Bolivia

The Carter Center sent a small mission of observers to monitor Bolivia’s constitutional referendum in January 2009, launched a voter registration observation a bit later that year, and then in December monitored its election process, which was peaceful and had record turnout. A decade later, after a disputed October 2019 general election — which led to large-scale protests, the fall of the president and his government, and nearly civil conflict — we were invited to observe the new general election in 2020, which proved both calm and respectful. 

More information about all of these elections is available in our publications section.

The attempt by Bolivia to transform its democracy was one of the most important sociopolitical processes seen in Latin America. The multiethnic and pluricultural country holds various worldviews, which has led to conflicts over economic integration, globalization, control of natural resources, and more. The government sought the Center’s assistance to create mechanisms, develop skills, and generate spaces to increase tolerance, inclusion, and, ultimately, consensus among social groups, and to construct an inclusive political system.  

In 2010, The Carter Center and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance initiated an 18-month dialogue forum among five Andean countries — Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia — and the United States. Members met four times to: 

• Explore the possibility of bilateral dialogues between other pairs of countries
• Identify a common agenda
• Address misperceptions and misunderstandings between countries
• Propose innovative solutions to problematic issues

After the presidential election of 2005, tensions between the Bolivian president and media grew. The media often reported sensationalized versions of political developments, interpreting statistics with bias. To help improve media practices and prevent the emergence and escalation of conflicts, The Carter Center established, in late 2009, a network of media associations and helped foster professionalism in the field. Through various partnerships, the Center surveyed the development needs of journalists, ran training workshops, and helped expand outreach to rural areas. 

Beginning in 2003, The Carter Center supported the establishment of an access to information culture in Bolivia by collaborating with the government to improve archiving and records management and by training civil servants on access-to-information best practices. The Center also worked with the government, congress, and civil society to support the drafting of an access-to-information law — as well as its passage, implementation, and enforcement — that met emerging international standards.

The Center had a series of discussions across Latin America in 2013 and 2014 to support a healthy relationship between governments, the media, and journalists, as well as to promote policies and practices to strengthen freedom of expression, democratic governance, and the prevention and escalation of sociopolitical conflicts.