INSIGHTi
Bolivia: Elections in September?
Updated June 16, 2020
On June 10, 2020, Bolivia’s legislative assembly approved a law establishing September 6 as the new
date for general elections. The elections were scheduled for May 3, 2020, but suspended in March
following Interim President Jeanette Añez’s declaration of a national quarantine in response to
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Añez has refused to sign the legislation due to the pandemic, but a
supermajority of legislators can promulgate the law without her support. Bolivia has been polarized since
the annulled October 2019 elections al eged to be marred by fraud and the November resignation of
President Evo Morales of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party.
The United States remains concerned about the political volatility in Bolivia. The Trump Administration
and Congress have supported efforts to ensure the upcoming elections are free and fair.
October Elections Annulled
Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, transformed Bolivia, but observers criticized his effort to
remain in office (he won elections in 2006, 2009, and 2014). In 2017, Bolivia’s Constitutional Tribunal
removed limits on reelection established in the 2009 constitution, effectively overruling a 2016
referendum in which voters rejected a constitutional change to al ow Morales to run for another term.
Al egations of fraud marred Bolivia’s October
Figure 1. Bolivia at a Glance
election. The TSE said Morales exceeded the 10-
point margin he needed to avoid a runoff over
former president Carlos Mesa, but Mesa rejected
that result. Some protesters cal ed for a new
election; others demanded Morales’s resignation.
On November 10, 2019, the Organization of
American States (OAS) issued preliminary
findings suggesting enough irregularities to merit
a new election. (Some experts have since
chal enged aspects of those findings). Morales

agreed to hold new elections, but the opposition
Sources: CRS Graphics, International Monetary Fund (IMF),
rejected his offer. Morales resigned after police
Central Intel igence Agency (CIA), Instituto Nacional de
refused to stop protesters, ministers resigned, and
Estadísticas (INE), Global Trade Atlas (GTA).
civic organizations, unions, and the military urged
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him to step down. He sought asylum in Mexico and then Argentina. In late November 2019, the MAS-led
Congress passed a law to annul the October elections and select a new electoral tribunal. In December
2019, the final OAS election audit report found “intentional manipulation” of the results.
Interim Government
Interim President Añez, formerly a little-known opposition senator from Beni, became president
following the resignation of three MAS officials ahead of her in the line of succession. Añez’s past anti-
indigenous rhetoric and conservative cabinet raised concerns among some of Bolivia’s indigenous
population, which became empowered under Morales. The MAS-led Congress initial y refused to accept
Añez’s government and many MAS supporters protested. Añez issued a decree giving the military
authority to participate in crowd-control efforts and immunity from prosecution while doing so. The Inter-
American Commission of Human Rights documented 36 deaths and 400 injuries that occurred in mid-
November 2019, including two massacres involving state forces. The government rejected those findings.
According to Bolivia’s constitution, the interim government has a mandate to convene new elections.
Some observers have criticized Añez for exceeding that mandate. Interim President Añez reversed many
MAS foreign policy positions by expel ing Cuban officials, including doctors, and recognizing Interim
Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó. Under Añez, prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for Morales on
charges of terrorism and sedition and reportedly pursued political y motivated cases against former MAS
officials.
The interim government has strictly enforced a nationwide quarantine, currently extended through June
30. It has received $327 mil ion in International Monetary Fund assistance for health and social spending.
In April 2020, the government issued a decree criminalizing “disinformation,” reportedly including
criticism, about the government’s response to COVID-19. In May 2020, police arrested Añez’s former
health minister for a corruption scandal involving ventilator purchases at inflated prices. As of June 15,
Bolivia had 611 deaths from the virus.
2020 Elections: Candidates
After the Bolivian Congress passed an election law in November 2019, legislators appointed a new
electoral tribunal. In January, that tribunal announced the first round election would occur on May 3.
Following the suspension of the May 3 election, legislators have selected September 6 as the new first
round election date. Due to COVID-19, many observers are concerned about the health risks for poll
workers, candidates, and voters.
Bolivia’s Presidential Candidates
Luis Arce: economist, former minister of the economy from 2006 to 2019, who was general y praised by the International
Monetary Fund
Jeanette Añez: former senator and current interim president who abandoned an earlier pledge not to run
Luis Camacho: lawyer and Catholic civic leader from the eastern state of Santa Cruz who led nationwide protests urging
Morales’s resignation
Carlos Mesa: former journalist who served as president from 2003 to 2005 who has opposed the MAS, but has more
moderate positions than Añez and Camacho

Source: Paola Nagovitch, “Explainer: Presidential Candidates in Bolivia’s 2020 Special Elections,” Americas
Society/Council of the Americas, February 6, 2020.
Although protests in Bolivia died down in December 2019, they could resume if MAS supporters think
Añez is using the pandemic as a reason for her to remain in power.

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U.S. Concerns
The United States remains concerned about the political volatility in Bolivia, but its role in supporting a
return to democracy may be limited. Bolivia-U.S. relations were tense following the 2008 ousting of the
U.S. ambassador, and bilateral assistance to the country ended in 2013.
The State Department supported the OAS election observation and audit efforts. The United States and 25
other OAS countries issued a November statement rejecting violence and cal ing for new elections. A
December 9 statement by Secretary of State Pompeo also cal ed for convening new elections. Within the
Western Hemisphere, consensus on Bolivia has eroded over the Añez government’s crackdown on
protesters and efforts to punish Morales and his al ies—actions that some governments have criticized but
U.S. officials have not. Following President Trump’s January 2020 decision to waive foreign aid
restrictions on Bolivia, U.S. support for electoral authorities and civil society groups has totaled some $3
mil ion. U.S. assistance to help Bolivia address COVID-19 has totaled nearly $900,000.
The situation in Bolivia has generated some concern in Congress. S.Res. 447, agreed to in the Senate in
January 2020, supports the prompt convening of new elections.

Author Information

Clare Ribando Seelke

Specialist in Latin American Affairs




Disclaimer
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