Bolivia's Legislative Power: Where Congress Meets

Bolivia's Congress meets in La Paz, the country's seat of government. The legislature is known as the Plurinational Legislative Assembly and is composed of a Chamber of Senators and a Chamber of Deputies. The Assembly is housed in a new building inaugurated in 2020, which replaced the previous Legislative Palace. The Assembly is located on Plaza Murillo, La Paz's main city-centre square, and is flanked by the presidential palace and the cathedral of Nuestra Señora de La Paz.

Bolivia's Congress meets in La Paz

The Assembly meets in the legislative palace on Plaza Murillo, La Paz's main city-centre square. The square is also home to the presidential palace (informally known as the Palacio Quemado, or "Burnt Palace") and the cathedral of Nuestra Señora de La Paz. The legislative palace was previously a convent and a university before becoming the seat of the legislature in 1904.

The Plurinational Legislative Assembly is currently in its third iteration, having convened on 3 November 2020, during the final week of Jeanine Áñez's presidency. It will meet throughout Luis Arce's presidency, ending in 2025. The Movement for Socialism retained its majority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Senators during the 2020 general elections, though it lost its two-thirds supermajority from the 2nd Plurinational Legislative Assembly.

The Assembly meets for 90 sessions annually, starting on 6 August (Independence Day). The number of sessions can be expanded to 120 if requested by the executive or the majority of members. The Assembly may also meet for extraordinary sessions to debate specific bills if requested by the executive and supported by a majority of members.

The legislative branch of the Bolivian government is called the Plurinational Legislative Assembly

The Chamber of Senators has 36 seats, with each of the country's nine departments returning four senators elected by proportional representation. Senators serve five-year terms and must be at least 35 years old. The Chamber of Deputies has 130 seats, with 70 deputies elected to represent single-member electoral districts and 60 elected from party lists on a departmental basis. Deputies also serve five-year terms and must be at least 25 years old.

The legislative body was previously known as the National Congress. The current assembly, the 3rd Plurinational Legislative Assembly, is the first in Bolivian history in which women make up the majority of the Senate, with 55.5% of senators being women. Overall, women make up 51.9% of parliamentarians in the Assembly, with near gender parity in the Chamber of Deputies, where 46.9% of deputies are women. This high level of female representation is due to an electoral law that requires half of all party nominees to be female, a requirement that was introduced in 1997 and later added to the constitution.

The Assembly has broad powers, including the right to pass, abrogate, interpret, and modify laws. A bill must be passed by both chambers of the Assembly and signed by the President to become law. The Assembly also has oversight powers over the executive branch and can call ministers and other members of the executive to testify. In addition, the Assembly has economic policy functions, such as approving the annual budget, and foreign policy prerogatives, such as approving treaties and deciding on the presence of foreign troops in Bolivia.

The Plurinational Legislative Assembly is made up of the Chamber of Senators and the Chamber of Deputies

The Plurinational Legislative Assembly is the national legislature of Bolivia, located in La Paz, the country's seat of government. It is a bicameral legislature, meaning it consists of two chambers: the Chamber of Senators (the upper house) and the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house). The Vice President of Bolivia serves as the ex officio President of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.

The Chamber of Senators has 36 seats, with each of the country's nine departments returning four senators elected by proportional representation. Senators must be at least 35 years old and are elected to serve five-year terms. On the other hand, the Chamber of Deputies comprises 130 seats. 70 deputies are elected to represent single-member electoral districts, while 60 are elected from party lists on a departmental basis. Deputies must be at least 25 years old and also serve five-year terms.

Each house of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly elects its own leadership, including a President, first and second Vice Presidents, and three or four Secretaries. Additionally, each party has its own seat, known as a bancada, and the representatives of each department form a brigade (brigada). The two chambers meet in the legislative palace located on Plaza Murillo, the main city-centre square in La Paz.

The current legislative session, the 3rd Plurinational Legislative Assembly, is the first time women make up the majority of the legislature as a whole, with 51.9% of parliamentarians being women. This milestone is the result of an electoral law that requires half of all party nominees to be female, which was introduced in 1997 and later enshrined in the constitution.

The Vice President of Bolivia is the ex officio President of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly

The Plurinational Legislative Assembly is the national legislature of Bolivia, located in La Paz, the country's seat of government. The assembly is bicameral, consisting of a lower house (the Chamber of Deputies) and an upper house (the Chamber of Senators). The Vice President of Bolivia is the ex officio President of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. This means that, in addition to their vice-presidential duties, they are responsible for overseeing the legislative process and guiding the direction of the Assembly.

The Vice President's role as President of the Assembly is largely ceremonial and procedural, but it carries significant influence. They are tasked with maintaining order and decorum during legislative sessions, ensuring that all members are afforded their rights and privileges, and facilitating the smooth conduct of debates and votes. The Vice President also has the power to break ties in the event of a deadlock during voting.

The Vice President works closely with the leadership of both chambers to ensure the efficient functioning of the Assembly. Each house elects its own leadership, including a President, first and second Vice Presidents, and Secretaries. While the Vice President does not directly participate in the day-to-day decision-making within the chambers, they play a crucial role in fostering collaboration and consensus-building among the legislators.

Additionally, the Vice President has certain administrative responsibilities pertaining to the Assembly. They oversee the maintenance and operations of the legislative facilities, including the legislative palace located on Plaza Murillo in La Paz. The Vice President's office is located in a separate building, designed by Emilio Villanueva, and is responsible for managing the Library of Congress and the National Congressional Archive.

The role of the Vice President as the ex officio President of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly is an important aspect of Bolivia's political system. It reflects the country's commitment to a strong legislative branch, where laws are debated and enacted with the active participation of elected representatives.

The Chamber of Deputies has 130 seats

The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of Bolivia's bicameral legislature. It is made up of 130 seats, with deputies elected to serve five-year terms. Each year, the Chamber of Deputies elects a new leadership, including a president, two vice presidents, and five secretaries.

The deputies are elected through universal suffrage and a complex proportional representation system. Each department in Bolivia is allocated a certain number of seats based on population density. For example, in 1980, La Paz was allocated 28 seats, while Pando was allocated 7.

The Chamber of Deputies plays a crucial role in the country's politics, with the power to pass, abrogate, interpret, and modify laws. Additionally, the chamber has specific responsibilities, such as electing justices of the Supreme Court of Justice and approving the executive's requests for the declaration of a state of siege.

The Chamber of Deputies is currently located in a new Plurinational Assembly headquarters in La Paz, which was inaugurated in 2020. The building covers 44,000 square meters, with nine underground levels and twenty above-ground floors, making it visible from anywhere in La Paz and El Alto. The Chamber of Deputies is located on the seventeenth to twentieth floors of the building, with the sixteenth floor housing the Chamber of Senators.

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