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DE RUEHLP #1718/01 1761204
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251204Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4033
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6872
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UNCLAS LA PAZ 001718 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON PHUM KDEM BL
SUBJECT: CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY: SEVEN COMMISSIONS FILE 
REPORTS 
 
REF: A. LA PAZ 1625 
 
     ¶B. LA PAZ 1570 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U) Despite a June 21 deadline only seven of the 
Constituent Assembly's twenty-one commissions issued their 
final reports.  Of the seven, only the Coca and Rural 
Development commissions have issued consensus reports, while 
the other five commissions have each issued majority and 
minority reports.  In the commission "Vision for the Country" 
the MAS employed its vote splitting tactic to control the 
majority and minority report, a tactic the CA directive 
declared was a violation of the voting rules (reftel A).  The 
MAS' Vision for the Country report is full of vague 
statements including a proposal for an undefined fourth 
branch of government.  PODEMOS delegates won a small victory 
in the Legislative commission as they were able to include 
the moving of the Congress from La Paz to Sucre in the 
minority report, thus ensuring the topic will be debated in 
the plenary.  While one-third of the commissions have 
completed their work, the issue of autonomy and its 
implications overshadow all of the CA's activities.  Despite 
their differences all the political parties, including the 
Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), agree the CA should be 
extended, although there is disagreement for how long. 
Proposals range from two to four months beyond the current 
August 6 deadline.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------- 
Vision for the Country 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In the Vision for the Country commission the MAS 
employed its vote splitting tactic to control the majority 
and minority report, a tactic the CA directive declared was a 
violation of the voting rules (reftel A).  The majority 
report articulates the MAS' theory for the new Bolivia but 
spends little time defining the fundamental principles that 
serve as the foundation of its vision.  Article one of the 
MAS majority report offers the nearly indecipherable 
assertion that "Bolivia is a Unitary, Plurinational 
Communitarian State, free, independent, sovereign, 
democratic, social, decentralized, with territorial 
autonomies, founded in plurality and political, economic, 
judicial, cultural and linguistic pluralism."  The terms 
"plurinational" and "communitarian" are never defined. 
However, the report's annex attempts to explain this "new 
model" of government as an attempt to "decolonize" Bolivia 
and allow for the peoples' "self determination". 
 
¶3. (SBU) While the MAS proposal introduces the notion of 
indigenous autonomies, it fails to explain what 
responsibilities these autonomies will have and how they will 
interact with the country's other forms of government 
(municipal, departmental and central).  The MAS proposal 
recognizes universal suffrage via secret ballots, but also 
states communitarian norms of representation will be 
respected.  Article four explains that the government will 
consist of the traditional three branches (executive, 
legislative and judicial) as well as a fourth branch called 
the "Social Plurinational."  MAS insiders have publicly 
stated that this branch will consist of members of the social 
organizations who will "supervise" the workings of the other 
branches, but the MAS' official report does not explain the 
new branch's composition and responsibilities.  Perhaps 
acknowledging that the MAS has not thought through how its 
ideas will be implemented, an annex of the MAS' report 
contains the phrase, "It shall be determined (in the future) 
how the distinct levels of public administration and the 
territorial autonomies are articulated." 
 
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Citizenship and Nationality 
 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The Citizenship and Nationality commission issued a 
majority and minority report.  The majority report (MAS 
proposal) reduces the voting age to sixteen. The PODEMOS 
report holds the voting age at eighteen.  The reports also 
differ on naturalization; the MAS proposal requires 
foreigners to reside 6 years in country prior to 
naturalization, while the PODEMOS proposal only requires two 
years. 
 
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Legislative Power 
----------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The MAS and the opposition could not reach agreement 
in the Legislative Power Commission.  The majority report 
(MAS proposal) calls for a unicameral legislature with 
directly elected representatives.  The minority report 
proposes to maintain the existing bicameral model.  PODEMOS 
delegates won a small victory in this commission as they were 
able to include the moving of the Congress from La Paz to 
Sucre in the minority report, thus ensuring the topic will be 
debated in the plenary.  The MAS has been trying to get the 
issue of moving the legislative and executive branches to 
Sucre off the table. The MAS argues the Sucre question is 
merely a tactic by proponents of departmental autonomy to 
disrupt the CA. 
 
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Rural Development 
----------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Like the Coca Commission (reftel B) the Rural 
Development Commission was able to reach consensus.  The 
commission's report proposes that the state should guarantee 
food security and that the government has an obligation to 
establish seed banks and other institutions that promote 
agricultural production, especially for small farmers. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Boundaries and International Relations 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Although close to reaching consensus one issue divided 
the MAS and opposition in the Boundaries and International 
Relations Commission.  The one article of discord centered on 
the concept of giving Bolivian municipalities that border 
other countries the ability to negotiate agreements with 
neighboring foreign municipalities.  PODEMOS favors giving 
the municipalities the authority, the MAS opposes it. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Economic and Financial Development 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U).  The MAS and opposition proposed vastly different 
visions in the Economic and Financial Development commission. 
 The MAS proposes forming a "social communitarian" economy 
and argues for respecting private enterprise when it 
contributes to the economic and social development of the 
country.  The opposition proposal argues for respect of all 
forms of ownership, individual and collective.  The 
opposition report also calls for refocusing the country's 
economy from exporting raw materials to exporting value-added 
products. 
 
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Comment 
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¶9. (SBU) The MAS' vision for the country leaves plenty of 
room for further debate.  More concretely, while one-third of 
the commissions have completed their work, the issue of 
autonomy and its implications overshadow all of the CA's 
activities.  Of the fifteen commissions that still need to 
 
complete their work, most argue that one to two weeks is 
sufficient, however the autonomy commission has not offered 
any deadline.  The MAS, proposal for indigenous autonomy 
divides the commission on Natural Renewable Resources, Land, 
Territory and the Environment as well as others.  The MAS 
wants to allow indigenous peoples to manage the resources on 
their lands based on its as yet undefined indigenous 
autonomous territories. The opposition wants to limit 
indigenous resource exploitation to the already defined 
(under law) Tierras Comunitarias del Origen (Original 
Communal Lands).  The MAS wants the presidency to hold on to 
the hot issue of land titling, while the opposition wants to 
transfer the authority to the departmental prefects.  Despite 
their differences all the political parties, including the 
MAS, now agree the CA should be extended, although there is 
disagreement for how long.  Proposals range from two to four 
months beyond the current August 6 deadline.  End Comment. 
URS