CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY: SEVEN COMMISSIONS FILE

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 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶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." -------------- 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. -------------- 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. -------------- 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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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