Beni. The full development of the Bolivian Amazonia, as a territorial area of tropical rain forests, in accordance with the specific characteristics of the extract and harvesting resources, shall be governed by a special law in benefit of the region and the country.

Article 391

1. Protection of environment
   The State shall prioritize the sustainable, integral development of the Bolivian Amazonia, through a comprehensive, participatory, shared and equitable administration of the Amazon jungle. The administration shall be directed to the generation of employment and the improvement of the income of its inhabitants, within the framework of protection and sustainability of the environment.
2. The State shall encourage access to financing for tourism, eco-tourism and other initiatives of regional enterprise.
3. The State, in coordination with the rural native indigenous authorities and the inhabitants of the Amazonia, shall create a special, decentralized organ, with headquarters in the Amazonia, to promote its own activities in the region.

Article 392

1. Right to culture
   The State shall implement special policies to benefit the rural native indigenous nations and peoples of the region in order to generate the necessary conditions for the reactivation, encouragement, industrialization, commercialization, protection and conservation of traditional extract products.
2. The historical cultural and economic value of the siringa and the castano, symbols of the Bolivian Amazonia, is recognized, and cutting them down shall be punished, except in cases of public interest as regulated by the law.

Article 393

Article 394

1. Individual agrarian property is classified as small, medium and business, according to the surface area, the production, and the development criteria. Its maximum and minimum dimensions, characteristics and forms of conversion shall be regulated by law. Legally acquired rights by individual owners, whose piece of land is inside rural native indigenous territories, are guaranteed.
2. The small property is indivisible; it constitutes a family asset that cannot be attached, and it is not subject to agrarian property taxes. The indivisibility does not affect the right of hereditary succession under conditions established by law.
3. The State recognizes, protects and guarantees communitarian or collective property, which includes rural native indigenous territory, native, intercultural communities and rural communities. Collective property is indivisible, may not be subject to prescription or attachment, is inalienable and irreversible, and it is not subject to agrarian property taxes. Communities can be owners, recognizing the complementary character of collective and individual rights, respecting the territorial unity in common.

Article 395

1. Right to culture, Provisions for wealth redistribution
   The lands that are taken over shall be given to rural native indigenous peoples, intercultural indigenous communities, Afro-Bolivian and rural communities, which do not possess them or have insufficient lands, in accordance with state policy concerned with the ecological and geographic realities, as well as the population, social, cultural and economic necessities. The endowment shall be carried out according to the policies of sustainable rural development and the right of women to access, distribution and redistribution of land, without discrimination based on civil status or marital union.
2. Double endowment, the purchase and sale, and exchange and donation of lands delivered by endowment are prohibited.
3. Since it is contrary to the collective interest, the obtaining of income generated by the speculative use of the land is prohibited.

Article 396

1. The State shall regulate the land market, preventing the accumulation of surface areas greater than that recognized by law, as well as its division into surfaces areas less than that established for small property.
2. Restrictions on rights of groups
   Foreigners may not acquire lands of the State under any title whatsoever.

Article 397

1. Work is the fundamental means by which agrarian property is acquired and maintained. Properties must be used to serve a social purpose or a social economic purpose in order to safeguard the right to them, depending on the nature of the property.
2. Social purpose shall be understood to mean the sustainable exploitation of the land by peoples and rural native indigenous communities, as well as that carried out in small properties, and it constitutes the source of subsistence and welfare and socio-cultural development of its owners. The norms of the communities are recognized in the fulfillment of social purpose.
3. The social economic purpose must be understood as the sustainable use of the land in the development of productive activities, in accordance with its capacity for extended use, for the benefit of the society, the collective interest and its owner. The corporate property is subject to review in accordance with the statute, to verify the compliance with the social economic purpose.

Article 398

Article 399

1. The new limits of zoned agrarian property shall be applied to pieces of land that have been acquired after this Constitution enters into force. For purposes of the non retroactivity of the law, the rights of possession and agrarian property are recognized and respected in accordance with the law.
2. The surface areas exceeding those that fulfill the Social Economic Function shall be expropriated. The double title set forth in the prior article refers to the double endowments processed before the ex-National Council of Agrarian Reform, CNRA. The prohibition of double endowment is not applied to legally acquired rights of third parties.

Article 400

Article 401

1. The failure to fulfill the social economic function or the holding of latifundio shall result in the reversion of the land, and the land shall pass into the domain and property of the Bolivian people.
2. The expropriation of land shall occur for reasons of necessity and public utility and upon prior payment of fair indemnification.

Article 402

Article 403

1. The integrity of rural native indigenous territory is recognized, which includes the right to land, to the use and exclusive exploitation of the renewable natural resources under conditions determined by law, to prior and informed consultation, to participation in the benefits of the exploitation of the non-renewable natural resources that are found in their territory, to the authority to apply their own norms, administered by their structures of representation, and to define their development pursuant to their own cultural criteria and principles of harmonious coexistence with nature. The rural native indigenous territories may be composed of communities.
2. The rural native indigenous territory includes areas of production, areas of exploitation and conservation of natural resources, and spaces for social, spiritual and cultural reproduction. The law shall establish the procedure for recognition of these rights.

Article 404